monday, October 9, 1978
page 4
daily nebraskan
opinioneditorial
Rape is violently degrading and demands prosecution
Rape is a violent and degrading
act and can leave victims feeling
ashamed, violated and afraid.
The most effective ways to stop
rape must include understanding
what conditions are inducive to
rapes, learning what precautions
should be taken, how to handle an
attacker and prosecution of rapists.
It can be a disgusting experience
to personally learn how defense
attorneys may work in a rape trial.
They can publically degrade the
victim by asking such quesiions as
"did you enjoy it?" "were you
wearing intisive clothing" or "do you
always walk on unlit streets?"
Victims should be emotionally
prepared for such questions if they
have the courage to press charges.
The Lincoln police have become
more sensitive in their questioning
practices of victims and the judicial
system should learn such tact.
Successful prosecution is the most
effective way to rid the streets of
rapists so they can receive
professional help.
In certain situations, men who ex
perience rape may undergo the same
emotions a raped woman does. In
prisons, men who are raped usually
feel ashamed and don't report the
incident until they have talked it
over with a friend.
Most prison rape prosecutions
in Lancaster County are unsuccess
ful. Corroboration is required for
successful prosecution. Corrobora
tion means that physical evidence
such as the presence of semen, or
physical marks are obtained.
Inmates are afraid of the stigma
attached to being raped by another
man. The rape can make them
question their masculinity.
It is the general feeling of deputy
Lancaster county attorney Stephen
Youngblut.' and Director of
Correctional Services Joseph Vitek
that rape does not satisfy primarily
sexual urges, rather it is a violent
degrading act.
Rape is not an act to satisfy a
sexual drive. It is a crime and the
rapists should not under any circum
stance be let fre nor should the
judicial system make a trial a
degarding experience for the victim.
Events such as Rape Awareness
Week can teach women how to avoid
possible rapes and prepare them
selves for what they would do if
attacked.
Women also can learn how to pro
tect themselves by contacting such
agencies as the Lincoln Rape Crisis
Center.
Women who have been raped need
to decide if they want to rid them
selves and society of the rapists
badly enough to go to court.
Or possibly face the rapist again.
letters
Kate Gaul's columns continue to feature
"""angry polemics based on simplistic assump
tions in the face of complex social issues.
In her discussion of rape in the Oct. 6
Daily Nebraskan she picks up the thesis
that rape is a tool which men (as a group)
use to oppress women (as a group) as the
basis for her article.
This thesis has been widely rejected by
both male and female scholars, yet Gaul
asserts its truth without comment, as
though it were an established fact. There
are indeed too many rapes, but the vast
majority of males, even in this country,
find rape to be as deplorable an act as do
females.
Gaul should examine her own attitude
if she indeed finds herself "suspicious of
half the human population." A statement
like that is parallel to saying that all
members of a certain race are suspect
because some individuals among it commit
a murder. Further, the fact that "nearly
every victim is female, nearly every
criminal is male" does not point to con
spiracy. Rather than conspiracy, it simply
points to the fact that a) sex most freq
uently involves persons opposite in sex
type, and b) that it is far easier physcially
for a man to rape a woman than vice versa.
This means, practically, that a male with
mental problems might be found
expressing them in rape, whereas the prob
lems in a woman would have to be
reflected in some other way. (In using the
term "mental problems" I do not mean
to imply that the rapist should not be held
criminally responsible for his act).
Gaul also asserts that rape has nothing
to do with "sexual desire of the male." All
of the evidence is not in on this aspect
of the issue. An editorial in the Omaha
World Herald which appeared the same day
as Gaul's column, reported on research
presented at the recent meeting of the
American Psychiatric Association in
Toronto. One paper found that porno
graphy did in fact increase male aggression
toward females, and second, found that it
even increased aggression of females
toward females. More research is needed,
but if a connection is found between
sexual arousal and rape, then the
arguments that things such as women's
dress have nothing to do with rape will
have to be re-evaluated. To say that women
who are raped are often dressed modestly
proves nothing; the source of the arousal
and the target of the aggression may not
be the same, as in the case of the above
mentioned research. Certainly rape is an
act of violence, but a peculiar sort of
violence; violence involving a sexual act.
To ignore the sexual component in assess
ing the causes of rape seems to involve an
absurd assumption.
If the results of this research receive
confirmation in the future, society will
have to take a hard look at how openly it
will allow sex to be portrayed and
practiced. Perhaps there is a connection
between the increasing openness about sex
in recent years and the continuing increase
in rape. Even allowing for increased report
ing of the crime, the sexual openess has
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Mountain magic needed to fix lovers' fights
I saw a story the other day about a Con
gressman stalking out of the White House
after the president refused to call a "Camp
David summit conference" on unemploy
ment. The article quoted Carter as saying such
a conference would not be "appropriate."
So I called a friend of mine who works at
the White House to find out more.
Qfthur hoppe
"Why wouldn't it be appropriate,
Jody?" I asked my friend, who wishes to
remain anonymous. "Camp David is a swell
place to solve problems. I know Mrs. Begin
is a little sore that Menachem didn't learn
to swim while he was there, but otherwise
everything worked out great."
Camp crowded
"That's the problem," said Jody . "Now
everybody wants to go to Camp David to
solve their problems. We couldn't get un
employment in until 1981. But Jimmy
figurii now he's got that problem licked.
"What's he going to do?"
"He's going to franchise a chain of
Camp Davids on mountaintops across the
country."
"And they'll deal with domestic
problems?" I asked.
"Jimmy figures we can save half a
million marriages in the first year alone,"
agreed Jody.
The way it works, he explained, is that
when you and your spouse have a spat,
simply call up your nearest Camp David
and make a reservation for the first avail
able 13-day "U-Fite-We-Fix" session.
Hugs and kisses
On your arrival at camp, your counselor
will greet each of you with a warm hug and
a big smile and will assign you to your
separate quarters.
You may then sign up for the usual
camp activities such as archery lessons,
instructions in how to make authentic
Navaho beaver tail key rings, and the ever
popular course in mouth-to-mouth resus
citation with members of the opposite sex.
With hick, you won't see your spouse
until the final day when your counselor
brings you goether for the closing ceremon
ies. At that time, everyone grins and
applauds and embraces each other and you
sign an agreement promising never to fight
with your spouse again an you live
happily ever . . .
"Wait a minute, Jody," I said. "How do
the counseler get the fighting couple to
sign the agreement?"
Slow death
"I guess I forgot to mention that for
eight hours a day you're locked in a bare
room with a tape loop of Jimmy's collect
ed speeches."
"No offense, Jody," I said, "but all
that's going to do is bore them to death."
"If it worked with Begin and Sadat,"
said Jody with dignity, "it should work
with life long enemies. In fact, we tried it
on one couple who had been fighting for
years over whether it was important to
close the closet door in the bedroom be
fore going to sleep."
"And they agreed on the door"
"No, but they agreed on limited sovere
ignity for the Palestinian people."
"Well, I hope you work the bugs out of
it, Jody"
"We'd better. Peace in the Middle East
is one thing, but domestic problems are
bigger than all of us."
(Copyright. 1978. Chronicle Publishing Co.)
certainly not resulted in decrease sex
crimes.
Nevertheless, we cannot fault Gaul for
wanting to keep the problem of rape in
the public eye. It is indeed serious, and she
is right in stating that laws and procedures
have too long been weighted in the rapists'
favor. But it is not in the service of society
to oversimplify; to blow the serious crimes
of individual men and the problems of our
legal system into a conspiracy conceived
and executed by the entire male sex
throughout history; nor is it wise to fail
to examine all available evidence before
making decisions about causes and
solutions.
Terry Christlieb
Graduate, Pre Med.
It's a natural gas
Who can we believe? See Northern
natural gas ad from the current TV Guide.
Professor Boohar has a right to his
opinion, but I wonder about his credibility.
So many experts have cried wolf so long,
I wonder what they really want us to do.
Many people are saving fuel -even riding
the bus to school and work.
Boohar has a "reputation" for
expressing gloom and doom in other areas,
I believe.
Wasn't he the gent who told students
and others that we were running out of
food all over the world? He predicted a
famine, which would turn all the Third
World countries against the U.S. And I
think he also warned that these under
privileged people would soon produce
atomic weapons, and use them on us.
He also preached . population control
(while producing four or five Boohar
youngsters).
Why not ask a qualified spokesman
from the energy business (maybe the presi
dent of Northern Natural Gas) to comment
on our petroleum reserves and other
sources of energy available to use after
1985.
John R. Ritzman
We will win
Sadat's flag and Begin 's Israeli flag are
interchangeable, and the only legitimate
flag of the area is the flag of the Palestine
Liberation Organization or the flag of
U.A.R.-which Sadat has betrayed! Nasser
was the greatest leader of the Arabs.
When these Israeli or Korean or Carter
CIA insects torture and murder someone,
their works are published, and like Steve
Biko, they become symbols to their people
and famous in the history of human
struggle for liberty. We will win!
Venceremos! In Latin America, down with
Somoza and Baptista down with the
facists and capitalists and CIA! Kick the
pigs out of the Sandanista's Worker's
Republic of Nicaragua!
Max Dalrymple