Rape is about power and control. It's violation extends far beyond the duration of the act.
Before Roe versus Wade, a rapist's power clutched his victim for weeks while she endured the pregnancy scare along with the image of a back alley and coat hanger looming over her head. When abortion became safe and legal, the rapist's power got a little smaller. The advent of emergency contraception reduced it even further.
The GOP may be running from Akin now, but it has been re-empowering rapists for the last decade by enacting legislation that erodes access to abortion and emergency contraception.
Yes, rape victims are being denied access to the morning after pill. It happened to a woman in Oklahoma and another in Florida. In both cases, the violation of rape was extended by "professionals" emboldened by the red tide of the GOP.
A rapist loves the "she asked for it" mentality that bubbles just beneath terms like "forcible" and "legitimate" rape.
Men like Todd Akin and Paul Ryan are a rapist's best friend.
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36 comments:
I wonder when it became the norm for politicians to never answer any question posed to them with a direct answer.
Jon Delano (KDKA): “Should abortions to be available to women who are raped?”
Ryan: “Well, look, I’m proud of my pro-life record. And I stand by my pro-life record in Congress. It’s something I’m proud of. But Mitt Romney is the top of the ticket and Mitt Romney will be president and he will set the policy of the Romney administration.”
Non-answer.
Delano: “You sponsored legislation that has the language ‘forcible rape.’ What is forcible rape as opposed…”
Ryan: “Rape is rape. Rape is rape, period. End of story.”
Didn't let him finish the question, but still a non-answer.
Delano: “So that forcible rape language meant nothing to you at the time?”
Ryan: “Rape is rape and there’s no splitting hairs over rape.”
Ugh...
Democrats can be just as infuriating as Republicans when it comes to not answering direct questions.
Agreed.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-doctor-behind-todd-akins-rape-theory-was-a-romney-surrogate-in-2007-20120821,0,80862.story
You know, the Left is on the run and the Right is on the run. They're going to collide head on. It doesn't matter who's running for office, they're going to hit head on.
It has nothing to do with rape.
The left would slam anyone who Romney picked. The Left will slam anything the Right does. No matter, we only have two choices, Socialism or Capitalism. A question, "do you think Biden could do a better job than Ryan?" Biden is an idiot. Although I don't know enough about Ryan, but I don't think he's an idiot. I've done some research, and I understand why Romney picked him. We need smart people to get in the game.
Don't forget, America is a Constitutional Republic, not a Socialist Democracy. Big difference.
Vice Presidents don't really have much to do with anything (except ribbon cutting), unless the POTUS is incapacitated for some reason. Do you really believe Biden could take the reins? I don't. I think Ryan could. This is something everything should consider.
I think many people are fed up with this "money for nothing and your chicks for free" stuff.
Average people are hurting because Obama and his mob can't manage the economy. Fact. Don't get all up on me, the housing market was started and approved by the Clinton administration. It failed, which caused the banks to fail.
Too much government is a bad thing. The Occupy movement is a joke.
I went to a gathering the other day with a bunch of Occupiers there. just to see for myself. I'm serious, they smelled like shit. Uneducated dirtbags. Dirty, unkempt, and basically disgusting. Those people have no clue.
I'm not far right, I'm in the middle, but I can tell you one thing for sure, another four years of Obama, and you're fucked.
Explain to me how I'm wrong.
Pro life = hate women. Right.
Biden is no idiot. Ryan is an asshole.Four more years of Republican control over anything and we're all fucked.
Yabu: wtf? Rape has been politicized because the GOP has been actively taking away women's rights. In this way, the parties are different and as a woman, I will say fuck the bullshit GOPs and their frightening redefinitions and all-male pussy-less posses and control freak natures.
Erin, I gotta disagree with a couple of things and I bring forth this teasing apart of your language because I respect and love you and your blog so much.
Even if a woman (young woman, girl) becomes pregnant after a rape, and even if she may get an abortion, should she choose, this does not necessarily reduce the power of the rape or rapist.
I am splitting hairs because the trauma of a pregnancy that results from rape is only one aspect of the wound and the power and the fear.
Thanks for the post.
A couple of facts:
All pro abortionists have already been born.
At least half of the aborted babies would have been women.
A hunch: 87% of all rapists are liberal progressives.
Compassionate Republican...my current favorite oxymoron.
I understand, Twinks, and your point is well taken. A woman is scarred by rape no matter what the outcome and how she handles it.
It is no doubt complex. A woman who decides to tough it out may hold insidious resentment that turns into poison. A woman who does not believe in abortion may have one because she cannot live with the idea of carrying her attacker's baby and have other regrets.
My point in this post is that a woman has some control of the aftermath of the situation that the likes of Ryan and Akin would take away.
Serial rapists undoubtedly love that idea.
And thanks for the link, Kirk.
It absolutely blows my mind that it is 2012 and we are still having these conversations. The fact that a large group of people want to do away with contraception is mind boggling. The complete disconnect from reality of many of our elected officials is terrifying, It's time to stop the stupid, before the whole world is screwed.
Hmmm, Stop the Stupid.
Maybe I'll start a movement or sumpthin....
Further to Twinks' point:
It would not be long before I would learn firsthand that in the vast majority of states -- 31 -- men who father through rape are able to assert the same custody and visitation rights to their children that other fathers enjoy.
--source.
Erin O'Brien, that is some fucked up shit right there, I had no idea. That a rapist can petition for parental rights amazes me.
Though you won't like to hear it, all the more reason for women to become competent handlers of firearms and pursue a concealed carry permit. When your courts and legislators have failed you to this degree, best to look out for yourself.
I sooo wish men had the ability to get pregnant. Imagine how freakin' life changing that would be...for everyone. That'd almost be better than a zombie apocolypse!
I'm sort of being silly here, because, really? This guy thinks a woman's body can reject a rape pregnancy? That really is like believing in the zombie apocolypse.
In full disclosure, I have been raped. Separate from that, I have also had two abortions. These things were not *party time.* I wouldn't wish these events on anyone. I don't get why people don't get that. Also, I was totally not prepared to raise a child when these things happened.
Oy. I'll end my rant. But this really hits a nerve with me.
Thank you, Erin. You always peel back the layers in ways that I could not. Even if everyone doesn't agree, I hope your posts like this and the debate that follows gets everyone thinking just a bit more.
**hugs**
Men don't get it do they, DDP?
it's incredibly sad, the entire thing.
sad that a bunch of male politicians want to dictate what i do with my body.
sad that i'm being told to carry a gun to protect my body from being raped.
sad that if i'm raped, i might be blamed for it, or that it might not be considered legitimate or real.
sad that these men are spending millions of dollars to pass laws about what happens if i'm raped, or if i decide to not have a child (whether it's birth control or abortion.)
when i read "the handmaid's tale" in college (way back in 1988) we all thought it sounded like pure fiction. not so much anymore..
Have to agree with GG, Moore, only a man could come up with the following plan: give all the chicks guns so they can shoot the rapists and we won't have to worry about abortions.
But like I say, men just don't get it.
Women have to vote these miserable clueless old dogs out of office.
You righties no likey? Fine. If you're a GOP pro-choice advocate, tell you're Party to get the hell out of our wombs. You shouldn't have given the whole damn party to a bunch of religious zealots.
Yabu and all the rest of them can talk ideology all they want. Nothing is more important to a woman than control of her own body.
If ALL Republicans are Akin, does that mean ALL Democrats are like the late Robert Byrd, members of the KKK, or like Teddy Kennedy, murderers?
@Joe: The Teapublican Party has had and abortion "plank" in their platform for decades with no language making an exception for rape and incest. They just put it in this year again, same language! This is every Teapublican! It is a part of their platform. If you don't denounce it, you support it! Plain and simple!
I denounce any anti-abortion plank in the GOP Platform without an exception for rape and incest.
I guess we can no longer blame ALL Republicans!
I also denounce the hated scrunched up word verification thingy with equal enthusiasm.
If one idiot's comments is a sign all Republicans are in favor of rape and forced pregnancy, does one Democrat's actions mean all Democrats are child molesters?
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2012/08/democrat-rep-gauthier-stays-in-race-he.html
corrected link
I denounce any anti-abortion plank in the GOP Platform without an exception for rape and incest.
Okay, great, Joe. That's one. I think you have Scott Brown on your team as well. Good luck herding the rest of the elephants.
"if you don't denounce it, you support it" LOL! What a crock. That's a never ending game. I denounce everything that most people don't like because if I don't, they might not like me.
Akin is not just "one idiot," Joe:
Akin, a member of the House of Representatives who is seeking to unseat Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, is not an outlier. No less than Paul Ryan, the Republican candidate for vice president, shares his views. Ryan, Akin's colleague in the House, has sponsored legislation with him that also sought to distinguish between types of rape: Instead of "legitimate," it used the word forcible.
source
Joe, you keep changing the subject.
Rape is rape, a woman MUST be allowed control of her body and should have protections against rapists as well as the ability to see them stopped lest the same rapist re-commits. Also access to safe medicine, including abortions. Same way YOU GUYS get to have access without jumping through humiliating hoops, especially ones created by the opposite sex, many of whom seem not to understand the basics of female anatomy and physiology.
Fuck the obfuscation and get the fuck out of our twats, every last one of you, UNLESS you are invited in. Erin has said this in many previous posts. Keep reading.
@Erin-
"... give all the chicks guns so they can shoot the rapists and we won't have to worry about abortions.'
You know better than that Erin O'Brien, do not put words in my mouth.
From Twink above:
"a woman MUST be allowed control of her body and should have protections against rapists as well as the ability to see them stopped lest the same rapist re-commits'
I agree completely.
My suggestion that taking steps to protect yourself, instead of relying on the government to make your world a better place, is an option that one might want to consider.
I also agree with Joe, this WV sucks.
Relying on the government? How did that get into the conversation?
Men do not understand rape. Women get raped by their husbands and boyfriends and fathers. They get raped when they are drunk. Just because a woman is not fighting and kicking and screaming does not mean it is not rape, which is exactly why women get so outraged over Paul Ryan's "forcible rape" tripe.
You want some eye-opening numbers? Go read this.
And yes, we can all agree that word verification sucks, your humble hostess most enthusiastically.
Twinky I agree with everything you said. Your twat is your business, do with it as you please.
Rape should be a capital offense.
And before you go there, women should have access to any method of contraception they choose.
As long as you pay for it yourself (and that includes ED meds). Except for the aforementioned rape, sex is a willful act. You do not have to engage.
I enjoy touring Europe and smoking fine cigars. The taxpayers should not pay for that either.
I think it is empowering for each individual female to have in arsenal many ways to prevent or thwart rapists. I agree that to rely on government for these protections is unrealistic and even might give the message, so ingrained in our culture already, that women are weak and can't possibly defend themselves against attackers. FAR FROM TRUE, but also, for me, a gun is not the answer and thankfully, not the only way I can defend myself.
I'm not a libertarian nor TEA partier. I want to pay taxes. I just want them to be better spent.
So, alpha and Joe, that's where we disagree and never the twain shall meet.
I can tell you that currently, such notions that I shouldn't expect the gov't to pay for x, y, z, are unrealistic obfuscations at best.
But I am tired of this. I hate political posts, except for Erin's of course. Sometimes it's so hard to bow out of these comment threads.
in HER arsenal....
+1 +1 +1 on everything Twinks just said. And Twinks, I for one really appreciate your participation in this thread. You sure can articulate, girl.
As for who pays for BC, most people pay plenty for their HC insurance. Copays run a couple hundred a month on up. Add that to the 80 percent employers kick in and we ought to get something for $10,000 to $12,000 we pay to them each year. Mandating that said insurance cover BC does not equate to getting it for free.
As for defense, I offer this: put something in my mouth that I didn't ask for and I will bite it off, chew it into a pulp and spit it out. I guess I don't need to put any part of that in bold.
Rape. Birth Control. Trying to tie them together IS political. Old women, little girls, little boys, are all victims of rape. BC matters for them, why? Rapists are often treated WAY to leiniently by the courts and LIBERAL judges. Go there.
abortion sucks
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