Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site decwrl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!zehntel!dual!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-kirk!williams From: williams@kirk.DEC (John Williams 223-3402) Newsgroups: net.singles Subject: The endless chain of victims Message-ID: <200@decwrl.UUCP> Date: Mon, 10-Dec-84 17:29:38 EST Article-I.D.: decwrl.200 Posted: Mon Dec 10 17:29:38 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 11-Dec-84 07:41:11 EST Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP Organization: DEC Engineering Network Lines: 74 Oh, sunny, come on! > Obviously the criminal "due process" system, for I > certainly could not call it a system of justice, fails miserably > to deal with these heinous crimes by men against women. Imagine what it must have been like before law enforcement. I will agree with you that it needs to be improved, but there is the danger of convicting innocent men for what could be taken as very loose interpretations. The fact that most are never reported does not surprise me, for very often it involves a guilt transferral. That is, I'm going to punish you because you made me this way. But some enforcement is still a deterrent, and it is better than none. The important thing is does the victim want to press charges, she may not wish to. If she does, the trial can prove to be a trauma in and of itself. The first thing you need is evidence. And solid evidence. They can prove the assailant had had penetration, but the difficult part is proving that it was completely against the victim's will. Especially if that person was familiar with the victim prior to the incident. Husband/Wife occurances are the toughest. > That is the point folks. A rapist takes from a woman, her > control of her life, when he takes control of her body and uses > it to his own ends. The trauma HE inflicts on HER is seldom > resolved. There is a good chance that the rapist is going through some form of trauma, and any good agency will emphasize this point. They will try as best they can to lead you to an understanding of exactly what happened. Rape and other forms of violent abuse are an act of desperation, from a dying man. > all so men can assert their dominance... their God given right to > use women as their slaves. No. You are talking about a very small percentage. Please don't blow this thing out of proportion. Don't punish us for the acts of a few. That is how the whole mess gets started in the first place. > excuse me, I think I'm going to puke... Maybe you could USE a good puke. Fortunately you chose a good place to put it. Perhaps you could work on some suggestions as to how we could better deal with this problem, both women AND men. It appears that the hardest thing to do is prevent it in the first place. We're just not all that well educated. But we're learning. The kinds of things we need take time. As recent as 130 years ago we actually had legalized slavery. Human nature doesn't change that quickly. The hard thing to do as an individual is to not let vulgar aspects of tortured individuals torture you into the same way of thinking. This is where it requires an understanding of the aggressors, as well as the victims. And, I should add, it is alot more easily said than done. As for male supremacy, it is a myth. Anyone who takes the time to think about it for any length of time will realize that both male and female qualities are necessary for the species to survive, and that the differences between us appear magnified because of the nature of our thinking process in classifying. We are coming into an age when human life is no longer considered property. There are still details to be worked out. The hardest thing to develop is a mature attitude. It takes a lifetime. ----{ john williams }---- (DEC E-NET) KIRK::WILLIAMS (UUCP) {decvax, ucbvax, allegra}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-kirk!williams (ARPA) williams%kirk.DEC@decwrl.ARPA williams%kirk.DEC@Purdue-Merlin.ARPA