How the U.S.A. is Guilty of a Crime Against Humanity

New laws are clearly in order for dealing with rape. Rape is, after all, a hate crime. More specifically, it is listed as crime against humanity with the International Criminal Court. Now, this is not to say that every rape is a crime against humanity. A crime against humanity is a crime that is done systematically and are condoned by the government or whatever authority is in place. These are particularly horrendous crimes done in both times of war and in times of peace. Specifically, they are not sporadic events. For a really good description of crimes against humanity, I suggest looking up the Pinky Show on YouTube and watching the episode about it.

Now is the hard part: proving that rape in the United States has become a crime against humanity.

This is, surprisingly, rather easy. Just take a look at Sarah Palin. She practically does the work for me. Actually, our legal system as a whole does it for me.

Using the statistics from RAINN: About 60% of rapes go unreported and factoring that in, it means that only about 6% of rapists ever spend a day in jail. This means that roughly 15 of 16 rapists walk free.

That's kind of...depressing. Especially given there's something like rate of 1 out of every 5 or 6 American women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. What is our government doing about this? Well, looking at the normal rape case, the woman's* background is dragged out into the spot light, her credibility called into question, and most discussion about the case circles around how horrible the whole situation is for the man. In general, no one cares about what has happened to the victim because in most American's minds, the man accused of rape is the victim.

Our government is doing nothing to stop this. In fact, there are politicians like Palin who make things easier for rapists to get away with rape. There are even politicians who are rapists, but we almost never hear about it. It's a culture of silence, and if that isn't government condoning rape, then I don't know what is. No, they aren't encouraging rape, but they aren't exactly doing anything to stop it either. Given how many rapes occur in the United States and the rate of punishment for this particular hate crime, one has to wonder what is causing this?

Government isn't directly encouraging it, as far as I know. Indirectly, though, I'd argue.

Our government, despite how many women hold a position of power, is based on a system of patriarchy. That is, white men in suits typically call the shots. Now, we have a president who is young, progressive, and not white. Will things change?

Probably not, as sad as that is.

Patriarchy is a system that has been around for so long, it's really quite depressing how accepted it is. The basic assumption in the United States is that men are the power in the house. Women are beneath them because the female is just a derivation of the male. This comes directly from the Abrahamic faiths, specifically Christianity, which is our unofficial state religion. Looking at that root, we can see that the Abrahamic god made Eve from Adam's rib. That is literally how we get the word "woman", which means something along the lines of "of a man". Anyone else see any problems with this?

Going further into Abrahamic lore, and yes I'm grouping the three faiths together here as one, we get to the story of Lilith. Now, Lilith is often rejected by Christians and usually only shows up in Jewish lore, but she's still important because and Abrahamic faith is an Abrahamic faith and they all are nothing more than branches of the same religion.

Back to Lilith. She is, according to the stories, Adam's first wife. She was made the same way he was, and thus was his equal. When he tried to make her submit, she pointed out that she was his equal and thus would not submit. She was promptly removed from the Garden of Eden and replaced with Eve. In the meantime, Lilith essentially became the Mother of Evil, all because she wouldn't submit to her partner. Because that's what he was. Adam was not her husband. He was her partner.

This idea that a relationship between a male and a female (I'm going to try and eradicate the word "woman" from my vocabulary) must place the female in submission to the male is part of why rape is such a controversial subject in the States. If a female refuses a male the opportunity to have sexual intercourse with her, she is labeled "prude" and "frigid" and a variety of other words that I have been called many times and don't wish to repeat.

Conversely, if the female chooses to be her own person and refuse to submit to any male, she is most frequently labeled a "bitch". If she chooses to have sex as she wants it, when she wants it, and with whomever she chooses, then we get to words like "slut", "whore", and other unsavory terms. Going even further with this, males are not treated in this way. If a male sleeps with many females, he is labeled a "stud", a "player", and other things. It is also naturally assumed that the male is will dominate the female during intercourse. However, if a male refuses to have sex, the most common result (that I have observed) is some light teasing and a general acceptance of his choice.

Because males have a choice. That's the real issue. According to American culture, males have a choice when it comes to sex. Females don't. Rape is about power, not about sex.

Our government is condoning rape, which is a hate crime, and our society is not only condoning it, it's effectively encouraging it by teaching children that males are superior to females and that it's not normal for a female to not submit to a male in any way. If this isn't a crime against humanity, I'm not sure what is.



*I'm only speaking about female victims, because according to American law, rape means that penetration occurred and thus the only people capable of rape are males. This issue is another post, so I won't go into it here.

**If anyone reading this has any problems with my typical lack of quotations/links, go to Google and run a search. I don't link something unless I think you should take a look at it.

The Dating Question pt. 1

Of all the ironies, I am actually writing this from a kitchen. I am also far away from the current issue, thank any goddess listening.

Most American women probably know what this is like. You turn a certain age and you're single. Thus, every other female you know wants to set you up with someone. Including your feminist friends and family.

Fun, no?

The conundrum is present in my current life and it's starting to get very, very irritating. This is for a number of reasons, chief among them being that my mother, the feminist who raised me to be who I am, is pushing me to this. She's admittedly more subtle than everyone else. It's just...

Moving away from the rant and towards a rant-tinted educational standpoint, why is this needed? I will openly admit that I do in some ways fit the ridiculous beauty standard Americans are obsessed with. I'm also past high school age and yet young enough that I can't be called a hopeless case. So what is the obsession with having women like me stuck in a relationship?

Yes, admittedly, he's a decent guy. He's cute and funny but I'm leagues ahead of him in intelligence outside of the math area, but everyone is better than me in math (I'm a writer at heart. Numbers don't agree with me). However, I'm also extremely opinionated and I'm a shameless vegetarian pagan. Those facts put me far, far outside the norm of where I'm from.

To be considered desirable, where I'm from, you need to be white, blonde, blue eyed, Baptist, genial, supportive, and obedient. I fit three of those and none of them are traits that actually matter. So then, can I rightfully assume that this big collective
push for me to enter into a relationship with this charming young man (who is blonde, green eyed, a lapsed Protestant, genial, supportive, and a bit of a risk-taker) is an issue of control?

Do they want me with a guy, a local guy, because I'm the girl who left the safety of our fallen mountains and our valleys so deep? Because I'm the girl who decided to go to college at a big school in a bigger city? Is it because I was never Christian that they want to put me with a guy who, though lapsed, was at one point Protestant? I know that seems silly, but as a pagan coming from what has been affectionately referred to as the Buckle of the Bible Belt, I can say firsthand how religion can screw over so many relationships. I've lost a lot of friends I've never even told the truth to, because they can figure it out on their own. I'm digressing. I apologize.

Back to the issue of Tristan and I.

Everyone wants me to give him a chance, and I see the glimmer of hope that maybe I'll settle down whenever I talk to them. I can even see the glimmer in the text when I'm debating about it in email. A part of me wants to tell them that I can't date a guy, no matter how sweet, who tells me that feminism is a movement that isn't needed anymore.

So the question is, how is a young feminist supposed to date in circumstances like this? How are we supposed to find anyone when something like this happens?

Police and the Problem

This pisses me off.

A Missouri* SWAT team barged into a house on a search warrant for drugs. They promptly shot the two barking dogs as the children present watched and then they arrested the parents. There was only enough pot present for misdemeanor charges, but the parents have also been charged with child endangerment.

...

If you don't know the story, look it up. It's a bit on the old side, but the fact remains that it happened. There's a YouTube video of the raid. It's horrific, but it highlights so well what is wrong with law enforcement (warning: it's really disturbing when the dogs suddenly stop barking).

How is it that we condemn so much, like sex workers, marijuana use, etc... but we allow, even encourage it seems, our law enforcement to be have in such ways? No, you shouldn't be using pot when there are children in the house, but if you're law enforcement, there is absolutely no reason to barge into a house, murder the family pets in full view of the children and then proceed to charge the parents with child endangerment.

Okay, before any Missouri comments begin, let me just say that Columbia is a college town. It also is supposed to be the liberal haven for the state. Plus, it's over the I-44 Corridor, officially making it a part of Northern Missouri. Why is there such ridiculously Conservative behavior in this wonderful city?

Politics aside, something like this shouldn't happen in the U.S. This is supposed to be the greatest nation, remember? Instead, we have situations like this. The police can barge into your home in the middle of the night on a search warrant that only brings about misdemeanor charges but in the meantime, they can slaughter your pets while your children watch and then they pin you for child endangerment, regardless of the fact that it is nothing short of a miracle that kept the child from being shot.

Which brings me to another point. Were the SWAT guys just shooting indiscriminately at the stuff that moved and made noise, or were they aiming at the dogs? I'm assuming they were aiming, but how did they not see that a child was watching them?




*I'm from Missouri, so please, no comments about how I depict the state and the people who live there. I know them.

The Issue with Sandwiches

It's bound to be nigh impossible to find a college-aged female in the U.S. who hasn't heard this.

"Make me a sandwich/sammich!"

This demand is usually jokingly given by a male acquaintance. Asa says it frequently, and I have male friends back home who are saying they will be attending a "National 'Make Me a Sammich' Day".

I believe this is the part where I bow my head in shame for even knowing these people, letting alone counting them as friends. I mean, really, where to begin with this? It's insulting, even if it is just joking.

First and foremost, there's a serious issue behind this. In the north-western hemisphere of Planet Earth, there has been this horrible tendency to keep women barefoot and pregnant and in the kitchen. Because that's where we're supposed to be, right? Good little wives always fixing something for our hubby and brood of children to eat.

Excuse me as I gag.

Frankly, this whole issue is ridiculous given the number of young women who can't cook. Amongst my female friends, I'm just about the only one who consistently cooks and actually likes it. I get inventive because I actually know what coriander is and I know the difference between a chef's knife and a paring knife.

Really, guys? If you want a sandwich so badly, go make it yourself. If you're just joking, stop. It's not funny and frankly, it's getting old.

(For the record, I don't really quote people in this. I just rant, because that's what I'm good at and it saves me from copyright issues. I do do research though. If you want to know anything about my sources, just send me a message.)

Introductions!

I've been reading feminist blogs lately, and I've found that I've got a lot to say. Enough that I can't seem to fit it all into the stories I write, which means it's a lot, a lot.

You can call me Anemone. I'm too young to have children and terrified of the idea of marriage, but I'm interested in the world of feminism and the way it is still relevant to today. I'm mostly interested on motherhood and how mother's are treated.

Let's see...

I started blogging elsewhere and I write under a very different name on various sites. The name for this blog...if you don't know who Boudica is, go look her up. I'm not explaining who the coolest woman to ever live is when you should know who she is. Everyone should know who she is. If you don't, then that's just tragic.


My comment policy is simple: If it offends me, it's gone. FYI, it's hard to offend me.

There will probably be other bloggers here from time to time, such as my friends Eisley and Daisy. Celestia and/or Holly might add in a few things, but that's still a big unknown.