Date: 11/20/95
Subject: what a simple situation.
From: Gregory
Dear Rincsters,
I couldn't agree more with the contents of the chain mail about rape, although the word was never mentioned. But this presents perhaps an all too simple version of things. .... I am also the last one to feel any compassion for rapists, for several of my friends have been sexually assaulted. I just want to challenge your assumptons for a moment. The stats say that 1 in 3 women are assaulted at Stanford. Correct me if I'm wrong but it is some large percentage like that. Where are the men? .... where are all of these men that are heartless, who just don't give a shit about another human being based on what is or is not between their legs? I'm not saying that these women are crying wolf or that they don't know when they have been violated, but perhaps these men aren't who we think they are. Maybe, as the letter suggests, she DIDN'T say anything. Maybe she didn't react as if anything were wrong. Maybe it wasn't the act itself but a horrible transferrence of a repressed memory, or another psychological problem. Perhaps there was no communication at all. It is possible that a man cannot see the severe emotional trauma that is happening inside a woman. Women don't either. Obviously this is a good warning for women in dorms, but I just don't see rape being such a clear cut issue anymore. Because a majority of rapes aren't violent strangers,the stats suggest this. Clear intentions are perhaps a better warning. Don't wait until the heat of the moment to decide when to say when. It might not be such a good limit later on when the enormity of the occurence comes crashing in on you. That is not just a statement to either sex, both are responsible for the prevention.
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