Radical Republican Views May Stab Romney and the GOP in the Back
by Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.
It is interesting to note, in all my years of watching the news, never before has the subject of rape been so thoroughly discussed… and in such a disturbing manner. One of the most troubling aspects of this discussion has been the association of a rape with some sort of divine plan. Although rape is discussed within the context of the abortion debate, nevertheless the degree to which those in the “Pro-Life” movement trivialize it should give any thinking female of the species, much cause to pause.
Rape
It’s a work of FICTION! Don’t get it twisted
Contrary to the apparent opinion of some Republican males, rape is not some variation of a scene from “Fifty Shades of Grey.” There is no romance. There is no acquiescence. Ironically, it is the total abrogation of a woman’s choice and freewill. Whether the method be through the intimidation of violence, brute physical force, the application of an intoxicant or any other means, rape is not consensual sex and there is always a victim.
Try telling her, “Oh and by the way, you’re pregnant and you have to carry the baby to term.”
Rape has nothing to do with the BDSM games some adults engage in. Those are games between consenting adults. Note the consent part. Rape is not about sex. It is about power, control and domination. It is often as brutal as it is insidious. Women who are raped often take years to recover if they ever recover. It takes something from them that can never be returned. It reshapes whom they are and often is devastating to their current and future relationships with men. Thus, the men is their lives, partners and future partners also become the victims of their rape. The physical wounds may heal with time, but the wounds to a woman’s psyche may fester like a hidden cancer for years. Some find their lives irreparably altered. Some become chemically dependent. Others end their lives.
When Republicans trivialize rape by calling it “just another means of conception,” they display a callous disregard for women, equal to, if not greater than the rapist’s. When they attempt to inject their twisted theology into the matter by bastardizing religious dogma, it rises to the level of blasphemy! The very notion that because something happened, God must have intended it has been used to justify nearly every atrocity since the inception of Christianity.
Using this logic, if someone backs a moving van up to your home while you’re on vacation and robs you of everything you own, fret not! God must have intended it. Why have a legal system? Why punish criminals? After all, they can only do what God intends.
Guilt By Association
Needless to say, the Romney campaign has found it difficult to split the baby so to speak when it comes to maintaining support from the radical “Pro-Life” wing of their base, while appealing to potential female voters. The problem? It is a Sisyphean task to convince right thinking people that a woman who has already suffered a rape, ought be forced to carry the baby of her rapist to term. I suspect that proponents of this lunacy are merely paying lip service to a vacuous ideal because the chances of such a cascading series of tragedies becoming a reality for them is vanishingly small.
Almost all of those promoting this nonsense are male. Most of them are of an age where they’re children are either grown and married or soon will be. They bask in the illusion of security provided by their privilege, which has no relationship to the reality the rest of us must contend with. Of course, this is stunningly consistent with those born into money chiding the rest of us for our lack of industriousness. If we just work harder, sacrifice more, apply ourselves more astutely, we too can achieve just a portion of what they were born with. Personally I have no problem with the rich, wealthy and the privileged. What I have a problem with is them offering commentary on a reality none of them have experienced.
Where do men get the notion that their opinions on what women do with their own bodies, are worthy of consideration? As a man I have no idea what it is like to feel my body adapt, adjust and shift to accommodate a budding human life. All I can do is plant the seed. The important part of the process of human reproduction is the sole province of the woman. I am comfortable abiding by her wisdom and judgement.
Todd Akin Senate hopeful from Missouri
Thus, when we hear such nonsense from the likes of Missouri Senate hopeful, Todd Akin, that in cases of legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting down and preventing conception, I can only stare with slack jawed amazement. How on earth did he graduate from high school, let alone college without even a rudimentary understanding of human biology and the reproductive process? He could not have sounded any more ignorant had he said, “in such cases, the Stork simply refuses to deliver the baby!” Surely some college or university wants their diploma back?
Roger Rivard Wisconsin Legislator
This moral hemorrhaging didn’t end with Todd Akin. Enter Roger Rivard. Close friend of Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan. This fellow has quite an interesting take on rape. In his own words, “some girls rape easy.” Although, taken in context his words are not an admonition to rape, nevertheless they display a mindset that trivializes rape and begins with the premise that women will cry rape when none actually occurred. Does this ever happen? Certainly. Just as people falsely claim to have been robbed or in the case of students, “the dog ate my homework.” People lie. Yet, when someone picks up their phone and dials “911,” the operator on the other end does not and must not question the veracity of the caller. If you say you’re having chest pains, the “911” operator doesn’t speculate that you may have eaten something that disagreed with you and suggest an antacid. The ambulance is sent immediately.
Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan
In point of fact, this entire rape problem goes all the way to the top of the Romney – Ryan ticket. Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan also believes that rape is “just another method of conception.” If you’re beginning to see a pattern here, you’re right! What is it about the Republican party that allows the trivialization of such a heinous crime to be acceptable? They pitch more of a fit over rich people being asked to pay 4% more on their taxes, than they do over an innocent woman being raped!
The Straw that broke the Camel’s back?
The straw that just may have broken the Camel’s Back is Senate hopeful from Indiana, Republican Richard Mourdock. Not only did he trivialize rape as just another means of conception, he injected God into the equation! Yes, should you get raped and get pregnant, take heart! God intended for it to happen! When pressed on the idiocy of his comments and the suggestion that God intends rape, he did backtrack slightly… and in the process made things worse! “God didn’t intend the rape… but since it happened, why not take advantage of things and throw in a pregnancy!
Here again is one of the reasons for my Agnosticism. I can hardly think of a higher insult to the divine than to make the “Almighty God” a party to the crime of rape! The fact that God hasn’t dusted off that whole smiting business he made much use of in the Old Testament causes me to have my doubts. Surely if there ever were a need for a good old fashioned smiting, this would be it.
Indiana Senate hopeful Richard Mourdock
As it turns out, these comments by Richard Mourdock may just be that bridge too far. It may turn out that by endorsing Indiana’s Richard – “I love to inflict my opinions on others” – Mourdock, Mitt Romney may have allowed the Senate hopeful from Indiana to not only stab him in the back, but the entire GOP. Let’s hope so! Women? Are you paying attention? They also say you can’t rape the willing. Do not be a willing participant in your rape. There’s too much at stake. Hold these fools accountable. The abortion debate is really a “Myth-Direction.” This is about what it’s always been about. Control. Absolute, dictatorial control. Or as Richard Mourdock says, “inflicting his opinions” on you! Vote wisely. Friends don’t let friends vote Republican.