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 4 reasons we can win this September 02, 2006 1:56 PM


We all know that rape is widespread in our culture, and that it is very difficult to stop.  But this particular circumstance - of military recruiters invading High Schools and raping the girls which they are there to recruit - is unique:

  1. This offends society’s sensibilities beyond the general issue of rape.  This targets kids, for Christ’s sake!  And our society, and our government, has granted the perpetrators access and prestige which they have abused.  
  2. This is not a Left/Right, Democrat/Republican issue.  Nobody in any position of responsibility or visibility will argue FOR this type of rape. In fact, because the Republicans are in power, and this reflects poorly on their military efforts, and because it makes it harder for the military to meet it’s overwhelming recruitment demands, we might find that conservatives will join with progressives in this campaign.  We could argue that it is not a “family value” to rape children.
  3. Unlike date rape, dorm rape, street rape, etc., recruiter rape is not invisible.  There’s a paper-trail of records which connect specific recruiters with the specific girls with whom they’ve been in contact.  It can be determined who they have called, on what numbers, at what times of day, and which girls they have dossiers on.  There are often witnesses to recruiter activity among the kids.
  4. There is a chain of command responsible for the activities of the recruiters.  Those commanders can be made “mandatory reporters” – just as teachers and therapists are required by law to report to the authorities if they know about, or even suspect, child abuse. This is why I feel that item 4 on the list of possible demands is important.

Because of factors 2 and 3 above, there are enforceable safeguards which could be put into place.  We have seen, in recent years, much greater attention to the general problem of sexual harassment and coercion in the workplace.  Laws have been enacted, suits have been successful, and incident rates have been substantially reduced.  (Ask ex-President Clinton if people are paying attention to workplace sex laws.)  The same can be done to reign in military recruiter/rapists.

 [ send green star]
 
 September 02, 2006 2:35 PM

small correction:  Points 3 and 4 above (not 2 and 3) are why safeguards can be enforceable.  [ send green star]
 
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