Shusha
Gold Member
- Dec 14, 2015
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Gender-based sexual violence doesn't happen in a vacuum either. It occurs within the context of a complex stew of misogyny, historical expectations, religious beliefs, cultural norms, systemic oppression, and other societal ills.... But this did not happen in a vacuum and people keep trying to treat it like it did on the Israeli side but not on the Palestinian side. This is the culmination of decades of an unresolved conflict ...
Despite this stew, the only one responsible for committing rape is the rapist. The rapist is not inevitably compelled to perform acts of evil, as though he has no responsibility, no accountability, and no choice except to commit the evil. The victim of rape is never complicit in causing her own harm. And we don't (or we shouldn't) assign "points" as to who was most at fault for the "oops! accident" of rape. It doesn't matter if the rapist and the raped were in conflict. It doesn't matter if there was a history between them. It doesn't matter if she made the sammie wrong, if dinner was late, if she wore the wrong dress, if she insulted him, if he felt the relationship wasn't fair, if he thought she should provide him with more frequent sexual gratification, if he hit her, or if she hit him. Rape is evil and the only one responsible for committing an act of rape is the rapist.
I use this as example to try to clarify my meaning. We can absolutely talk about the context of the conflict. But we absolutely must not place responsibility for committing atrocities on anyone other than the one who commits the atrocity.
Decades of unresolved conflict, while real, do not inevitably lead to committing atrocities. I reject that utterly. And if you believe the Palestinians are incapable of not committing atrocities - they certainly can't be permitted to have a State.