Let Me Tell You A Story

[Content Note: sexual assault]

About an hour ago (from when I'm writing this) Todd Akin tweeted:

The media is against us. The Washington elites are against us. The party bosses are against us.

It is kinda bizarro world for Akin, isn't it? He said something completely within his party lines and the party turns on him with blatant disingenuous horseshit all wrapped up in a craven PR move. I could never remotely feel pity for him but I can bet he thinks it's nothing short of surreal.

A lot feels surreal these days. How we have this media circus over terms like "legitimate rape" coming seriously out of the faces of major political people. I'd like to say we're having a serious national discussion (versus a media circus) but I really don't think that's the case. Perhaps I'm just cynical.

Here is a very short story. It took place a very long time ago, so long the years start being measured in big chunks of time and not individual years. It could be longer and more detailed. Cruel details that make it even more incomprehensible. They're important, personally, but not in this telling necessarily.

This is the conversation that happened. After.

Me: "Didn't you hear me say no?" (multiple times, I add in my head)


Him: "Yeah. But I thought I could change your mind." Shrug. Indifference.


Shrug.

Indifference.


That's rather what all this, this rape culture, feels like sometimes. That moment of seeing, of hearing...nothing. Of Shrug. Indifference. Politicians blathering on about "legitimate", "honest", "forcible" rape--and the people who vote and support them. Comedians saying audience members who heckle should be gang raped--and the people come out of the woodwork to defend them. Comic writers who exploit rape. People who use rape threats as a weapon to silence those they don't like. And so on.


Shrug.

Indifference.


Fuck you.