I can't think today. These thoughts are neither in the order I thought of them, nor in the order I would like them to be.
And they sure as hell aren't complete.
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So, this can happen.
Is it a bad thing that this appeals to me in so many ways as a punishment mechanism? For, well, anything undesirable?
It's almost funny - I need not fear punishment because I know I would never do anything to endanger said bits. In terms of physical danger, I generally try to avoid risks to my life. In terms of punishment for crimes - I'm too afraid to approach women, let alone violate them in any way ... and I don't have the presence of mind (or muscular strength) to even attempt most crimes. By all means, you're welcome to punish me, though. You'll just have to wait 'til I've done something wrong. Does that somehow make me better than you, or invalidate justice? I certainly wouldn't say so.
It's quite a safe generalization to categorize a rapist as a bully. After all, rape culture is more or less about power (and sex). And we know bullies are all about power.
All we have to do, then, is take away the power, yes? Seems simple enough. Sex is kind of important, though. (Though let's not talk about how much of it I'm having ...)
I am not going to belabor ideas about how every teensy word one says, or the smallest actions one takes through the course of day, can have an impact on the environment. It's an equivalent idea to the 'moth-causing-a-hurricane' and, regardless of its validity, it's an exercise in futility unless you are possessed of powers far beyond that of ordinary humans. (... in which case, why the fuck are you reading my blog? Why are you even on this planet when there's a whole Universe out there more deserving of your presence?)
Context is everything. In context, we are moving, talking masses of atoms. Out of context, we are (supposedly) rational beings. There is no absolute path in any issue, as clear-cut as I wish it were. (I know, right? The irony of absolutely stating that nothing is absolute ...) I make such a big deal out of how criminals must be caught and dealt with, and yet I deliberately never engage with the question of why they are criminals.
Forget about the patriarchy for just a hot second. Drop a canister of industrial-grade pepper spray into the hands of every female in the country (nay, in the world), and tell them how (and when) to use it.
Let's ignore the fact that a small percentage of people will be affected by the spray even without deserving it - we can equate that to collateral damage for now.
When we give an effective means of punishment to the ones who are most deeply affected by a given crime - how does a bully otherwise remain a bully? Because society enables it, yes - and also because the victim either cannot or does not fight back effectively.
How can one be accused of sitting on the fence when they're still wandering around trying to figure out where the fence is? Of course, there is no fence, but humans are broken that way - we need fences. Here, or there. 'Somewhere' is, evidently, not an acceptable answer, because 'right there' is unequivocally and abso-posi-lu-tively (sic) the right place for it.
You kill the bullies by teaching would-be victims to beat them down, teaching their peers not to stand idly by or encourage it, and only then will bullies learn. Nobody likes being told what or what not to do, so no one is going to listen to authority even if the authorities were miraculously in full support of the underdog. Give the underdog brass knuckles, and to hell with the consequences. A world of limitations is not a world worth living in.
And they sure as hell aren't complete.
--------------------------------------
So, this can happen.
Is it a bad thing that this appeals to me in so many ways as a punishment mechanism? For, well, anything undesirable?
It's almost funny - I need not fear punishment because I know I would never do anything to endanger said bits. In terms of physical danger, I generally try to avoid risks to my life. In terms of punishment for crimes - I'm too afraid to approach women, let alone violate them in any way ... and I don't have the presence of mind (or muscular strength) to even attempt most crimes. By all means, you're welcome to punish me, though. You'll just have to wait 'til I've done something wrong. Does that somehow make me better than you, or invalidate justice? I certainly wouldn't say so.
It's quite a safe generalization to categorize a rapist as a bully. After all, rape culture is more or less about power (and sex). And we know bullies are all about power.
All we have to do, then, is take away the power, yes? Seems simple enough. Sex is kind of important, though. (Though let's not talk about how much of it I'm having ...)
I am not going to belabor ideas about how every teensy word one says, or the smallest actions one takes through the course of day, can have an impact on the environment. It's an equivalent idea to the 'moth-causing-a-hurricane' and, regardless of its validity, it's an exercise in futility unless you are possessed of powers far beyond that of ordinary humans. (... in which case, why the fuck are you reading my blog? Why are you even on this planet when there's a whole Universe out there more deserving of your presence?)
Context is everything. In context, we are moving, talking masses of atoms. Out of context, we are (supposedly) rational beings. There is no absolute path in any issue, as clear-cut as I wish it were. (I know, right? The irony of absolutely stating that nothing is absolute ...) I make such a big deal out of how criminals must be caught and dealt with, and yet I deliberately never engage with the question of why they are criminals.
Forget about the patriarchy for just a hot second. Drop a canister of industrial-grade pepper spray into the hands of every female in the country (nay, in the world), and tell them how (and when) to use it.
Let's ignore the fact that a small percentage of people will be affected by the spray even without deserving it - we can equate that to collateral damage for now.
When we give an effective means of punishment to the ones who are most deeply affected by a given crime - how does a bully otherwise remain a bully? Because society enables it, yes - and also because the victim either cannot or does not fight back effectively.
How can one be accused of sitting on the fence when they're still wandering around trying to figure out where the fence is? Of course, there is no fence, but humans are broken that way - we need fences. Here, or there. 'Somewhere' is, evidently, not an acceptable answer, because 'right there' is unequivocally and abso-posi-lu-tively (sic) the right place for it.
You kill the bullies by teaching would-be victims to beat them down, teaching their peers not to stand idly by or encourage it, and only then will bullies learn. Nobody likes being told what or what not to do, so no one is going to listen to authority even if the authorities were miraculously in full support of the underdog. Give the underdog brass knuckles, and to hell with the consequences. A world of limitations is not a world worth living in.
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