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…
Tag Archives: Sexual Misconduct
he said, she said, but who really cares?
- The senators, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine, did not say that they would vote to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. But both made positive remarks.
- Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat who is facing a difficult re-election race and had been undecided, said she would vote against the confirmation. (New York Times)
Well readers, here we go. Abuse got political. How many of you survivors our there have yet to out your abuser? Or worse yet, how many of you have, to only hear you are mistaken? Mis-remembering? Wrong in some sense or another? Take your suffering and bear it. Like the cross. Just silence yourself, would you now! 
There is no end to this type of thinking. No one really wants to hear your story. No one wants to hear about your suicidal thoughts or your panic attacks. Deal, please, they say. So you are silenced. End of story. Women all over are nodding their heads. And once again, we all nod. Just be quiet. Face it. You asked for it. He was young. He was drunk. He was …. blah blah blah. Regardless, your story goes like still water under the bridge. Quietly.
What did you say?
Remember the last time you said something, had it taken as far from your intended meaning as possible, succeeded in horrifying and alienating your audience, and was subsequently shamed and humiliated? In a very public forum? Well, if you have, you never forgot it, right? My shinning moment of misspeaking is now seared into my infernal list of wrongs. As much as I wanted to justify my comment, to explain my choice of words, it was for naught. Deaf ears. And I get it. You screw up, you get what you get. For the subsequent hours, I felt like a politician whose latest sound bite got twisted in the hands of the opposing but very savvy wordsmith into a half truth. Ruha Benjamin, the Associate Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, said at a recent conference, sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will stay with you for a lifetime. I can attest to that truth. Even your own.
