Victimology is a major foundation of current Liberal thought. Because of their general opposition to the ideas of absolutes like Right & Wrong (particularly as outlined in religious doctrine), they are forced to derive moral authority from some secular humanistic basis. The automatic sympathy garnered from every decent person for the plight of a true victim of some calamity, then, is an easy answer. And like so many other aspects of Liberal thinking, it is highly emotional.
That’s how you get the various victim identity groups – blacks, gays, “migrant workers,” Palestinians, etc. Because they have been or are perceived to be oppressed, their sympathy must translate into support, which then becomes pushes for various forms of activism. And in American politics, that means the use of government power to take something from the “oppressors” and give to the “oppressed.” The problem with such considerations are punctuated when it is applied in this way. And this story is quite indicative of what can happen.
To summarize, a hooker was raped by a group of men at gun point. The judge reduced the charges to “theft of services” because that’s what the lady was selling and they didn’t pay. Yes. You read that right. The judge decided that this was closer to a 7-11 hold up, than to sexual assault.
The judge wasn’t looking for the elements of the crime as it is defined in the law. If she (yes, she) was, than she’s completely unaware of the “no means no” precedents regarding consent. Despite having agreed to a paid sexual encounter with two men, at some point prior to the acts, she stopped consenting. At that moment, sexual contact became criminal on the part of the perpetrators. But no, that’s not what this judge was looking for. She wanted a victim. In order for a rape to have occurred, one needs a rape victim – someone to feel sorry for. But because of the woman’s “profession,” that’s not what the judge felt, and so you get this kind of screwed up ruling.
I’d also like to point out how Liberal-promoted perceptions of sex played into this as well. Instead of being an emotional outpouring of unity through the physical bodily union, as I was taught through the Bible, sex is a commodity – a service no different than preparing someone’s taxes. I’ve even heard oral sex referred to as a “mouth hug” that a girl can decide to give to her male friends if she feels so compelled – maybe in exchange for helping her move big heavy objects.
Such devaluations, whether it be appointed victimhood or the commonness of promiscuous sex, are not bricks in the path to the Enlightened Utopia so many Liberals seem to imagine, but part of a Tower of Babel that will soon come tumbling down with catastrophic effects.
