Sunday, October 7, 2012

Justified

There's no way to say this gently, so I'll just lay it out there: yesterday a woman murdered a man. And she's not going to be punished for it. In fact, I almost wish we could give her a medal.

I'm not going to use names out of respect for the privacy of all parties--the woman, who was a victim first, and the family the man left behind. The long and short of what happened isn't a new story to the world. They were working together over at the middle school helping with the cleanup effort and things got very bad. The inner classrooms there haven't been touched since The Fall, only checked by our people during quick sweeps to make sure no undead were wandering about. They're dark and musty and need the junk in them hauled out. That's what was happening when the man began making unwanted advances.

He didn't try to rape her, exactly. She says that he became very aggressive and pulled her close but that she rebuffed him sharply enough that he backed off. It says something about her that the lady kept working with him, though warily, I'm sure. She said she was worried that if she immediately left to speak to someone about him, he would have become more violent.

During a break the man asked to be reassigned after claiming he was going to use the bathroom, which the woman only discovered after returning to their work site. Upon seeing a new person in the man's place, the woman went to the project leader and inquired about his whereabouts.

So she tracked him down and found him doing the same thing to the girl he was working with there. His second attempted victim was seventeen and thin, but was putting up a good fight when the woman showed up. She pulled the man off the girl, earning a punch in the face which she repaid with a violent kick to the groin. As the fellow lay moaning on the ground, the woman drew her belt knife and slashed his throat, clean as that.

Better than he deserved if you ask me. You didn't, but I'm sharing my opinion anyway.

As a male I understand the incredible power hormones have over my gender. It's a hard thing to explain to people who don't experience the sensation of overwhelming need trying to wrest control of your brain. The thing is, most men learn to control it and not let that urge turn to violence. Because rape is about violence, as the old saw goes. It's never acceptable, full stop.

In the world as it was, some estimates claimed that one in six women would suffer some form of sexual assault in their lifetimes. I hope the apparent enormous drop in that number (apparent because I'm afraid many women still may not report the deed, which would be tragic) has to do with how untamed and wild justice has become.

Before, there existed a biased and slowly evolving legal system that made the victims of these kinds of crimes feel ostracized for bringing charges against their attackers. Not always--hell, maybe not even mostly--but enough that a meme existed in society that standing up and demanding justice was as good as painting yourself with a scarlet letter. That always pissed me off beyond comprehension.

I hope that the way things are now help deal with that. There is no complicated legal structure. Sexual misconduct is one of those things that we as a community simply do not tolerate. If you do it, you face the consequences. In this case there were some factors that played into the man's actions, reasons for an escalation in his sexual frustration and advances. Not excuses, because no matter how bad things were at home, and they were, there is never an excuse for what he did.

As far as everyone that has heard about this is concerned, there's no reason to even question the victims beyond simple fact-finding. Two women suffered hateful attacks by the same man. He signed his own death warrant. By leaving his corpse lying there while she took the girl to a safe place where she could be made comfortable, the woman was guilty of not piercing his brain to keep him from rising. Maybe she wanted to go back so she could kill him a second time. If so, she forgot.

But she did leave him there, so I guess she's guilty of...what, littering, maybe?

I really wanted to do my last post for this four-day cycle on something positive, but I couldn't leave this event untouched. There are very few instances of violence of any kind between citizens, and in general they're so minor that they don't even reach my attention for days after. This, however, is a big deal. And it should be noted for anyone out there who may find themselves fighting similar urges that the same consequences will be on you should you give in to that urge. Either at the hands of your victim or at the hands of the law.

I need a day to get the awful texture of this out of my brain. I thought we were better people than this. I really had hoped this kind of behavior had been weeded out. I'm an idiot. Human nature is too stubborn, strong, and awful. The evidence of that is clear to see.

1 comment:

  1. Today is HOMECOMING DAY! (Yeah, one day off due to the Dead) After 60 days of being sequestered from our volunteering to help the L'ville people. It's been a very interesting isolation. I have seen some things I wish I could erase from my brain, and somethings I hope to never forget! It has been a learning experience. I feel stronger for taking my walk-a-bout! Thanks for letting us travel along with your walk-a-bout too Josh, even if it was an emotional and mental trek! Glad you are making progress. We are having a get together for those of us that are still alive and came home, those that didn't, those that will come to know this place as home, & those that will stand with us against our enemies. We will celebrate all we have, will obtain, and a sobering moment to think of all we have to lose & have already lost! HOPE to see you there! It doesn't have to be hell LIVING WITH THE DEAD!! Lugi

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