Gods & Monsters

Because the first time I got raped, my boyfriend broke up with me because I had “cheated” on him.
Because the word “rape” is considered a joke.
Because there over 70% of women let their partners fuck them when they don’t want it.
Because 17% of American women have been the victim of sexual assault at some point in their lives.
Because only 39% of rapists get reported to the police, and only 3% of them go to jail.
Because about 13% of the rape victims commits suicide.
Because the first time I got raped, he put a knife to my throat and told me he would kill me if I said I didn’t want it.
Because when I wanted to report him, people told me I couldn’t because I hadn’t said “no” to him.
Because at least half of all babies born to minor women are fathered by adult men. (10+ years age difference)
Because I can’t wear a skirt without being told “I’m asking for it.”
Because when I went to a party when I was 14 and I wore a skirt and a guy kept touching my ass all night, my mother told me it shouldn’t have happened if I wore sweatpants.
Because a 16 year old girl who had her first orgasm while getting raped, had to watch her 34 (!) year old rapist go free because she had had an orgasm.
Because when my guy friend told me and some friends he got raped by a women when he was 13, a “friend” laughed at him and said he should be happy he got laid that young.
Because my 17 year old best friend’s parents let her 14 year old brother walk outside until 12pm, but she has to be home at 10.
Because a guy from my old school got raped by another guy, but because he is gay, they said it wasn’t considered rape.
Because a 19 year old lesbian got raped by a guy, and he didn’t go to prison because he said “he only tried to turn her straight so she would get accepted by her parents”
Because in some cultures, girls (and boys) still get thrown out of the family because some guy/girl sexually assaulted them.
Because they’re still teaching girls to walk faster at night instead of teaching guys they shouldn’t rape.
Because I have to explain why I’m angry because of rape.

The problem is that white people see racism as conscious hate, when racism is bigger than that. Racism is a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people’s expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay for owning everything.