I'm Sorry, but WHAT?!
Jan. 7th, 2009 05:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mia_alexandria[mood| 
angry]
[music| "Television" - Hard-FI]
I'm sorry, but no. Just NO:
So this semester, I'm taking a class called "Contemporary Social Problems", and I knew that by the name alone that we would be talking about topics that might offend, or are considered to be controversial topics. I also understood that the people in my class might not have the same opinion as me on said topics. Which is totally cool with me; everyone is raised differently and I can disagree with people's opinions, but I just make sure that I do it in a respectful manner for that is how I would like to be treated if someone happened to disagree with me.
Anyways, I got back from class maybe 45 minutes ago and I'm only posting this now because I had to discuss with Rio and Lauren, who felt much the same way that I do on the matter that I'm about to share with you all.
In class today, my professor was going over the definition of what makes a problem a social problem. She illustrated that what may seem like a personal problem, may in fact be a social problem. One of the examples that she gave was gambling. While certain societies (like the United States, where I live) may frown upon gambling, to make it illegal simply for the sake of saving those who are "addicted", for a lack of a better word, to the act might hurt society as a whole. How is this possible? Well, there are a handful of U.S. cities (Las Vegas, Atlantic City, to name a few) whose individual economies depend on the money these cities make off of people gambling within their city. To eradicate gambling could cause economic turmoil for these cities, and since they feed into the U.S. economy, the U.S. economy could be in danger as well. Personally, I find that many social problems can be touchy subjects, and while I think that the example above isn't the strongest of examples, I understand where my professor is coming from.
The entire time, our examples and notes are being given to us via a PowerPoint presentation. The next slide after the gambling example slide reads as such: "How would you categorize RAPE: as a personal problem, or a social problem?"
This, as I predicted, caused many of the students in the class to give their opinion on the matter. Some said that it was a personal problem for the rapist has issues that caused them to commit that crime. Others said that it was a societal problem for America, in comparison to the European nations, is sexually repressed in that we display images of blatant sexuality, but we also discourage such activities.
And then this girl and her male friend, seated in the row behind me, decide to open their mouths. And again, I have no problem with people having opinions that differ from my own, but seriously. Some people need to have a filter between their mouth and their brain.
So this girl says, "I think that rape is entirely a personal problem. The person has issues and those alone cause them to commit that. I mean, a woman could have a husband that goes out and rapes other people because he has issues. It's strictly a need for power."
My teacher replies with, "So are you speaking strictly about the rapist or the victim?"
This girl's response: "Oh, no. I think the victim is merely a case of wrong place at the wrong time and that it's entirely her fault for being the victim."
I'm sorry, but WHAT?! First of all, most rapes that occur aren't even reported because the victim is too afraid to file a police report and, second, most rapes are committed by someone that the victim trusts. Yes, victims may also be subject to the whims of a stranger, but seriously? "It's entirely her fault for being the victim"? That's completely ridiculous. The only time that I could consider the victim at fault is if the victim is heavily intoxicated and is raped by someone they know and trust because, in that case, they should have been more careful about their alcohol intake, but still. The person who raped them in that case could have respected the friendship/relationship enough to not fuck it up like that. I don't know. I just had a real issue with that. Especially after I met a rape victim last year. This poor woman was forced off the side of the road by three men and raped and beaten at gunpoint, left for dead, while the men drove off. This woman now suffers from depression, anxiety, and bulimia nervosa. [sarcasm] Oh yeah; totally this woman's fault that she got raped. [/sarcasm]
And then this girl's friend says his piece: "I think that from the moment you were born, you know that rape is wrong."
Again, WHAT?! Knowing whether rape is wrong or not depends on a personal's moral background. Which, more often than not, is something that is taught. Whether it's by your parents, teacher(s), religious leader, a person's values and morals are taught to them. No one comes out of their mother's womb with such knowledge. And besides, what may be considered okay in Western cultures may not be considered okay in Eastern, or Middle Eastern, cultures.
So I raised my hand, and when my professor called on me I said this: "I would consider rape to be a bit of both. It's a personal problem in that the rapist could have been abused, or molested, as a child by their parent(s) or other relative. That, coupled with the environment in which they were raised could prompt them to commit the crime of rape. If they grew up in a lower-class environment, neglected, with a less-than stellar educational system, then these factors could spur on their willingness to rape another person. But, someone could also have suffered through such hardships, like being molested by their parent, and live a perfectly healthy, "normal" life, without the inclination to rape another person. My grandmother was molested when she was a child, and as an adult, she was determined to not to the same to her own children; to ensure that they did not have to go through what she did. And they didn't. There's a case of someone being proactive about what happened to them, rather than giving in to their previous hardships. It's a social problem for there are people out there who rape others, which affects society because they could strike without warning. There's really no way to prepare for the effects of rape, save for maybe learning how to defend oneself from an attacker, but even then, they can overpower you. I do partially agree with someone committing rape for the power rush, but to pinpoint it on that factor alone, isn't possible."
And while I understand that what I said also has its problems and its loopholes, it was the best I came up with in that moment.
Feel free to leave your thoughts. Hell, feel free to disagree with me. It won't bother me; it is your opinion, after all.
angry][music| "Television" - Hard-FI]
I'm sorry, but no. Just NO:
So this semester, I'm taking a class called "Contemporary Social Problems", and I knew that by the name alone that we would be talking about topics that might offend, or are considered to be controversial topics. I also understood that the people in my class might not have the same opinion as me on said topics. Which is totally cool with me; everyone is raised differently and I can disagree with people's opinions, but I just make sure that I do it in a respectful manner for that is how I would like to be treated if someone happened to disagree with me.
Anyways, I got back from class maybe 45 minutes ago and I'm only posting this now because I had to discuss with Rio and Lauren, who felt much the same way that I do on the matter that I'm about to share with you all.
In class today, my professor was going over the definition of what makes a problem a social problem. She illustrated that what may seem like a personal problem, may in fact be a social problem. One of the examples that she gave was gambling. While certain societies (like the United States, where I live) may frown upon gambling, to make it illegal simply for the sake of saving those who are "addicted", for a lack of a better word, to the act might hurt society as a whole. How is this possible? Well, there are a handful of U.S. cities (Las Vegas, Atlantic City, to name a few) whose individual economies depend on the money these cities make off of people gambling within their city. To eradicate gambling could cause economic turmoil for these cities, and since they feed into the U.S. economy, the U.S. economy could be in danger as well. Personally, I find that many social problems can be touchy subjects, and while I think that the example above isn't the strongest of examples, I understand where my professor is coming from.
The entire time, our examples and notes are being given to us via a PowerPoint presentation. The next slide after the gambling example slide reads as such: "How would you categorize RAPE: as a personal problem, or a social problem?"
This, as I predicted, caused many of the students in the class to give their opinion on the matter. Some said that it was a personal problem for the rapist has issues that caused them to commit that crime. Others said that it was a societal problem for America, in comparison to the European nations, is sexually repressed in that we display images of blatant sexuality, but we also discourage such activities.
And then this girl and her male friend, seated in the row behind me, decide to open their mouths. And again, I have no problem with people having opinions that differ from my own, but seriously. Some people need to have a filter between their mouth and their brain.
So this girl says, "I think that rape is entirely a personal problem. The person has issues and those alone cause them to commit that. I mean, a woman could have a husband that goes out and rapes other people because he has issues. It's strictly a need for power."
My teacher replies with, "So are you speaking strictly about the rapist or the victim?"
This girl's response: "Oh, no. I think the victim is merely a case of wrong place at the wrong time and that it's entirely her fault for being the victim."
I'm sorry, but WHAT?! First of all, most rapes that occur aren't even reported because the victim is too afraid to file a police report and, second, most rapes are committed by someone that the victim trusts. Yes, victims may also be subject to the whims of a stranger, but seriously? "It's entirely her fault for being the victim"? That's completely ridiculous. The only time that I could consider the victim at fault is if the victim is heavily intoxicated and is raped by someone they know and trust because, in that case, they should have been more careful about their alcohol intake, but still. The person who raped them in that case could have respected the friendship/relationship enough to not fuck it up like that. I don't know. I just had a real issue with that. Especially after I met a rape victim last year. This poor woman was forced off the side of the road by three men and raped and beaten at gunpoint, left for dead, while the men drove off. This woman now suffers from depression, anxiety, and bulimia nervosa. [sarcasm] Oh yeah; totally this woman's fault that she got raped. [/sarcasm]
And then this girl's friend says his piece: "I think that from the moment you were born, you know that rape is wrong."
Again, WHAT?! Knowing whether rape is wrong or not depends on a personal's moral background. Which, more often than not, is something that is taught. Whether it's by your parents, teacher(s), religious leader, a person's values and morals are taught to them. No one comes out of their mother's womb with such knowledge. And besides, what may be considered okay in Western cultures may not be considered okay in Eastern, or Middle Eastern, cultures.
So I raised my hand, and when my professor called on me I said this: "I would consider rape to be a bit of both. It's a personal problem in that the rapist could have been abused, or molested, as a child by their parent(s) or other relative. That, coupled with the environment in which they were raised could prompt them to commit the crime of rape. If they grew up in a lower-class environment, neglected, with a less-than stellar educational system, then these factors could spur on their willingness to rape another person. But, someone could also have suffered through such hardships, like being molested by their parent, and live a perfectly healthy, "normal" life, without the inclination to rape another person. My grandmother was molested when she was a child, and as an adult, she was determined to not to the same to her own children; to ensure that they did not have to go through what she did. And they didn't. There's a case of someone being proactive about what happened to them, rather than giving in to their previous hardships. It's a social problem for there are people out there who rape others, which affects society because they could strike without warning. There's really no way to prepare for the effects of rape, save for maybe learning how to defend oneself from an attacker, but even then, they can overpower you. I do partially agree with someone committing rape for the power rush, but to pinpoint it on that factor alone, isn't possible."
And while I understand that what I said also has its problems and its loopholes, it was the best I came up with in that moment.
Feel free to leave your thoughts. Hell, feel free to disagree with me. It won't bother me; it is your opinion, after all.