Yes, my old post, Rape Fantasies, is disturbing to read. Because yes, rape is not a topic anyone looks for, yet here we are, I will not say again, for abuses are happening continuously to women, and children, and they will continue for the foreseeable future because, well for starters, we have a convicted felon in the White House who publicly bragged, “Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.” Despite his obvious perverse and vile character, he was elected, twice, primarily by men (55% of men voted for Trump in 2024). His presence alone can’t be responsible for the fact that “Nearly half of all U.S. women (45.1%) have experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetimes. Additionally, reports compiled by the CDC indicate that 1 in 4 women experience severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lives” (CDC). Where do we draw the line if this mountain of abuse towards women is ever going to change? Cornell, maybe, is about to find out…

Public outrage is growing over the lack of accountability that Cornell has taken in regard to the seven named rapists, Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar. But I want to believe there may be more than outrage over the treatment of the Jane Doe in this case. That outrage may be a catalyst but we need a sizable shift in public opinion about power and sex and violence and how to protect our frail civilization in order for anyone to be safe. Pete Hegseth was asked repeatedly about a 2017 sexual assault allegation yet was confirmed as Secretary of Defense. Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Brett Kavanaugh were also questioned, after hearing from more than one woman’s testimony of workplace sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and/or attempted sexual assault, yet both men were confirmed, for life. And Trump? Despite his blatantly perverse and vile character, he was not only elected, but was after “A federal civil jury found Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, not rape under narrow New York penal definitions, though the presiding judge later clarified that the jury’s finding of forcible digital penetration constitutes rape under common modern definitions” (The Washington Post). Thanks to strong partisan Republican support these men don weighty robes and political positions and sit untouchable in power at the top of our government. Does outrage even touch their lofty perch?

Too many women know the feel of an unwanted touch. A childhood that ended abruptly. An awkward date gone awry. The morning-after haze when everything got out of control and there are only shards of the night swirling in their memory. Too many women know the sting of a slap, the pain of a punch, and the harsh reminder that no one will believe their story anyway. Ask your grandmother, your mother, your daughter, it matters not the generation, all their rape stories roll along with shame and guilt walling up their truth. We all suffer the rippling sorrow of these silenced women. We live in a world that allows boys to be boys, men to be assholes who get to have a promising future, while the women they destroyed remain in the shadow of their own horror. So I ask, again, is outrage all we can hope for?