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From: edhall@randvax.UUCP (Ed Hall)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Only a few nuts rape?
Message-ID: <2172@randvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 4-Dec-84 12:34:14 EST
Article-I.D.: randvax.2172
Posted: Tue Dec  4 12:34:14 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Dec-84 02:18:40 EST
References: <10011@watmath.UUCP> <45000010@convex.UUCP>
Organization: Rand Corp., Santa Monica
Lines: 45

> This figure (if you believe it) agrees with my assertion that rape is
> not necessarily motivated by desire to inflict violence upon women.  If as
> Ken Perlow says, this 35% is composed primarily of "horny guys", then their
> motivation is sexual.  They want to have sex.  They don't want to hurt another
> human being.  There are many rapists motivated by a desire to do
> violence against their victim.  But, if the definition of rape is:
> 
> 	"sexual activity forced upon an unwilling partner"
> 
> then most of these potential rapists are motivated by sexual desire.  Let's 
> hope that the males of the world can be educated to understand that women are
> people, not sexual objects to be used against their will.  (35% IS scary!)
> I think that this education will drastically reduce the incidence of rape.
> As for what you do about people oriented toward violence, well, I have no
> answers.  
> 				Dave Holt

Violence, my friend, is still violence, no matter what the reason why.
Anyone who rapes *does* want to ``hurt another human being''!  Would
my denying I want to hurt you make my pushing a knife into your chest
any less of a crime?  Would it make my knifing you non-violent?  How
insane would I actually have to be to ``not want to hurt another human
being'' and still knife you?  Yet you seem to feel that the male attitude
you talk about is simply misguided.

But rape doesn't cause physical injury the way knifing does, you say.
That's not necessarily true, even when you restrict yourself to physical
injuries.  But the emotional injury from rape can be absolutely life-
shattering, with psychological wounds that never heal.

I'll admit that sex is a part of rape, as you claim it is.  But I think
there is a key facet you are ignoring: the rapist is SEXUALLY AROUSED
BY VIOLENCE.  He isn't just a guy who got a bit too horny and let things
get out of control.  If he can't think of any non-violent ways of
relieving sexual tension, even alone, then maybe he IS out of his mind.
As it stands, the rapist is sick, but in a society where his sickness is
considered somehow ``normal''.

I think you have a bit of insight into the problem: having ``males of
the world...understand that woman are people'' certainly would reduce
rape as well as injustices of all kind.  A first step is eliminating
the mythology about rape, letting it be seen for the violence it is.

		-Ed Hall
		decvax!randvax!edhall