Myth #516

So as you might have heard by now if you follow me on Twitter--I'm having a shitty day. It's the first day without one of my favorite (now ex-) coworkers. Pandora can't stream. I messed up my calendar and carpooled w/ Ronald when I actually have a meeting that would have been when I was supposed to go pick him up. I pulled my back and it's throbbing on top of inexplicable pain in my ankle.

I know that whole rant is a whole lot of #firstworldproblems but to top it off, I've had to hear waaaay too much rape apologism and it's only 1pm.

I was innocently driving in my car and NPR was on, as it is apt to be. It was the Brian Lehrer show--not my favorite, but whatev. Not but two minutes into whatever they are talking about, I realized I'm listening to some straight up lies. The guest was making the point that that when multiple women come forward with rape allegations against one dude, it means there's probably just some piling on effect and it's just a media frenzy or something.

My blood was boiling. It IS boiling.

Rape Myth #516: If the guy is high profile and there are multiple accusers, then it's probably just a ploy to bring him down.

We have seen this Myth before...Julian Assange, Dov Charney, Ben Roethlisberger, etc. etc. Let me enlighten you, if you can't already see where I'm going. The fact of the matter is that many rapists are repeat rapists. If it seems like more and more women are coming out of the woodwork and claiming rape, it's probably because they were raped! When one survivor steps forward, I would imagine others are more likely to do so as well. You see, because of our rape culture, the social penalties for coming forward with rape allegations are steep--and even more so if the man in question is well known or powerful. If someone breaks the ice, his other victims likely feel more comfortable also speaking up.

None of this makes each individual rape any less real.

I don't know who the guy saying this was. I don't know where he was going with it. I don't know if Brian Leherer let him continue. I had to turn the station lest my blood pressure sky rocket and give me a heart attack. But I can safely assume that he was talking about this, since it's all over the news today.

Sometimes, it's really hard to see our rape culture for what it really is. You start to notice things all around you, and it makes facing our society all the more scary. Sometimes, it might be easier to live with my head in the sand.

Uck. I need to go do something productive and take my mind off of this bull.