Share the blame

Let me begin by stating the fact that I enjoy the IDS and read it often.

In the majority of instances, I find some interesting piece of information I might not had otherwise known; whether it be blogging tips, ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, or a plethora of other topics.

With that said, the articles in which I read about sexual assault rarely get met with the same degree of enthusiasm.

While I appreciate the information, I feel as though it is often misleading, and serves to make people unreasonably worried.

In the article which I had read today (Feb. 5th 2013), essentially, it states how a female was raped after a night of drinking and bar-hopping, concluding in the picking-up of her eventual assailant at Taco Bell.

While I pity her circumstance, this article goes to great lengths in an apparent attempt to relieve her of any responsibility regarding her actions.

The male should go to jail, but she had a role to play in the assault as well.

Throughout the article, she is portrayed as a completely innocent victim who had no part in the events which occurred; as though she were walking down the street and someone jumped out at her.

Have you ever heard the saying, “If you play with fire, you’re going to get burnt?” — Here’s the solution: don’t play with fire.

This article seems to be saying, ‘I want to play with fire, but I don’t want to get burnt; and if I do, well, it wasn’t my fault.’

 Unfortunately, life doesn’t work like that. Call it “victim-blaming.” I call it reality.

— Michael Barbieri