I wrote an earlier post on the rape of Steubenville, Ohio, being treated as an isolated incidence when in truth the fault lies amongst all of us who do not respond, as we should, against the crime of rape.
The news agencies are reporting the cases are old and obsolete and the technology we have today wasn’t available. I’m sure there is truth in that but it doesn’t explain the cases that happened much more recently and as recent as 4 months ago. I will report what I have read and been told many times by those who do serve in police Departments going back many years. What we will never hear reported is that a great deal of politics also lies behind the fact that the rape kits were not sent in to be processed.
To be honest, I did not watch the report done on CNN who brought it to the media attention that 400,000 rape kits were left unprocessed in our Nation. I did watch as one of the women anchors asked, “if the police could be prosecuted or sued for leaving the rape kits unprocessed?” In my own estimation this question, itself, is just more of the finger-pointing and simplifying that is done towards the crime of rape in America.
There are any number of reasons as to why police do not process rape kits, so lets be honest about it. Too many amongst us already take too much delight in finding fault or individuals to blame. I do not understand why police, who for the most part are people of honor, do put in the back breaking hours that too many times ruin their marriages, take them away from their family time and vacations, risks their lives, and often are the most under-paid amongst us, when those amongst us keep finding fault, except for the fact that the majority of the people who serve are people of character. When we point fingers and “pass the buck”, we can at the very least spread the fault out where it belongs.
There are other instances in America where the mayor gets called by the father or mother of the son, or by an alumnus who supports the sports program of their alma mater when the rapist is an athlete, friend, or family member and the Mayors pick up the phone and inform the Chief-of-Police that he will not allow his officers to investigate the crime or process the rape kits or suffer the consequences when it comes to him withdrawing his and his buddies’ monetary support during the upcoming elections.
The Chief of Police then passes the message down the line of command. Rarely is it in that terminology but the words used amount to the same definitions and do not go left unheeded when delivered by those of Status, Power or Wealth.
All these cases did not occur in Chicago, as many are trying to politicize, already. They are spread around the Nation. Just as the Mayors in some cases make the calls, so do Judges receive like calls as do prosecutors have a history of never prosecuting cases after the Police put hours into investigating the crimes and processing the kits; due to similar calls by the elitists in America with threats of withdrawal or support of monetary value at election time. The police are at the bottom of the chain of command, no matter how many would have us believe they are given a great deal of discretion, when it comes to processing rape kits. Intimidation lands the hardest on the backs of the police officers when they are threatened with dismissal if they proceed with the investigation.
If it is some one of importance that can directly influence the jobs of the police, lower their standing in the Department, or demote them to desk jobs then they do not have discretion to process rape kits and anyone who refuses to acknowledge this happens throughout police Depts. regardless of size through out our Nation then we are lieing to ourselves. The same organizations or media who are not reporting accurately, in regards to why rape kits are not processed, are also reporting less than the facts.
The bosses who will lose the political support of the benefactor if they do prosecute or don’t drop the cases are the ones who tie the hands of the police’ in directly much larger cases than it is right to do so. The police many times can only keep the kits until a better or different climate towards the understanding of the “horror” of rape is elected to office by “We the People.”
There are those who are called the “Good Old Boys”, in many but not all Police Departments, in the majority of States who know if its an appointed or elected position and a member of the Clergy or their sons then it is just the girl’s/Woman’s word against the boys/man’s word and they will and do bury rape kits. Without the investigation or rape kits the knowledge is the victims can prove nothing. The only reason many of those kits have been saved is because in many other crimes or cases the police or prosecutors are waiting for the right political climate to be able to prosecute the offenders.
In communities when it comes to the so called “right kind of People”, being charged with rape the Community itself becomes out-raged if the police or prosecutors do try to convict rapists.
As a Nation, too many amongst us still refuse to accept that wives and prostitutes as well as mistresses are indeed raped. Others in a community still refuse to accept the high number of boys who are raped and, often times, refuse to accept that incest and rape exists in the numbers of victims it does in their own families and neighborhoods or amongst their friends.
When the culture exists for adults to call friends “aunties” or “uncles” too many parents will accuse their own children of lying before they will accept that they are telling them the truth. The most protected criminals of all in a community still remains the star athletes, clergy, and “one of their own”. The unfounded belief, that is totally void of fact, is that the streets are the greatest producer of rapists and that rape does not happen in our own back yards by people we know when statistics show just the opposite to be true.(Please Read my Previous Post entitled ,”Steubenville Exposes The Ugly Truth On Rape” for a more comprehensive study as to why rape cases go unrecognized and prosecuted as the Serious Crime it is.)
Some States that are more inclined to be involved in the realities of, “the truth in reporting”, and the life-long seriousness of rape, have jettisoned into the twenty-first Century by taking away the statute of limitations when it comes to the crime of rape. Many others are still living in the dark ages as technology no longer leaves any shred of doubt as to who is telling the truth. Unless the majority of us get past the mentality of “Boys will Be Boys” and instead insist that regardless of the standing in the community; “rapist are not to be allowed special favors,” we all risk re-raping the victims in every State of the Union.
I applaud those who are at least exposing the Ugly truth of Rape but unless we as a Nation tell, “The whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth”, in a Court of Law and in reporting rape, we still bind the hands of the police or those who would prosecute rape.
I do not deny that there are crooked cops just as their are those in Universities and the military who have denied that rape exists in their ranks for generations. It is when we start pointing our fingers at the heroes of all who serve, while blaming them for the rotten apples, we become as guilty as the politicians when it comes to trying to sweep the full tragedy and facts of rape under the rug.
No matter what changes are made in the law, we still run the risk of tying the hands of the police hired to serve us when we refuse to elect those who will and do prosecute rape.
Certainly electing Conservative and Tea Party Members who try to call a child” borned of Rape”, the intent of God or those who pass bills in Congress to define rape as anything but; ” When A woman or child says “NO”, it is rape. When it is a child below the age of 14 to 16 it is always rape since they do not have the brain development to give consent regardless of the situation. When children or women have been drugged, abused, intimidated, forced into having sex it is rape”. When the largest majority of all rapes occur by neighbors, friends, family, or colleagues and we know incest is rape; then who is it that needs to be protected by defining rape? The victims as well as anyone above the age of six already knows the definition of rape
Rape isn’t anything too complicated to define when we get past those who would protect the rapists or the “Right Kind Of People.” Nothing a little common sense and decency couldn’t solve. The solution certainly isn’t to blame those whose hands we help to tie.
None of us like to admit that perhaps we, ourselves, made a mistake when we voted for a candidate and as a result we often leave them in office year after year feeling as though they are responsible for correcting the mistakes they promised to do when elected and then our responsibility is over with as our elected officials will speak for us.
In too many cases when judges are appointed or Sheriffs, and Prosecutors come up for re-election, especially, will they get left in offices before much investigation is done by us, unless they themselves are convicted of crimes or a petition is started up against their ineffectiveness. As a result some will remain in offices doing little to nothing for those of us who sent them there while paying homage to the elitists, year after year. We cannot complain if we deny or ignore the fact that the same happens and simply shrug our shoulders and simply accept the fact:” that is just the way it is.”
“We The people”, only need to be more pro-active about being honest with ourselves when it comes to rape as well as the people who we put into office to represent us,by treating every human being with an equal amount of truth and respect and demanding that all who serve, do the same when technology does not lie. Politics are almost always local and a healthy amount of skepticism, for those who we elect or leave to appoint to office, is almost always good to possess despite those who would advise us to the contrary.
We can also vote the bums out when they profess ignorance because rape hasn’t been defined clear enough. When we become pro-active enough to recognize fact over lies and when we go to the polls each election cycle, we empower the victims so they do not suffer rape again at the hands of the system.
I hope all of us have a nice evening at home tuning in on this terribly violent day of storms. May we all be protected against more devastation that is out of our control while we tune in more to positive actions towards helping those who continue to be wronged by acknowledging their pain. We can make a difference one person at a time, once we commit to the same. First of all we have to want to help.