Taking responsibility

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This one has been jelling for a long time and, frankly, it may need to age more. If this has to be revisited down the road, then we shall do so. But I read a piece today that fanned the slumbering embers a good bit.

It is unquestionably dangerous, foolhardy and irresponsible to take a single line from such a precision essay and use that line to encapsulate the entire argument.

So, here ya go, "The price of women’s modern freedoms is personal responsibility for vigilance and self-defense."

With that in mind, witness this woman and how her image was turned into a meme.

 

Me? I'm siding with the OP in the meme. There are people among us who are sharks. Get used to the idea. There are also others, not sharks, but just as dangerous. If the shrinks and dog-slobber specialists (think Pavlov) are right, then the rest of this meme above is pretty f'dangin' shaky.

Lemme summarize: People are mean.

But to continue the fish metaphor, sharks in the ocean account for a small fraction of the total fish population. Those sharks which attack humans without provocation are an even smaller percentage. Nonetheless, a smart person is not going to jump in the ocean with Lady Gaga's formal wear from the 2010 MTV awards.  Remember there are other aquatic critters which attack people. So, when something is tearing sizable chunks out of you, does it really matter what has turned you into buffet?

If a person did take such an attired jump, we'd call said person a damfool idiot who got what he-she deserved. If the same person jumped in a regular swimming pool, there'd be plenty of eye-rolling and pejoratives slung about, but the apprised level of stupidity would be far, far below the person who jumped in the ocean.

The lady above had her picture taken in a very public place in the daytime surrounded by hundreds of other people. Lemme run back to the ocean metaphor. She wore a meat suit but jumped into the ocean surrounded by a pod of protective dolphins. Any shark showing up would be beaten to death by the dolphins.

Let's put this same lady, appearing exactly the same, walking through one of the more crime-ridden neighborhoods in her community at 1 a.m. She jumped in the shark tank at Seaworld wearing a filet mignon suit. What do you think would happen? Too easy.

The real question: Who is at fault for what happens?

Certainly her human attackers must bear the blame for their attack. But I point you back to the links above regarding the mental makeup of human beings. Human nature and all that. Educate all you want to, you will not eliminate the people who eagerly give in to "base" desires.

Point to the law? Law is reactive. In other words, the law can't do anything until she's been assaulted. Besides which, making things illegal doesn't deter everyone. Lemme also beat you with this legal stick. Add to this, despite the best efforts of politicians and bureaucrats, the thought police are not fully established in the US. Thought police are well established in other countries.

Put this same lady walking down the streets of some countries in this world and the men who attacked her would be hailed as community heroes.

Context matters.

"They should not do things like that," you may scream.

Well, it happened. Now what? Under the same circumstances, it'll happen again.

Rant, fume, complain, demand, protest and call me whatever names you chose to call me. I'm living in this thing called reality which demands I adapt to it. Reality will not be reordered to suit your personal preferences. So, take off your rose-colored glasses (put on a shirt) and realize "The price of women’s modern freedoms is personal responsibility for vigilance and self-defense."

The lady above may truly believe she is "not asking for it." The rest of the world is not obligated to respect her beliefs. Play with sharks long enough, you will get bitten and you are the one at fault.

Women and men who refuse to acknowledge this will be held accountable by reality. It won't be pretty. In fact, it'll be a feeding frenzy.