First Aid Kit Plays You Are the Problem Here

(Content note: the song I’m highlighting is a song written in response to the way society allows rapists to get away with their crimes.)

I’ve been a pretty big fan of First Aid Kit ever since I first saw the music video for their song Hard Believer, a pretty openly atheist song.

First Aid Kit is a Swedish folk duo consisting of sisters Klara (vocals/guitar) and Johanna Söderberg (vocals/keyboards/AutoHarp). They’ve actually been around for a long while, now, and are immensely talented.

On March 8th, International Women’s Day, they released a new song called You Are The Problem Here. This is how they described it:

“You Are the Problem Here” isn’t a typical First Aid Kit-song. It’s angry and direct. It’s a song written out of despair. After reading about yet another rape case where the perpetrator was handed a sentence which did not at all reflect the severity of his crime we felt upset and vengeful. We were, and are, sick of living in a society where the victims of rape are often blamed for the horrible thing that has been done to them. Our message is clear and should not be controversial in the least: if you rape, you are the problem. Alcohol is not the problem. So called “youth culture” is not the problem. You are. And you always have a choice.

On March 11th, they released the lyric video for the song:

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Yet Another Man Who Called Himself a Feminist and Clearly Wasn’t

(Content note: discussion of abuse)

I started listening to Citizen Radio back in, I think, 2012… or possibly earlier. It was the very first truly left-wing podcast I had ever heard. In fact, I think it was the first podcast I ever listened to at all.

At the time, I was still pretty right-wing/Libertarian in my thinking. I found them while looking for something that would challenge my thinking/worldview, and, as should be obvious by now, it worked. Through them I found Radio Dispatch, Democracy Now, Tell the Bartender (and through that podcast I found The Struggle Bus), and Best of the Left. Through Best of the Left I found This Week in Blackness Prime, and through them I found The Black Guy Who Tips, The Read, the Three Fifs podcast, Keith and the Girl, Applying it Liberally, the Friend Zone, and many more.

So I always rather loved Allison Kilkenny and Jamie Kilstein. I even saw Jamie live at one of his improv shows in NYC.

So maybe that’s why, despite the fact that, in hindsight, I really shouldn’t be surprised, this was like a punch in the gut to me:

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Georgia House Bill 51 is a Travesty

(Content warning: this is about a Georgia House Bill that would make college/university campuses unsafe for rape victims. There are numerous links here that discuss rape with varying detail, including one that could be considered graphic. The petition linked to near the end is written by a survivor who very briefly discusses her rape [though not graphically or in much detail].)

I was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on May 22, 1987. At the end of third grade, my family moved to Sandy Springs, Georgia, where I lived until 2009. Georgia is where I was raised.

And that is why I care about this.

There is a bill currently in the Georgia legislature called House Bill 51. The summary of this bill is as follows:

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions, so as to provide for the manner of reporting and investigation of certain crimes by officials and employees of postsecondary institutions in this state; to provide for a definition; to provide for penalties for violations; to provide for exceptions; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

This looks fine on its face, yes. But it’s when you actually look into it that you start to see the problem…

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Best of the Left: Consent is Sexy (Rape Culture)

(Content Warning: Discussion of Rape and Rape Culture)

I will go ahead and apologize upfront for the lack of transcripts. This relies a lot on audio. So I’m sorry for that. Unfortunately, Jay does not provide transcripts. If anyone’s up for it, please do! I’ll see if I have time to do one myself, at least for clip I link here below. Also, this won’t be long (in part because I thought I had a day off, but I’ve been called into work, so). I just really want to highlight this.

Here’s the episode’s blog post. Included in that link are individual links to the different clips (and music) used.

The entire podcast is, of course, about rape culture. It’s a very sobering look at where we are today in terms of how we treat women, and how we treat those who are victims of rape and sexual assault. Ignore the comments (as always), as there’s one asshole in there who, as usual, refuses to get it (reads like an MRA, frankly), but the episode itself is really good, if really angering.

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Congress Unanimously Passes The Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights

(Content Warning: As you can see from the title, this is about the Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights. This of course means general discussion of sexual assault and rape.)

Those are three words I’m not sure I’ve heard in a really long time. Especially attached to something so good.

From Slate:

Sexual-assault survivors will soon have a federal bill of rights if Barack Obama signs a piece of legislation that has already passed through both chambers of Congress. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday requiring that victims be informed of their rights and the progress of their medical forensic examinations, commonly called rape kits, in federal cases of sexual assault.

The Senate’s version of the bill also passed unanimously in May. Once a small discrepancy is resolved in conference, the legislation will go to the president.

If Obama gives it his signature, the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights will ensure that victims are offered a medical forensic examination for free (many are still charged for the procedure); that they are informed of its results; that the evidence gathered is kept for 20 years or the duration of the statute of limitations, whichever comes first; that survivors may request to be notified 60 days before the rape kit is destroyed; and that they may request to preserve the evidence for a longer period of time. The bill also establishes a working group to evaluate the efficacy of its provisions and report back in two years.

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Rapist Tries the “I Have a Big Dick” Defense

(Trigger Warning: This is about an asshole who raped someone, and his absolutely terrible excuse. I will be quoting from part of the article. It doesn’t go into horrible detail, but still…

Also, I’ll put a content note for incoherent rage and language from me because… this is just…)

I really don’t have words for this, but it needs to be highlighted, because… I just…

Stockbroker accused of rape says he thought woman was crying because of his penis size

A London stockbroker accused of rape says he thought his alleged victim was crying because of the size of his penis.

Daniel Green is accused of raping a woman in her 20s in the offices of StratX last May when she crawled under a desk to go to sleep after a party with drinking and cocaine.

The 26-year-old testified that the two remained in the office after most others at the party had left, and began to have consensual sex, according to The Mirror.

“I looked up and I see a tear on her face. So I sat back. I said, ‘F–k you are crying,” he said, adding that she then told him, “Can you leave please, just go.”

Green said in court that he thinks the woman may have been crying because his penis, which he claims is 10 inches long with a four-inch girth, hurt her.

AAAAHHHH HAHAHAHAHAH AHHAHAHHAHAHH HAUHUDBWIHSJBNXIO SUDBWJIHWBXSJ YOUAREAFUCKINGRAPIST AG_RHUBKJBROIH

*cough*

Sorry. I had no choice but to repeat my Facebook reaction. I just… how… why… you…

Leonardo Dicaprio screaming in anger...

Why (We) Believe Victims Don’t Lie (with Special Guest Iris Vander Pluym)

(Please note: the amazing, snarktastically awesome Iris Vander Pluym [read her blog here!] contributed to this little blog post of mine. Her part will be in the color of royal purple [because that is the color of royalty and, apparently, sarcasm, so…].)

Also content warning for discussion of rape culture and victim-blaming. Same content warnings, as well as trigger warnings for direct discussion of rape, apply to all links here, as well.)

Very recently, I put up a post declaring my support for Amber Heard. You can read the post if you don’t know what I’m talking about, and you should. One of the things I said was this:

I am on record as saying that I will always believe and stand with the victim until evidence comes out that they’re lying, because them actually lying is so incredibly rare that there’s no reason to entertain it; in our culture of victim-blaming, I do not believe that most people would think lying like this would be worth it.

In response I got a… fascinating comment, permanently languishing in moderation:

What make you think lying is rare among human beings in such situations as this?

Why didn’t you link to the police report?

Let’s start with that last one… Iris?

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On Baseball Bats, Heads, and Free Speech

(Content note: rape culture)

So, if you haven’t heard (though I can’t see how you haven’t), a very horrid preacher was shouting “you deserve to be raped” at a bunch of high school students. A 19-year-old woman walked up behind him and whacked him upside the head with an aluminum baseball bat.

This has raised an interesting conversation, as many (myself included) have utterly no sympathy for him, and have, in fact, made fun of him over it. In fact, I commented, and then posted on my Facebook, the following:

To be completely fair, I think we need to ask some important questions…

What was he doing there, at that time of day, just being all provocative, and not even with a chaperone? Things happen when you go out like that. I mean really… he shouldn’t have expected any less.

And what was he wearing, anyways? Did he have on a provocative shirt, showing off too much?

And before you say it, no I’m definitely *not* victim blaming. All I’m saying is that there are ways he could have minimized his risk, and really… shouldn’t he be held responsible at least for his own actions?

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Welp. Another Day, Another Hero is an Asshole. #IStandWithAmberHeard

(Content warning: domestic abuse)

Many of you probably know this already, but Amber Heard filed for a divorce from Johnny Depp back on May 21st. I’ve always been a fan of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard as actors, and have enjoyed most of their movies. I had heard about their marriage, and their recent divorce, but wasn’t aware of the details as I tend to not pay attention to celebrities outside of their art, unless that celebrity does something incredibly egregious…

Well…

Now I know the reason Amber Heard has filed for divorce. Alex Rudewell over at Skepchick posted a statement released by Amber Heard’s legal team. I’m going to post that statement here. Be aware that this statement contains discussion and descriptions of domestic abuse.

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