I've been reading the blog-a-thon posts, and it makes me wonder - where are the men? Please speak - in support or in dissent.
Did I hear 'why?' Or 'how?'
When we teach criminal law, one of the basic theories of criminalisation, we say, is that a crime causes not just a specific harm to a particular person, but a more general harm to society. Harassment is a crime in just that sense of the word. It hurts us, as women - we are the victims (how I hate that word!) But it also hurts us as people. It turns us from people into pieces of flesh, into things to be possessed, into sexual objects. It silences half our population, it censors half of all thought. It creates an atmosphere of fear, of dependence, of distrust. And speaking about it helps - even if it is just to create a feeling of solidarity. That's the answer to your 'why'.
Say something. Why you are silent when her eye catches yours, pleading for rescue from the touchy-feely next to her. How appreciation is not lechery. The time when you did something. The time when you didn't. Anything at all. That's how.
- Action Hero Erimentha
