Right On

Wrestler Mick Foley Hits the Hill for Rape Kit Legislation:

Wrestler Mick Foley -- whose meeting with Tori Amos and subsequent work for the Rape, Abuse & Incest Action Network that she co-founded was chronicled on Slate in September -- joined RAINN, assault survivor-turned-advocate Julie Weil and "Private Practice" actress KaDee Strickland on Capitol Hill this week to push for passage of the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry (SAFER) Act.

The legislation, originally co-sponsored by the unlikely duo of Reps. Ted Poe (R-TX) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), would, among other things, allocate $10 million a year for a national registry to chronicle the backlog in DNA testing on rape kits and allow local law enforcement to audit their backlogs.

In an exclusive interview with TPM, Foley explained his interest in the cause: "I came to feel that there were not many males out there talking about a problem that really does affect everybody. Statistically speaking, everybody knows somebody who's been affected by rape and sexual assault whether they know it or not."

That, Shakers, is How to Leverage One's Privilege. Foley recognizes (quite rightly) that the unusualness of a man, a famous tough-guy, who himself has not survived assault, getting involved in anti-rape activism will bring more—and different—attention to this legislation than it would otherwise have.

That's a dude with a big teaspoon, right there. And he knows how to use it.

Thank you, Mr. Foley. And thank you Ms. Weil, Ms. Strickland, and Reps. Poe and Maloney.

[H/T to Shaker IvyCeltress. Previously: The Best Thing You'll Read All Day.]