This column is so badly written, I frequently skim past it whenever I sit down with my Trib. Wish it never stunk up my comics page!
Its absolutely ridiculous to blame a rape victim for their own rape. Having said that though, I think there are certain risk factors that should have been looked at and I think that's what Amy was poorly attempting to address. The key one is alcohol here. Excessive drinking can lead to poor decision-making, a fact the victim admits to. I can't imagine why else a guy would invite a girl up to his room during a booze party except to make his move. Clearly, she was not interested, so why did she get herself into that environment? Because alcohol makes people more pliable. That's why many a rape in the college environment involves alcohol. In short, drink responsibily, don't leave your drink unattended and for the love of Sts. Peter and Timothy, don't go to a guy's room or any area where you're alone while intoxicated in that environment. Stay in public, preferably with friends.
All this does not excuse the rape though. The blame is still solely on Mr. Frat Boy (btw, thanks, Ask Amy, for painting all frat boys who drink as serial rapists!).
Impaired judgement or not, he is still responsible for his actions. He knew what he was doing when he invited her up to his room even after she stated she wasn't interested. What did you think he had in mind? Video games? Blogging?
Poorly written advice and I'm certain that in the next few weeks, she'll post some reader response, maybe yours, to which she'll attempt to justify herself. My advice is to keep the vitriol down to a minimum so she can take your letter seriously.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 11:10 am (UTC)Its absolutely ridiculous to blame a rape victim for their own rape.
Having said that though, I think there are certain risk factors that should have been looked at and I think that's what Amy was poorly attempting to address.
The key one is alcohol here. Excessive drinking can lead to poor decision-making, a fact the victim admits to. I can't imagine why else a guy would invite a girl up to his room during a booze party except to make his move. Clearly, she was not interested, so why did she get herself into that environment? Because alcohol makes people more pliable. That's why many a rape in the college environment involves alcohol.
In short, drink responsibily, don't leave your drink unattended and for the love of Sts. Peter and Timothy, don't go to a guy's room or any area where you're alone while intoxicated in that environment. Stay in public, preferably with friends.
All this does not excuse the rape though. The blame is still solely on Mr. Frat Boy (btw, thanks, Ask Amy, for painting all frat boys who drink as serial rapists!).
No = No.
Yes = Yes.
Yes + Booze = No.
Yes + Drugs = No.
Impaired judgement or not, he is still responsible for his actions. He knew what he was doing when he invited her up to his room even after she stated she wasn't interested. What did you think he had in mind? Video games? Blogging?
Poorly written advice and I'm certain that in the next few weeks, she'll post some reader response, maybe yours, to which she'll attempt to justify herself. My advice is to keep the vitriol down to a minimum so she can take your letter seriously.