Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Rape. Is. Treason.

We must consider rape as a crime against the state.



How long for justice do victims wait? At times, people get so caught up in figuring out what's right, That they leave the most vulnerable in a spot so tight.



We have all heard, of course, of Miranda rights. As seen in Law & Order, this process can start fights. 'You have a right to an attorney, what you say can be used against you, too!'


That's pretty much the gist, but the namesake of Miranda rights deserves its very own crew. Indeed, Ernesto Miranda was a rapist.
His narrative is largely ignored, for this decade focuses more on racists.


Nonetheless, as the Supreme Court ruled in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), even rapists deserve their rights. Fast forward to 2008, to a decision that many severely hate. In Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008), the Court ruled that the 8th Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment should not apply specifically to perpetrators of pedophilia, but more generally the Court outlawed executions for any offense but homicide. And crimes against the state.


So the Supreme Court literally said that we cannot execute anyone, even pedophiles, uness they commit a crime against the state (like treason or espionage) or murder.
Which brings me round to my first sentence. We should classify rape as a crime against the state. Rape is an act so vile and so evil that it produces a veil.
A veil under which advocates will literally defend the rights of convicted rapists, but blinds us to the experience of the victims.


At least murder victims can have peace. But rape victims can never rest, so to speak. So, we are literally in a situation where people protest for the rights of rapists, but we collectively forget about the right to be free from rape. In short, rape should be viewed as a crime against the state and a crime against humanity itself.


Many times, this dialogue presents itself as an us vs. them dichotomy, whereby women may view males as potential perpetrators. As a woman's brother, and a niece's uncle, I think that rape should not be ambiguous. In other words, when we mention the word rape, we should think less of how the act transpired, and more of the punishment of the alleged doer.
In short, we should make rape a federal crime like tax evasion, a crime against the state like treason, and a crime with a mandatory sentencing of 25 to life. We could even throw loss of citizenship in there.

1 comment:

  1. When we think of rape, we should first think about caring for the survivor. On campus, we leave it up to them to decide if they would like to press charges — often it can be a traumatic experience for them, and they may not wish to go through with it. They may change their mind years later. That is *their* prerogative, no one else's.

    Sexual assault and rape aren't as clear cut as you think, especially on college campuses. Alcohol introduces a grey area which leaves both the state and administration with differing opinions and laws. Maybe you know the differences, maybe you are unaware.

    Our government is built on these civil liberties; everyone gets a right to a fair trial. I am not excusing the rapist, I am not saying it is not a terrible crime. I am not saying the judicial system is perfect, far from it. I think the system has flawed methods of punishing rapists. Often the punishments may be perceived as not severe enough, people are entitled to their opinion. However, the trials are often incredibly stressful on the survivor. The first step in changing the system should not be in altering the punishment as a deterrent, but making the trials safer and easier for the survivors. What does the sentence length matter if the trial is never pursued?

    You seem incredibly passionate about this subject. I suggest you attend some RASAN meetings, or perhaps go through RASAN training if you would like to be educated on campus rules regarding rape and sexual assault. It could certainly altered your perspective and above all leave you much more adept in speaking about these issues.

    If you're interested in changing campus culture and further educating the campus about Sexual Assault, perhaps Men for Consent would appeal to you.

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