Pretty Senseless!

On October 3^rd., 2018, I tuned in to the local ABC News Channel and heard the hosts citing statistics on how 1 in every 3 adults in the US – 85 million people, according to them – have Fast Food on a daily basis. This is probably a skewed marketing statistic, as many are. If true though, or even partially true, it is very sad, and probably why this nation ingests more medications than anywhere else on the planet. Statistics are useful when they make sense, not when they are slanted to brainwash, or when they become a corporate, or political marketing tool, as they often are. That is Pretty Senseless!

Here are some funny sayings from the goodreads.com website:

There are three types of lies . . . lies, damn lies and statistics.

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable. (Mark Twain)

99 percent of all statistics only tell 49 percent of the story. (Ron Delegge II)

Therefore, whenever anyone tells me: “the statistics are . . . “ I take it with a grain – big grain – of salt!

Having said that, and, with all the talk that has been madly swirling around the Supreme Court and the Kavanaugh/Ford hearings, as well as the unending superficial hyperventilation of our so-called MSM, the horrific subjects of sexual assault and rape have emerged, once again, into national prominence. Moreover, the fact that Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege won the Nobel Peace Prize this year for their work with victims of rape makes the subject even more internationally poignant. So here are some statistics from NSVRC (National Sexual Violence Resource Center) that, unlike most others, I truly believe:

1 in 5 women, and 1 in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives.

1 in 4 girls, and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old.

96% of people who sexually abuse children are male, and 76.8% of those are adults.

34% who sexually abuse a child are family members.

An estimated number of children who are currently at risk of becoming victims of commercial child sexual exploitation per year is 325,000.

Average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12-14, and boys 11-13.

20% to 25% of college women, and 15% of college men are victims of forced sex during their college years.

These statistics are awful and infuriating. However, I have great respect for NSRVC and other such institutions that are informing us about the numbers of BOTH girls AND boys who fall prey to such traumatic experiences. And, even though females are abused at much higher numbers than males, Trauma has no Gender Preference. Moreover, when we take into consideration the rape and assault of boys in Catholic Schools and Churches; the sham “marriages” of underage girls to much older men, which are nothing but rape; the rapes and assaults happening in offices and businesses such as the television and movie industries; the girls and boys being raped and assaulted by their sports coaches; rape and sexual assault in our military; the cases of incest and the many, many other unreported sex crimes it makes me wonder what kind of a people are we? How truly “civilized” are we as every day, it seems, more scum is being revealed, and more scumbags are being exposed? And in attempting to change course and right the wrongs how many innocent boys and men will we be sacrificing because some woman lied, as some definitely do? And how many girls and women will we never even hear of because of their shame, traditions and/or fear? And how many men will be assaulting and raping vulnerable and trafficked women right this moment and across our sorry world?

And after all these decades and centuries of knowing all this we are still bringing up boys while overtly, or covertly, supporting a sick culture and its nauseating manifestation of a manhood that includes rape as an instrument of war and machoism; and of girls who behave like sexual objects willing to sell themselves to the highest bidder for money, for fame, for drugs, because of their low self-esteem etc. Whether you call them Tinderellas, call girls, mistresses, sluts, or prostitutes, the nomenclature is irrelevant, because the end game is one and the same. The US is the world leader in objectifying and sexualizing females in the service of a greedy and vile corporate culture that utilizes sex to sell anything and everything from food products, to pharmaceuticals to vacations, to entertainment of all sorts. Are we then surprised by the results this sick culture produces?

If only we can all be MeToo until we bring up girls and boys who have self-respect and respect for others in every sense of the word. And, as I have mentioned in a previous post, while the responsibility of overcoming this scourge is on each and every one of us, I truly hope that we could avoid clipping the wings of romance, playfulness and flirtation between the sexes as that would eventually turn us into asexual boring robots, wouldn’t it? Could we, perhaps, keep a balance and not go to zealous extremes as we are so very prone to do, especially in these unhinged United States?

What more proof of our extremism do we need other than listening to the political parties from the Left and from the Right? I feel as if there is no room for sensible discussions anymore, not on the subject of rape, sexual assault, poverty, gun violence, climate change or any issue. Shouldn’t we, at some point, put the interests of society above those of financial or political gain, mainly because this extremism is becoming a more dangerous game by the day? I am also so tired of politicians and journalists who speak from both sides of their mouths. On the one hand, they support any and all wars – even those based on lies, as most are – for no reason whatsoever except profit and dominance. On the other hand, they trample and disregard justice, human rights and internationally accepted values whenever it is convenient for their sordid agendas. Double standards and hypocrisy galore, and it sure sounds like civility, common sense and reason are nowhere to be found inviting the anger and frustration we are witnessing daily and that ultimately lead to societal turbulence, and, yes, rape and sexual assault amongst other acts of violence. Pretty Damn Senseless!

https://www.ijm.org/news/five-children-are-free-and-their-journey-to-healing-begins/