- Anna Maria Junus
Rant: A Call to Action
This is the news article that has caused me to break my rule of having a happy blog.
This is not the worst thing that happened this week. I just chose not to write about the double massacres. Instead I wrote a blog about finding balance in a difficult world.
But I'm tired of this. This is rape culture. This is rape threat. And to go along with this Mitch McConnell also used pictures of a mock up graveyard. He had a tombstone with U.S. Marine veteran Amy McGrath's name on it.
He was declaring that he would put her in the ground. That she should die. That sounds like a death threat to me.
And even if he didn't mean that he would do it, he sent out the message to someone else to do it. A quote from this article...
Campaign manager Kevin Golden suggested the media is using the image to “demonize, stereotype, and publicly castigate every young person who dares to get involved with Republican politics.” “The national media has sought to once again paint a target on their backs rather than report real and significant news in our country," Golden said in a statement.
Let me make something clear. The media is NOT demonizing those young men. No one is castigating every young person who dares to get involved in Republican politics. These young men demonized themselves. The media just reported it. Further, if a political party can't campaign without sending out death and rape threats then they shouldn't be a political party.
Men declared war on women centuries ago, since the beginning of time, and women have chosen not to rise up. Instead we have chosen to keep the peace. We keep the peace because we don't want war. We have accepted abusive behavior, unfair laws, and practices that have only hurt us and our children.
It has not been beneficial to society. We made a mistake way back by allowing this behavior. So I'm calling women to action. I am not calling for violence. I am calling for women to hold men accountable.
To the men out there that think it's okay to use rape language and motions to express themselves and who say "we're not doing anything wrong. We don't mean it. It's harmless" or "that's not what it is." Women are calling you on your crap. It is exactly what you are denying it is. You can protest all you want to how your demeaning, vulgar, and threatening language and actions don't mean anything, but we don't believe you. We've lived with this all our lives and so did our mothers and grandmothers and all the women before us throughout history. And we're fed up. So if you continue to do it, we'll continue to call it what it is. Rape culture, rape language, rape encouragement, and rape threats. We will share this information with other women. We will teach our daughters and our sons what it is. When you use it we will point it out and stick a label on you and warn other women about you. You will not be hired by companies run by women because you will be perceived as a threat to women. You will not get promotions because you will be put on constant probation to see if you ever cross a line. If you think it's hard to find a date now, it will become harder. We will choose not to associate with you. If you are ever arrested or run for office it will be brought up - over and over again. If you find public success, your words and actions will come back to haunt you. You will find it hard to volunteer your time around women and children so goodbye boy scouts and your position in church. We will post your picture and anything we can find out about you along with your words and pictures to prove that you outed yourself. This is not a witch hunt. Those women who were accused of being witches were lied about. Their accusers made up stories about them. They were then hanged, burned, or drowned. No one is advocating this. No one will make up false stories about you. We won't need to. We'll have your pictures, and your tweets, and the things you write and say. We will not burn you or hurt you physically in any way.
But you will be the social pariah that you yourself have chosen to be.
And sure, there will be some women who won't have a problem with your behavior, because they still buy into the lies men have told throughout the centuries, but there will also be some men who will think, "I don't want my wife, girlfriend, daughter, mother, sister, niece, best friend - treated like this or spoken to like this. This is not okay." And they too will rise up and choose to not count themselves among you. This is not taking away your free speech. You still have the right to be a gross and detestable moron. So if you want to wear the rapist sign then you are free to speak anyway you want. But you will be held accountable. Feel free to pass this message on. And now onto pleasanter things.
