Overnight, a wannabe commenter tried twice to post a comment calling Lara Logan a tramp and accusing her of having sex in the streets of Cairo for money.
This person is a known troll (who will never be allowed to post on this blog), and obviously she (or he?) is only one horrible person. Yet she’s one of thousands, at least, as one can easily see by reading the comments at less-moderated spaces. (See yesterday’s post for links to examples. More vitriol – both of the victim-blaming and Muslim-hating kind – can be seen at the WaPo.) Most of those commenters are not semi-professional trolls.
It is demoralizing to see so much hatred and contempt for a victim of a crime displayed so openly, aggressively, and even proudly. I have to wonder what kind of shriveled soul produces such vitriol – and what kind of sick culture nurtures such hardened souls.
Patron cat of Kittywampus (1985-2001)
It’s misogynism pure and simple. Anderson Cooper was attacked but not raped. Yet he was lifted up on high in the media for being “brave” enough to go and report on the doings in Egypt. No one blamed him for being there. Women did not circle him in groups waiting to rape him.
Women will never be pure enough, professional enough, or enough of anything to satisfy those who believe women should be objects for male use– period. The more women are free and become free from societal constraints, the more frustrated and violent misogynist, fundamentalist men and women will become.
Very good point about the different media response to Anderson Cooper being attacked.
I’m inclined to suspect pro-Mubarak thugs of the attack. They used sexual assault very deliberately to intimidate protesters. The people who rescued Lara Logan were men and women alike – Egyptians all – a welcome reminder that most of Egypt is neither fundamentalist nor pro-Mubarak. Most of them really do want democracy and economic growth, and I even believe most are willing to accept the U.S. as a friend, though many may (reasonably) be taking a wait-and-see attitude.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sungold, Reg. Reg said: Want to See Rape Culture in Action? Write a Post about Rape Culture: http://t.co/QDwiord [...]
MFM left a troll post on my blog today – surprise, a post about all of the victim-blaming going on these days. It is deeply troubling to think either than a person spends all his/her time leaving these comments, or that someone programmed a computer to do it. Sick either way, but sadly, not surprising.
Onward!
Thanks for stopping by to commiserate. Yeah, MFM was a new troll to me, but a quick Internet search shows how incredibly prolific he/she is. There are also a few posts linking MFM to a real-world name but without corroboration I didn’t want to spread that person’s name around. The comments came in througout the night, which makes me think if there’s no bot involved, there’s probably plenty of substance abuse.
Onward, indeed. Or as one of my good friends likes to say: Chin up and boobs out!
I am so loving chip up & boobs out! Perfect!
Girl is not a willing participant in the action, girl says “No”, no matter who she is be it prostitute or nun it IS rape. Anyone who says otherwise should read the definition.
Yup, it doesn’t matter if the woman has had 10,000 prior partners – or 10,000 prior couplings with the assaulting party – no is no is no.