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DEEP SIX THOSE DIVINE RIGHTS
We are always hearing about what the Bible tells us to do. If you wish it to condone slavery, it will. If you wish it to condemn same-gender love, it will. If you decide that the whole world must march to the beat of a single drum, it fairly rocks.
Read about how the sons of God MATED WITH the daughters of men. [Enoch 6:1-2, "In those days, when the children of man had multiplied, it happened that there were born unto them handsome and beautiful daughters. And the angels, the children of heaven, saw them and desired them; and they said one to another, 'Come, let us choose wives for ourselves from among the daughters of man and beget us children'" (Isaac Translation).] http://www.infidels.org/library/magazines/tsr/1999/1/991sons.html
You will not find any indication that these daughters were consulted concerning this mating. Of course not. Neither God nor men paid any attention to what women might think or want. What would you expect? Do you envision a God that called his sons to him and said to these angels, "You fellows collect some flowers out of the celestial gardens, and gather some of the prize fruits and candies of my kingdom and then go down on that planet and gently court the young females that you desire. They already are submissive to males, having been slammed over the head with clubs for many generations, but be ye kind and gentle. Treat them as YOU would want to be treated. Take all the time you need since these will be the MOTHERS of your future daughters and sons, your equals and your life companions."
It never happened that way, so let's be clear. The sons of God RAPED the daughters of men. The important thing to remember is that this auspicious beginning of angel/human family values established several cultural edicts that still persist today. The greatest, the strongest and the most obvious is that might makes right.
First we hear the fairy tales and then we hear the stories from our peers. Hollywood continually shows us images of women being forced into sexual situations, at first against their will, but as the moment builds, we see the reluctant lass suddenly become full of desire, submission and lust. Her reticence vanishes in the wake of a forced tongue-probing kiss. Children of both genders learn early on that a girl's importance lies in having round heels, that is, can she attract and hold on to a "boyfriend" i.e. "put out." We teach our girls to expect a "knight in shinning armor" who will "take them away from all this" [school, parents, chores] where they will "live happily ever after." We encourage them to yell like banshees and even faint at MALE rock and movie stars, hyped up with sexual fantasies that neither their bodies nor their minds are ready for.
We teach our boys that girls like to be teased -- a thinly veiled prelude to when they will intrude on a girl's personal space where they first learn to initiate the pleasures of brute force. We teach boys to batter each other in sports and to determine which is the better MAN. We continually give them examples showing that forceful men get the "girl" and that "girls" really mean yes when they say no. You can hear it in the language as women become "birds" or "chicks," merely game to be hunted and brought down.
We teach our boys the thrill of getting away with rape as if it were a game. Young boys in grade school begin to "count coup" on the girls they penetrate, in the same way Native Americans did in their games of skill. We encourage this. Most mothers and fathers will do everything they can to prevent their sons from being punished for rape. Some Fathers and mothers are quick, because of their damaged pride, to blame their daughters who are raped.
Over and over studies have been conducted that show that a majority of males would rape if they could get away with it. The damning fact is that they usually can since few women are able to go through the hell of accusing them, and the legal aftermath. Few males see rape as a vile and disgusting act perpetrated on women. To many, it's just as natural as burping, farting or pissing their name in the snow, and this is seen clearly in that ultimate male sport, gang rape.
We stigmatize a woman for not being strong enough to prevent her rape and force her into the hell of self-loathing and despair. SHE dare not tell her family, and her friends that try to help her are unsure of what to do. We penalize women. We put them through the hell of physical examinations brimming with probing fingers and penetrating questions. We force them in the name of man's laws to stand in a public courthouse and describe to the curious every act that was done to them by their rapist, while HE sits there smiling in a room of his approving peers. HE knows that men set up our system of justice and it will favor him.
Rape trials becomes a "she says, he says" non-starter. Most rapes are committed by someone the woman knows and gain a special name called date rape. As much as women and men of good faith have labored to amend the incredible cruelty in the legal system, the trauma has not been eliminated. She must prove that she said no, prove that she was forced, prove that she isn't a slut.
Her demeanor on the witness stand is judged on preconceived notions our culture has constructed. If she is crying, then she must be admitting that she is at fault and feeling guilty. If she is strong and forthright, then she must be making it all up to get some poor guy in trouble, or she first agreed to have intercourse but then afterwards was remorseful.
Unless there is evidence of forceful rape, unless the victim is beaten nearly to death, the rapist is usually let off with no penalty. Even if he is sentenced, his peers laud him. HE gets to crow about his penile powers to his friends and receives the approbation of the community of men who relish a man's right to satisfy his needs. SHE just gets the shaft, raped over and over again by the judicial system and the endless appeals that men can afford. Our mostly critical society pretends compassion while secretly believing she asked for it.
That's what the sexual mores of our civilization is all about. The sons, descended from God, inherit a divine right. We have seen it in our courts where a judge in the South recently refused to punish a man convicted of rape declaring that, it's a natural act -- women are made for it. And another judge assured his court that a woman could not become pregnant by rape since the proper juices were not present.
We
have made it clear that our culture will NOT condone vile acts against
children. We identify and punish those who sexually prey on children the
pedophile and the *loving father* who for eons has been allowed to subject
his daughters [and yes, sometimes his sons] to a life of unmitigated hell.
But cultural condemnation of rape has been given a pass.
Descending
from God gave men the right to rape -- our legal system aids and abets
it. We can brag about our advances in helping the victims of sexual assault
with counseling, and caring medical treatment. We can point to how we no
longer make women face the male police officer when reporting a rape. But
all we have done is put a band-aid on a malignancy that is practiced as
a divine right. This will not change until women and men change their attitude
toward rape, until it is no longer a male right of passage.
Unless we scour this malignancy from our culture and the minds of our children, women will forever be marching in large groups to TAKE BACK THE NIGHT, but they will still never dare to go out in the dark alone because if they do, they are just asking for it.
2000-042
Copyright
2000 Renee T. Louise and Ruth M. Sprague, Ph.D. These articles may be republished
for noncommercial use only, provided that they are copied intact, and that
this copyright notice is attached. Address all queries to: twanda@gendergappers.org.
G e n d e r G a p p e r s T M
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