Fair Warning: This post will contain my opinion, and yes, that may offend you.
I consider myself to be a reasonable person. I know when to speak up and when to keep my mouth shut. I stay out of the limelight, avoid confrontation when I can, and let the masses fight their own battles. However, this time I just couldn't stay back on the sidelines and watch the chaos that was quickly unfolding. Let me break it down for you: Britni, a fellow blogger, was just recently sexually harassed. I won't go into the details (though you can find them here, should you care to read her story). Basically, a guy advanced on her in ways she did not condone, and when she made to get away from him, and a bad situation in general, he crossed the line from inappropriate touching to near-rape. Now, if you're just reading this story like me, this should be a no-brainer. Britni good, rapist bad. Sadly, not everyone agrees with this theory. There have been those who felt the need to throw this sensitive subject back in Britni's face, claiming that she must have done something to provoke the action.

I understand that we live in a dangerous world, and it's always a good idea to take precautions, but how far do we go? Do we barricade ourselves in our homes, hide away all our luscious, inviting flesh and refuse to speak to any men other than our spouse? Perhaps all us females should adopt the traditional Afghan garb as well, donning a burka to hide our feminine body, and a face veil to avoid strangers taking our beauty as an invitation to unsolicited sex. Yes, I'm sure all of our problems will be solved by further sending the message that we should be ashamed of our bodies. Let's go back to the days of being escorted around by big strong men. And hey, you clumsy ho! You almost bared your ankle in public while getting out of the car! Don't you know that's as trashy now as it was in the middle ages? All I'm saying is, your body is YOURS and yours alone. What you wear shouldn't make a damn difference. True, you might draw more attention, but that doesn't excuse someone invading upon your space. I've literally seen girls walk down the street in nothing more than a skimpy bathing suit. And yes, they made that choice to bare their skin. They gave permission for the world to look upon their bodies and appreciate them, but they did NOT give permission to be touched, groped, grabbed, rubbed against, or in any way manhandled.

Just to be clear, I'm not here to bash anyone. I don't claim to be in the right while all of you who disagree with me are floating in a sea of wrong. I'm merely expressing my honest, true opinion about the events that have transpired. Yes, some of you may be offended. Yes, some of you may feel attacked. However, I feel inclined to mention that those same people who will scoff, or bitch, or whine, or grumble about my opinion have expressed theirs quite liberally on more than one occasion. If you hold no reservations about belittling others, making wild accusations, and downplaying the importance of another person's emotional experience, then be prepared to face a multitude of rebuttals and unhappy responses from all corners. That is all.
1 comments:
Thank you for this. <3
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