Blaming the victim is not always a bad thing

I’ve been aware of the so-called Slut Walks for a while now.

Women around the world have been dressing in sexually-provocative outfits to protest a Toronto police officer who suggested one of the ways women can reduce their changes of being sexually-assaulted is to avoid dressing “like sluts.”

Many people see this as a classic example of “blaming the victim.”

And while I agree completely that a women who wears a short skirt does not “deserve” to be raped. I think we do people a disservice when we refuse to ever place any blame whatsoever on a victim.

Every day, cialis decease people make decisions that increase their likelihood of being victims. They build houses on the beach in hurricane zones. They get into cars driven by friends who have been drinking. They respond to emails from Nigerian lawyers.

When we refuse to attach any culpability to decisions like these, order we fail to discourage them.

If you break into a zoo at night and try to pet a Polar Bear, you bear some of the responsibility when he eats you.

If you flash thousands of dollars in cash at a drug dealer on North and 30th in downtown Milwaukee at three in the morning, you bear some of the responsibiltiy when he robs you.

And, yes, if you’ve been drinking all night and get into a car to go home with four men you’ve never met before, you bear some of the responsibility for what might happen to you then, too.

Don’t act like a victim and you decrease your odds of becoming one.

11 comments August 12th, 2011


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Being in a wheelchair gives you a unique perspective on the world. This blog features many of my views on politics, art, science, and entertainment. My name is Elliot Stearns. More...

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