I thought readers would appreciate Austin Cline’s response to dishonorable slurring of Jamie Leigh Jones after she was brutally raped and kept prisoner by employees of Halliburton in the Green Zone in Iraq. The response to gang rape—she’s a lying slut who asked for the assault that didn’t happen by being so beautiful which was totally uncalled for even though she’d probably have been abused worse if she didn’t put forward the requisite effort to be pleasing to the eye—is so standard at this point, that it’s almost amazing that people who push it don’t immediately recognize themselves as rape-supporting misogynists.
15 Responses to “Nice work, Austin”
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War creates a state of lawlessness. That’s the point. Rape is inevitable in war; we would be a more just society if we sold war as “ethically acceptable rape.” (E.g., the inevitable rape and murder>>not going to war.) The problem is the right wing doesn’t see this as a drawback. Hell, it’s a benefit in some cases; google Bosnia and sex slavery.
One of the horrible things about Iraq that no one has commented upon (yeah, there’s still some things) is that it basically justifies vigilantism. Think about it. Any Iraqi with more than shite for brains _must_ be violent to survive. Literally, armed criminals run the streets. Further, since our own military is now lawless (due to contractor protection and the more general dearth of investigations and prosecutions), the only way for there to be justice is if we have vigilanties. Personally, I wouldn’t convict a victim of anyone in Iraq for retailiating with deadly force if I were on a jury; eye for an eye is the natural state of man, and that’s what we created in Iraq.
The right-wing likes war for the same reason criminals like masks: they can be themselves without standing out.
She was just on Dan Abrams show. She described her injuries from the attack. Her pectoral muscle was torn(!), bruised wrists and thighs.
I am glad she had the courage to come forward. I met some very creepy men when I was in Iraq working as a contractor. One contractor (who coincidentally worked for KBR) followed me around an air terminal. There were some places in Iraq where I stayed that my room did not have a lock on the door.
No, I did not have a firearm. The majority of contractors do not work for private security companies, and do not have the authority to carry firearms.
The other day I was telling my dad about this story and I just started crying. That has never happenned to me before.
I have never been raped but i expect that if I ever were, somebody would come out and try to blame me for it. That fact that anyone can learn the details Jamie Leigh’s case and go on to deny or lay blame on the victim, anything other than cry out for the heads of the perpertators to roll, proves once and for all how strong and deep the hatred of women is in our society.
If there was any doubt in my mind that rape is a hate crime against women, it left me the moment I realized how very afraid news stories like this make me feel.
It’s actually much worse than that. The US military is governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but it does not apply to contractors. Mercenaries are governed by international law, but our contractors are technically not mercenaries. One of the last acts the US provisional government passed in Iraq, (rule 17 IIRC), was to exempt contractors from Iraqi laws as well.
It’s a purposely created situation that goes beyond the fog of war. Were these men US soldiers they would be tried, and US soldiers have been tried for Iraq atrocities. Meanwhile contractors are out raping people and shooting civilians without repercussion.
This has been a known problem for years, at this point it’s clear the situation exists because someone wants it to exist.
Our government obviously takes it very seriously:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=V5xT1DGJMoQ
Har har har. “What are we doing about it?” Nothing.
Speaking of blaming the victim, check this out:
http://www.tmz.com/2007/12/17/alleged-rape-victim-loves-to-party-at-les-deux/
Phinky - I’m glad that you’re OK. It’s easy to lump contractors together as if everyone was a Blackwater mercenary, but it’s important to remember that there are a lot of decent people out there just trying to make a positive difference in a bad situation.
NO, no, no, a thousand times no:
War creates a state of lawlessness. That’s the point. Rape is inevitable in war; we would be a more just society if we sold war as “ethically acceptable rape.”
Rape is inevitable, perhaps. But our government has created a situation where consequence-free behavior is not only possible, but encouraged. Every war will loose the inner demons of those who fight it. But not every war has the government waging it giving its soldiers and contractors some kind of Conan Pass to do whatever the hell they want without consequences.
Rape and pillage and misbehavior are only allowed free rein if the government decide to do so (cf., the Wehrmacht in Russia, and the Russians in Germany).
The current war is bad for a whole bushel-bag of reasons. But the specific cases of Halliburton/KBR/Blackwater are the product of a very precise set of bad, bad, choices by George W. Bush and his cronies.
But no doubt we shall be patted on the head and told that the end justifies the means, you can’t make an omlette without… etc. All those empty platitudes that are wheeled out every war to justify atrocity.
Wow. That YouTube video was incredibly depressing. Does he not understand how big a deal this is, or does he just not care? He’s just an overgrown frat boy.
Anne, that makes me sick. Straight up victim-blaming. Not a virgin?! Can’t be raped.
At least most of the commenters at TMZ are pissed off and demanding that they delete the post. There are one or two fucktards, as usual, but most people seem pretty angry that TMZ put up the name and photograph of a(n alleged) rape victim.
If there was any doubt in my mind that rape is a hate crime against women, it left me the moment I realized how very afraid news stories like this make me feel.
That’s a very important realization, I think, and it’s one that I never had until I started reading feminist-leaning blogs.
The point of the “it’s the victim’s fault” arguments is to make women restrict their behavior, keep their mouths shut, and stay bound by acceptable roles. It reminds women that their freedoms exist only by the grace and generosity of the men around them.
GumbyAnne writes:
I feel the same way; in fact I feel quite certain of it. Add to this the fear that if I were to successfully defend myself, there would be “no evidence” and I would be prosecuted for assault.
The current system does not support women’s not being victims, just our being “good” victims. (i.e. brutally beaten virgins).
Dorothy is right; the point is to keep us in line.
Please stop saying “alleged rape” and “alleged rape victim.” We do not call other crimes “alleged.” It’s not “alleged car theft” or “alleged robbery,” it’s “alleged car THIEF” or “alleged ROBBER.” The accused is “alleged” to have committed a crime.
Only when it comes to rape do we reserve “alleged” to describe a crime that took place — but the bitch has to prove it first.
More woman-hating. It’s just part of the lexicon.
I agree with tinfoil.
And I’m aware that the Admin thinks the immunity for contractors for rape is a feature, not a bug. When the war first started, I debated a friend about whether or not the Iraqis would be better off w/o Saddam. I pointed out that chaos and suffering in Iraq, not a stable government, is in Bush’s best interest. I’m always right about bad stuff. . .