Freedom of Expression or Kicking the Hornet’s Nest?

Unless of course one has been living in a medically induced coma, we all know the events that transpired in Paris most recently in the last few weeks. The world reacted accordingly with cries of condemnation with 1.7 million people marching in solidarity alongside the French and quite rightly so!

Since then there has been the inevitable yawn laden speeches by numerous world leaders, terrorist experts, media reps and varying other archetypes lending their opinions and two cents to the debacle unfolding before us.

Throughout these moments I began to speculate as to what exactly this is really in aid of; firstly of course I must stress that I too do not condone violence in any form unless of course it is in the parameters of legitimate self defence; however, whilst it may also be note worthy to point out, there was no necessary cause to attack civilians over what was simply a joke, or more specifically a cartoon, but, whilst it is one thing to say one does not condone violence, it is quite another to blame the behaviour of hornets when they sting you, for you having kicked their nest, knowing full well how they will react in the first place.

What do I mean by that? Well, it’s pretty simple, what we are observing here is the West kicking the hornet’s nest of the East and then the West blaming the hornets of the East for retaliating and stinging the West.  Terrorism and Islamic extremism is heralded by persons that are quite frankly a different form of human wildlife; BUT a form of human wildlife that through varying methods of criminal activities are utterly loaded with endless monetary funds, have access to lethal weaponry and are able to educate themselves with the required expertise to utilise said weapons in broad daylight with military precision, in this case, with the armaments of two machine guns, an RPG launcher, knives and pistols. Hmm, yay international security!

These people can also radicalise our teenage sons and daughters via a well known social media platform called Twitter, so much so, that they end up jumping on flights to the Middle East and next thing the parents know is that their now radicalised sons & daughters are on TV chanting “Death to the West” and/or “Allahu Akbar” (means Allah is awesome - in case you were wondering!).

They also rose up, unexpectedly so, in Iraq and Afghanistan, now called IS (Islamic State) which is pretty much Al Qaeda version 2 and have cemented themselves as one of the most feared terrorist organisations ever to come out of the Middle East since the Hezbollah.

And to top it off, these new forms of human wildlife love nothing more than to kick off about something and do so in the form of murderous activities; be that of detonating bombs, murdering civilians or beheading soldiers in the street (Lee Rigby).

So cometh to the question, are these the forms of human wildlife that we really want to be antagonising, especially when we all know full well what form that reaction to said antagonism will be delivered? In the name of Freedom of Expression apparently, the answer; is YES!

Now, before you leap up on an accusatory soap box and defile me with the charge of being a terrorist sympathiser (by the way I am not) let me tell you a story to which you will hopefully see how silly you are...

One day a snake climbed up a tree and got hopelessly stuck, soon after a human comes walking by and notices the snake,

“Help me down I am stuck.” Said the snake.

“Not a chance,” replied the human, “I know what you’ll do, you’ll bite me and I will die.”

The snake pondered this for a moment and said,

“I solemnly swear I will not bite you, please help down from this tree.”

The human still not convinced repeated the concern, to that again the snake countered by making the same promise, some time passes and eventually the human gives in and helps the snake down.

But not two feet from the ground the snake whips around lunging at the human, taking aim and landing an agonising bite injecting its poison; in the human’s dying breaths,

“I helped you; you promised you wouldn’t bite me.”

To which the snake replied...

“You knew what I was well before you decided to help me!”

To that, the snake slithered away and the human slowly died.

The moral of the story in this modern era is this, we are the ones kicking the hornet’s nest and giving rise to the snake to behave as it does then point accusatory fingers back at the aggressor, quite rightly so as their actions are abhorrent, but, we have to ask ourselves, how many more innocent lives have to be lost? NOT just because we believe in a different faith, but because we on this occasion deliberately antagonised the aggressor. That is the truth and it cannot be avoided.

It can be argued that these Terrorists would kill for any cause, yes that is true, but why should we risk more lives by handing them even more reasons?

It is not my aim to appear to be leaping up on the high horse of morality to win an argument but I personally count myself lucky to live in a society where I can blaspheme, insult my country’s premier or call a religious salesperson an asshole for aggravating my hangover on a Sunday morning, but if I come rolling out from the happy nightclub of life, drunk and high on the liberty but see a guy clearly angry and swearing at the world the last thing I would do is wind him up to the extent he/she enacts violence against me because in all realistic acknowledgements, I started it!

Yes indeed the terrorist actions in Paris were wholly out of proportion, I don’t need the brains of an archbishop to work that one out, but, we know what terrorists do, we know what they think, how they think it and how they act out those thoughts; for me the answer is quiet clear, kick the hornet’s nest, get stung, end of discussion.

Thank you for reading.

Domestic Abuse (lots of why, but answers?)

So I just saw a report on Sky News that one of their own sports presenters is going to run 250 miles in seven days to raise awareness of domestic abuse and all I can is, bloody well done and the best of luck to her.

http://news.sky.com/story/1201101/charlie-webster-on-the-run-for-victims-of-abuse

But hang on, is that all I can say? Err no.

The cause to which Charlie Webster under takes is admirable and heroic in my opinion, having been a victim of abuse herself, I myself also first hand, this is clearly an issue in society close to our hearts as it should be with everyone; however, it is the constant cause that never seems to be a means to an end. 

What do I mean by that?

Do we really need more “awareness”? Do we really need to keep asking “why”? My answer to that is twofold, obviously awareness and why is always in need of constant replenishment in the minds of us all, but that is simply not going far enough. 

Why? Because we have lots of awareness, lots of people asking why, very few or else no one is providing answers and this is the real issue here. 

It is a very risky thing to say, “I understand why that person raped you!” it’s a very risky thing to say, “I know why that person beat you up at home!” it’s a very risky thing to say, “I understand why that paedophile molested that child!”  It is in fact, social suicide and/or street cred annihilation. 

If I was to say any of the aforementioned statements; immediately, I would be seen as having sympathy for the devil, simply because the word “understand” is anecdotally synonymous with understanding and sympathy as well as care and allowance for the perpetration of these criminal acts. 

And here within lies the problem, what if “understand” was synonymous with science, psychiatry, comprehension of the complexity of individualism and above all else, education.   For example, actor Patrick Stewart, whose father beat up his mother on regular occasions, later discovered that his father had undiagnosed shell shock or the modern equivalent of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and now he says he campaigns for both the awareness & stoppage of domestic violence as well as the all important understanding as to the cause of it, but Patrick Stewart is only one man.

It is not good enough to send a perpetrator of violence to anger management classes when they may have, for argument sakes, severe alcohol or drug addiction, undiagnosed psychosis or schizophrenia (when voices convince the patient to abuse) or DID – Dissociative Identity Disorder where the individual’s mind has created a violent personality, or as was the case with Patrick Stewart’s father, undiagnosed PTSD; is anger management or basic counselling really that affective in situations such as this?

Every attacker is as individual as their victims so thus, unless we resist this constant desire to use the paint of generalisation and tar all with the same brush of convenience, we simply will never be able to comprehend the answers to “why” once we have the “awareness”.

Unfortunately, it is a social ill in the mindset of society that the “awareness” and the “why” is acceptable but the understanding of it, is seen as unethical thus written into law as well as the cut backs, the lack of science and the embellishment into the psyche of the many that “understanding” in these cases is a facade to evil; it simply isn’t, and here within is a real problem.

Don’t get me wrong, under no circumstances does this go in any way a direction of excusing domestic violence or abuse of any kind; it is a violent act, due process must take place and it must stop, but it won’t unless we answer these questions.

   

So thus, I truly feel that we need to enter a very uncomfortable and new dimension of thinking to ever truly answer the question, “why” and to ever bring about real awareness and real change by tackling the psychological determinants of abuse, the mindset of perpetrators and the ultimate goal of all the aforementioned as a coming about of social healing in the way of, a cure, imagine that? Would be nice wouldn’t it?

Thank you for reading

VisionGhost

Rape

Rape

Trigger Warning…

“The following blog is inclusive of details that some may find disturbing or accentuating to a potential trigger, please be aware I mean no offense toward any persons living or dead. The blog post below contains graphic details of a hypothetic account of rape. Should the subject matter have affected you personally in some way, my heart goes out to you.”

Rape, yes that word, that awful, nightmare of a word, maybe we should say it together, “Rape” did you? Let’s try again after me… 1, 2, 3, “Rape” Good. How did that feel?

It was sometime last year I think it was when the Republicans in the USA made it quite clear their idiotic and disgusting stance on rape, if I may quote…

1. Todd Akin: “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting that whole thing down” - mid 2012 Senate Campaign

2. Clayton Williams: “If it’s inevitable, just relax and enjoy it” - mid 1990 Gubernatorial race in Texas

3.  Chuck Winder: “I would hope that when a woman goes in to a physician with a rape issue, that physician will indeed ask her about perhaps her marriage, was this pregnancy caused by normal relations in a marriage or was it truly caused by a rape. I assume that’s part of the counselling that goes on.” - March 2012

4.  Ken Buck: “A jury could very well conclude that this is a case of buyer’s remorse … It appears to me … you invited him over… the appearance is of consent.” - October 2010

5. Rick Santorum: “I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created — in the sense of rape — but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life, and accept what God has given to you… rape victims should make the best of a bad situation.” - January, 2012

As well as this, there is this frequent situation of person(s) whom seem to think it is acceptable to utilise the subject of rape as though it were a point of comedy, as well as laws and politicians whom seem to dance around the subject without getting to the core of the matter. The core of the matter simply is this; no one seems to understand, apart from the unfortunate victims, of what exactly rape is, so that being said, I will describe in great detail, exactly what rape is…

Wikipedia states…

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, or below the legal age of consent. The term is most often defined in criminal law.

Here’s what it really is…

The scenario is this, you’re a young woman, size 8-10 approximately, 5 foot 5 inches tall, you weigh approximately 9 – 10 stone, you know of no martial arts or any form of self-defence and you’ve been out with friends at a party, a tad intoxicated you’re walking home late at night and you’re alone.  As you walk down the street you come past a park with hedge rows and ears still ringing from the music in your party dress you feel like you’ve had a good time. In your hand you’re in the middle of texting a friend when, wham, a hand clasps over your mouth and you’re being dragged backwards into the park, you try to scream, arms and legs flaying, can’t see who has got hold of you, mobile phone goes flying. You try to resist but this attackers grip is like a vice around your much smaller frame, in this unlit park at this ungodly hour in the pitch black you find yourself thrown to the floor knocking the wind out of you.

You try to scream but the attacker punches you so hard in the face you feel a tooth crack and the taste of blood well’s up inside your mouth. The attacker slaps you in the face with a commanding,

“Shut up you fucking bitch!” In a frightening male voice, your confused, scared to death, everything is spinning, can’t focus when you feel your underwear being violently torn off, now your exposed, you go to scream again but the attacker muffles your voice with his hand, this attacker is then unzipping his fly as you try to struggle to get away until another heavy blow lands in your abdominal region completely knocking the air of you again as your heart continues to pound so hard and fast your feeling dizzy, can’t get away.

You start to cry but this monster in the dark seems to be without heart or soul, as he forces his waist up between your thighs and you feel the agonising burn of unsolicited penetration as his erect penis rips into you, probably tearing your labia in the same instance, you feel the warmth of his panting breath on your face as he proceeds to thrust and pound into your body, each thrust escalating in the agony of the moment and the agony of your body, his hand grips your throat to the point of choking as he quickens up deepening his penetration while your struggle and writhe beneath what feels like a gorilla who has utterly no thought to your suffering, completely impervious to right and wrong, but that is neither here nor there as you cry and try to scream for help but nothing comes out in the confusion.

Then he stops, then he withdraws, you’re shaking, quivering, what’s going on? Then you feel your body being flipped over, in almost an instant epiphany you surmise  what’s going to happen and your worst nightmare is confirmed and he pushes mercilessly into your anus, the screaming heat, burning and the excruciating agony, as he stuffs your underwear into your mouth to gag you, it won’t stop, it won’t stop, it won’t stop, your being raped, defiled, attacked, brutalised and it won’t stop. The attacker thrusts harder, practically splitting you in half, tears rolling down your face, no one to help you, no one anyway, please make it stop, someone please make it stop, this just goes on and on, thrusts, heaving, pain, agony, it just goes on and then, then he climaxes, the explosion inside your limp and beaten frame, he lies atop of you and his breath panting past your ear, you’re in a quivering agonising state of total forced submission, terrified, confused and your entire body throbs.

Withdrawing you cry out in pain as he stands over you, “Fucking bitch” you hear that ugly voice, landing a sharp kick in the abs again, again, tearing at the air in the lungs. Disappearing into the night he is gone, but you’re not, you’re there, still there. Lying in the dirt, shaking, sobbing, cold, bleeding; it’s dark, it’s as if time has stood still, you’re still there, sobbing, crying, alone, cold. You cautiously raise your head and scan around, making sure he’s gone; a slow, shaking bruised arm extends to barely attempt to pick yourself up, as you slowly rise you wince with the pain, every inch hurts, the taste of blood in your mouth as you try to spit it out, but feel sick and nearly throw up.  You manage to stand but your bruised, in so much pain, you seem to be bleeding from everywhere; you stagger from behind the hedge row and into the street; lost, traumatised, no one around while you limp in some direction in your torn and muddy, blood stained dress, memories of the earlier part of the night utterly dissipated with the fury of what took place.  The whole world is alien now, you barely know where you are or what direction you were going in, can’t make sense of anything.

A group of girls come down the street; they take one look at you and the expression of horror is absolute, you barely manage a whisper “I’ve been raped, please help me!” And you fall to the ground in uncontrollable sobs, one of the girl’s calls on her mobile to summon an ambulance.

Yes indeed, you have just been raped.

But guess what? It doesn’t end there either, now comes the endless questions, the indignity of being examined, poking and prodding, police interviews; as if that wasn’t worse, did the attacker use protection? Do you now have an STI? Are you HIV positive?

Then the nightmares, then the feelings of how he came inside you, the worms, that stuff he put inside you and the scars you will bear for life. Forever.

Facing your family again, the sorrowful faces that greet you, the endless sleepless nights and should they catch the bastard; you’ll face him again in the cold lights of a court room as graphic details of what happened to you are shouted out to a jury. And don’t even go there when you discover you’re pregnant with the rapist’s child.

So, Todd Akin, Clayton Williams, Chuck Winder, Ken Buck and Rick Santorum, plus all the A-Holes that think this whole enigma is a laughing matter or a question of a gift from god, are you laughing now? Is it funny now?

Let’s go one step further, the abhorrent description above, guess what? It’s merely a template, imagine if you’re a child and your father does that to you, or a defenceless young boy and your parish priest does that to you? You’re another woman and there’s gang of rapists who take turns on you, over and over and over again. Just take that in for a second, in your minds, just let that drop feed into your conscience for a moment.

Rape, is never ever funny, Rape, is never ever a gift from god, Rape, is never ever excusable, Rape is never due to what a woman’s wearing, Rape, is never ever a laughing matter.

Rape is a horrific sexual assault; the worst of its kind, Rape is never ever just about the moment, it stays with its victims for the rest of their lives, constantly walking down the street in fear and paranoia forever, even after their attacker has been caught, tried and convicted, assuming they ever catch that scum at all.

How on earth is that a gift, how on earth is that funny? I think it is high time some people need to get real about what rape really is.

Thank you for reading.

VisionGhost ©

http://facebook.com/visionghostpoetry

https://www.facebook.com/visionghost

http://twitter.com/visionghost