2008 Woodie Awards
op-ed: Is responsibility for rape social or individual?
Nate Ackerly
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Opinions
So I went into the RAJ today to meet with my advisor and taped right out front of its door is a sign saying "should drunk drivers be punished?," essentially detailing a scenario in which a guy sleeps with a black-out girl, gets charged with rape and is forced to leave campus. Long story short, our villain appeals and gets the right to return to Middlebury, unbeknownst to his assaultee. Later on she is notified that he is returning to the campus and he is charging her with sexual assault. She cannot confront her charger. The flyer finishes with the slogan, "we will not be silenced."
Let me just make this clear - I do not condone the actions of the above man. I would do anything in my power to prevent such events from occurring. I am in no way a misogynist or chauvinist, nor do I condone such behaviors.
I'll guess that most men (if not all) at Middlebury College would say that and mean it. If the initiator is the male, then why do these events occur (though very infrequently) on our campus? I'm no sociologist/psychiatrist. I have not read the case studies. That said, I'm going to venture a guess that alcohol probably is a major factor in each case at Middlebury.
We know alcohol impairs our judgment, but few of us realize how, or just how much. Alcohol can be classified as an anesthetic. It literally dulls your body's senses. At a certain point, what we consider to be our psyche, our personality, is actually disengaged from the actions of the body entirely and a baser set-up takes over, a black-out. My friend has joked about Wild Turkey "gobbling inside him" and him not actually saying things. Think about it that way.
Let's apply this to our scenario. The girl's black-out, not really responsible for her actions and runs into a guy who probably is in a similar state. Both of them are not themselves, and would not be making the same choices were they sober. What happens happens, and in the morning the girl wakes up with a guy she never met before lying next to her. I would have called the cops, too.
Let me just make this clear - I do not condone the actions of the above man. I would do anything in my power to prevent such events from occurring. I am in no way a misogynist or chauvinist, nor do I condone such behaviors.
I'll guess that most men (if not all) at Middlebury College would say that and mean it. If the initiator is the male, then why do these events occur (though very infrequently) on our campus? I'm no sociologist/psychiatrist. I have not read the case studies. That said, I'm going to venture a guess that alcohol probably is a major factor in each case at Middlebury.
We know alcohol impairs our judgment, but few of us realize how, or just how much. Alcohol can be classified as an anesthetic. It literally dulls your body's senses. At a certain point, what we consider to be our psyche, our personality, is actually disengaged from the actions of the body entirely and a baser set-up takes over, a black-out. My friend has joked about Wild Turkey "gobbling inside him" and him not actually saying things. Think about it that way.
Let's apply this to our scenario. The girl's black-out, not really responsible for her actions and runs into a guy who probably is in a similar state. Both of them are not themselves, and would not be making the same choices were they sober. What happens happens, and in the morning the girl wakes up with a guy she never met before lying next to her. I would have called the cops, too.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
nonopo
Please don't presume anything
posted 5/01/08 @ 4:42 PM EST
I can understand the author's frustration with a certain kind of stereotypes that exist on campus. However, PLEASE DONT WRITE ABOUT IT IF YOU DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT. (Continued…)
Nate
posted 5/01/08 @ 7:43 PM EST
heres your apology.
I meant to target nobody, I meant to cause no emotional pain to anybody, but i felt that this had to be said. I am sorry for any emotional pain. (Continued…)
Ryan
posted 5/01/08 @ 7:53 PM EST
Rather than being mad at the women who are exposing all the facts concerning how men raping women account for 90% of all rapes and that 99% of all rapists are men. (Continued…)
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