CNN reported earlier this year that 62 million men had visited what they called a “Rape Academy (RA).” There were some responses that believed this number to be much larger, while most challenged the veracity of the number. Snopes dug into it and found that this is a mixture of true and false. They could find no actual RA but did find numerous pornography sites that hosted videos that supported the idea that there are millions of men searching for instructions on how to sexually assault someone and not get caught. This, as a number of women have said to me, was the last straw. I agree, although even one straw that points towards this behavior is too much.
Many years ago, when I was the Resident Director of an all-men’s dorm, I found out that they threw a lot of parties with lots of drugs and alcohol. While this wasn’t a new idea – still isn’t – I was very concerned about the consequences. While there are a lot of problems with this kind of thing, the issue I had, primarily, was the safety of the women at the party. So, I sat at the one door in and out and monitored people as they came and went to the party. If a woman (or man, for that matter) seemed too intoxicated to walk, I would not let them leave until we found a friend to walk them home. The men were furious, which I expected, but the women? What I found was that over the next few weeks, they would seek me out and thank me. I told them that I wasn’t being heroic – I was the authority in the building, and I respected women too much to allow them to be hurt.
There are some things we shouldn’t have to say yet must – things like “terrorists are bad” and “slavery is immoral” are at the top of my list. Up there is also this – Real Men don’t learn how to commit sexual assault. Real Men protect people who are unable to protect themselves. Real Men are allies for those who need someone to stand with them. I have always lived by the idea that if we see something, we should say and do something, regardless of the consequences. This is why anyone who participated in or knew about Jeffrey Epstein’s perversion should be prosecuted and, if found guilty, incarcerated. And anyone who tries to commit sexual assault should have severe consequences. This isn’t going beyond – this is normal morality.
Prayer – Holy God, You put some of Your holiness in each one of us – we honor You when we honor each other. Amen.
Today’s art is called “Stand Together” – artist unavailable.