From: dsh@eceyv.ncsu.edu (Doug Holtsinger)
Subject: Re: Another Dopey Rape Analogy, but I LIKE it
Organization: North Carolina State University
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1993 23:34:46 GMT

In article <5966@catnip.berkeley.ca.us> 
tanj@catnip.berkeley.ca.us (Ren and Stimpy's Love Child) writes:

> I am a woman who does not wish to be raped.  That is, having sex against
> my will.  I could completely eliminate the possibility of rape by working
> from home, never leaving the locked house, having groceries and videos
> delivered into a safety chute, no connection to the outside world except
> for tv, telephone, and modem.  But let's say I don't want to live within
> this limited world, satisfying as it could be to some people.  I venture
> outside, taking precautions such as keeping mace in my purse, attending
> self-defense classes, and keeping keys splayed through the tight gaps in
> my fist when I walk in questionable areas.
> 
> But alas, one day I _am_ raped.  He penetrates me, and I experience
> nauseous waves of pain and violation.  All I want is him OUT OF MY BODY.
> I manage to throw him off and use my training to keep him from attacking
> me again.  This does, however, involve deadly force.  I kill him.
> 
> When talking about this experience, years later, with members of my church
> group, I find their faces go white with mute shock.  Sympathy for me in
> that horrific situation?  No.  Horror that I killed the rapist, and as
> they wagged their fingers at me, they intoned that when I stepped outside
> of my house I knew I was taking a chance.  Freedom to move about, they said,
> means you take responsibility for the bad consequences-- you cannot kill,
> you could have stayed safe.  It is your fault.  Does that mean, I choked out,
> that I can't even defend my life, limb, and sanity?  Yes, they lectured.
> Because you didn't remain a recluse, if you get raped, well, that's what
> you get.  It's as natural as breathing.  You murderess.

I'm assuming here that the "freedom to move about" corresponds
to the "freedom to have sexual intercourse", and "killing the
rapist" corresponds to "having an abortion".  The apparent
conclusion from this analogy is that a person should not be
held responsible for the "bad consequences" of their actions,
whether it be walking the streets and risking rape, or engaging
in voluntary sexual intercourse and risking unwanted pregnancy, 
when the alternative courses of action are deemed unacceptable. 
In this analogy, the alternative course of action is becoming 
a recluse to avoid the risk of rape.

The most obvious flaw in the analogy is that there are acceptable
alternatives to sexual intercourse which do not involve abstinence.
It is not necessary to completely abstain from sexual activities
in order to avoid the risk of getting pregnant.  Nor does abstaining 
from sexual intercourse cause a person to become a social recluse. 

Another key difference is that the consequences of walking the 
streets depends upon on the immoral actions of another person
(i.e. the rapist), whereas the consequences of having voluntary 
sexual intercourse does not depend on the immoral actions of
others.  One might argue that a person should not be held
responsible for the consequences of their actions when those
consequences depend upon on the immoral actions of others.

>--Teddi


Doug Holtsinger