EDITORIALS 12
NOVEMBER 23, 1992 \
Why do men rape?
By Melinda Manning
Guest Columnist
“Men rape bccause women turn
ihcm on. Women who dress pro
vocatively are asking for it. Black
men want to rape white women.
Most rapist are strangers who at
tack women in darlcencd alleys. Men
can’t be raped. Only young and
attractive women get raped. Men
cannot rape their wives or their girl
friends.”
These are only a handful of the
many myths surrounding the crime
of rape. These shape the way we
look at sexual violence and its vic
tims. As with racism and sexism,
until we can get past all the myths,
we will be unable to find the solu
tions.
We probably all know someone
who has been sexually assaulted.
They may be a friend, a colleague,
a sister, a classmate, an acquain
tance, or even a male companion.
According to the Federal Bereau of
Investigation, African-American
women are twice as likely to be
raped as white women, and are less
likely to report it. Even if you didn’t
believe Tawanna Brawley or sup
ported Mike Tyson, rape is still a
serious problem in our society as
well as on UNC’s campus'.
Why do we have this problem?
We live in an extremely violent
society. Reports of sexual violence
are not as common unless the crime
was particularly violent, interracial,
or if the assailant was someone fa
mous (i.e. William Kennedy Smith).
However, sexual assaults arc often
casually depicted in our television
shows, novels, music, magazines
(mainstreams and pornographic)
and movies. As a result, we slowly
become desensitized to this hor
rible crime. We become less sym
pathetic to rape victims and more
critical of their stories. Others may
even engage in sonf>e of the same
aggressive sexual behaviors.
We cannot place all the blame
on the images found in popular cul
ture. After all, rapes have occurred
throughout history. One of the main
roots of this problem is the simple
fact that men and women have a
difficult timecommunicating about
sex. Our society secs sex as some
thing dirty and slighdy unnatural
and as a direct result, most of us are
unable to talk about it openly, with
out innuendos. Women may feel
that if they are open about their
sexual desires they will labeled a
“slut.” We rarely ever ask for or
receive verbal consent before jump
ing in the sack. The fact is, in the age
of AIDS, it is imperative that we
discuss topics such as protection
before we do anything. Ideally, sex
should always be based on mutual
consent and respect.
Another factor in the rape equa
tion is the use of ak;ohol. This “so
cial lubricant” can make us more
aggressive, less inhibited and act
downright crazy. Often both parties
are intoxicated, and it can be ex
tremely difficult to prove whether
or not there was consent. In order to
prevent these situations, we need to
realize how alcohol affects our ac
tions, words and perceptions. In any
case, it is important to remember
that whenever someone has too
many drinks, they do not necessar
ily want to have sex or be sexually
assaulted. Rape should never be the
punishment for what might seem as
poor judgment
No matter what the color of the
assailant, rape is an act of oppres
sion. It affects how most women
(and some men) live and breathe.
We do no feel safe walking home
alone at night Some of us may
carry mace or take self-defense
classes. We’re often suspicious of
any men who we don’t know well.
We shouldn’t have to live this way.
Unfortunately, the grim reality
is that one out of four women at
UNC will be sexually assaulted
before she graduates. Many of these
women will not report their victim
ization and never receive any type
of help or support As a result, they
suffer in silence.
We can no longer shove this
issue aside. We all need to educated
ourselves and take precautions in
order to protect ourselves and those
we care about UNC has many re
sources dealing with sexual assault,
including Sibby Anderson-
Thompkins, the Sexual Harassment
and Assault Officer; Honor Court;
Student Health Service; Student
Psychological Services, and the
Rape Ac tion Project. We don ’ t ha ve
to keep silent
Campus Voice: Kill The Negative
Editor's note: Campus Voice fea
tures writers from campuses
around the nation. This week’s
issue was written by Eric Short, a
senior at North Carolina Agricul
tural and Technical University.
As young, energetic, African-
American students we are truly
blessed to be living in these times.
Some of us have become so accus
tomed to having material objects
that we forget to count our bless
ings. This western society pro
motes self-preservation atall costs.
From this competitive mentality
comes the emotions of jealousy,
envy and insincerity.
We are always looking for
ways we can outdo our own people.
This way of functioning is de
structive to our quest for unity
within our own people. This way
of functioning is destructive to
our quest for unity within our
young nation. As the future teach
ers, builders and leaders of the
African resurrection we must start
now to tear down the walls of nega
tive thoughts and actions.
Residing in all of us is the knowl
edge of right from wrong. Looking
at the status of the African-Ameri
can community, we must all com
prehend that now is the time for
serious work and dedication for our
future and those coming after us.
Therefore, we have no time for
slackness. We must become intense
about developing our character be
cause we have wasted enough time.
It’s time to cut away the obstruc
tions that stand in the way of devel
oping to our fullest potential.
Brothers, we are no longer toler
ating the disrespectful actions to
ward our sisters. If you cannot be
honest and take full responsibility
for your actions then you are not a
man. Any male that nms fixxn the
challenges life brings is still a boy.
Sisters, it’s time to kill the backbit
ing, gossiping and materialism.
There is no place for these i
things in a righteous nation. It’s
time for all tax)thers and sisters to i
bury the laziness, the egos, the
excuses, the carelessness and the
slackness.
How do we kill the negative
and uplift the posture? We fifst
must make the decision to live a
better life. Then we must con
stantly listen to the quiet voice
within. We all know right from
wrong and we are all guided by the
voice. It’s very quiet, so we have
to stop and relax in order to hear it
Figure out what it is that you are
doing incorrectly, then listen to
your inner-self to learn how to
improve. We owe our ancestors
our best effort everyday. We owe
our brothers and sisters our energy
and creativity. We owe our chil
dren our faith and dedication to
the completion of our righteous
goal.
HETE-PU! (Peace and Harmony)
Are you a part of the CNN?
By Karen Greene
Ink Columnist
What’s the 411? Forget ABC,
forget CBS and NBC. None of them
dents tune in daily, so your infor
mation can cross the campus faster
than you can.
Sounds like a bunch of bull?
Well that’s exactly what it is, in the
aboutas much relevance as people’s
responses to my articles.
People, we are in college. I said,
WE ARE IN COLLEGE. That
means that most of us passed the
Don’t Sweat the Technique
are quicker, mwe in-depth or as
invasive as CNN—no, not the Cable
News Network, I’m talking about
the 24-hour, round-the-clock, hear
say hotline known as the Carolina
Nigga Network.
That’s right, up-to-the-minute
coverage of every black person’s
private life on this campus. It’s so
thorough, it knows who you’re
sleeping with before you do. No
private life? That’s okay, it can make
one up for you.
Here’s the best part You can be
a pan of it all! All you have to do is
repeat to someone else what you’ve
heard, and there you go—you’re in!
The best thing is, hundreds of stu-
truest sense of the word.
People talk. Okay, I can accept
thatButDAMN!! Don’t you people
have work to do? I swear, if people
paid half as much attention to their
academics as they do to other
people’s business, there would be a
black valedictorian, two black
Rhodes Scholars and three black
Phi Beta Kappas in every class.
Oh but no, not on this campus.
The only way that could happen is if
you could get a BS in Getting in
People’s Business and on Their
Nerves.
Nevermind that CNN is aboutas
reliable as “I’ll call you tomorrow,”
and that the stuff that is true has
seventh grade—so act like it
Before you run your mouth, ask
yourself these questions:
(1) Am I jealous of this person?
(2) Is my life so empty that I must
take vested interest in this person’s
dealings?
(3) Do I need to get a life?
(4) Am I just so dapless that I need
to repeat stuff or just make shit up
to make myself look good?
If the answer to any or all of
these questions is “yes” then not
only are you perfect for CNN, but
you have a serious social malad
justment problem. Get over it—
and stay black. Peace.