Image credit: Wung, Flickr
Just yesterday I posted about the fresh and welcome feeling of seeing homeless individuals roundly and unanimously defended in the comments section of a news article, for a change. Then I read this news item from Augusta, Georgia.
…Aaaaaaaaaand we’re back to square one.
Early Thursday morning, a 37-year-old homeless woman in Augusta was raped, sodomized, and robbed of $120 by an armed assailant pressing a gun to her head. The woman was finally able to pull a knife from her pants and cut the rapist on the face, upon which he fled and the victim went to the hospital. The article also mentioned briefly (I can’t imagine why though, as it seems completely unrelated to the crime committed) that the woman had consumed an unknown amount of alcohol prior to the rape.
And then the comments started rolling in. Let’s take a look, shall we?
“Hmmmm, A Drunk Homeless Woman with $120. Yeeah Right” ~spdermn78
“Just because she is homeless doesn’t mean that she can’t turn tricks…..or dealing……” ~fishman960
“And here silly ole me was sitting here trying to figure out if it was rape or theft of services.” ~MarshCroaked
“Does seem kind of odd for a “homeless” person to be carrying that kind of cash on them.” ~Emerydan
“Emerydan, a woman with that kind of cash in that neighborhood at that time of night who had a sip or three doesn’t surprise me at all. Did she perhaps escape from Harrisburg?” ~MarshCroaked
“Sounds like prostitution was involved in this somehow.” ~Emerydan
“Somehow the thought of sodomy on a homeless woman seems, how should I put it, nasty.” ~Jake
“YUCK. Jake, you got it right, buddy.” ~ustabe
“Yep, the the incident likely involved prostitution. Did it involve rape, etc????” ~KSL
Wow. Just… wow. This woman was VICTIMIZED. She was fucking raped and sodomized, and had what was likely all the money she has in the world taken from her. And these MONSTERS who probably call themselves fine, upstanding Augusta citizens are re-victimizing her all over again – public flogging by humiliation. They jump to some huge conclusions and arrogantly generalize and stereotype this poor VICTIM by immediately drudging up prostitution, drug use, and implications of that good old standby chestnut, “she deserved it, she was asking for it”.
1) You have NO idea how that woman EARNED her $120. It is not unusual for a homeless person to have some money on them – many have jobs, or panhandle, or collect benefits – so what?! (It’s not as if she can afford housing with $120, at any rate.) It is none of your business HOW she earned that money, and it has absolutely no bearing on the fact that she was RAPED and ROBBED.
2) The article does not say whether or not the woman was drunk. Again, even if she were, if has absolutely no bearing on the fact that she was RAPED and ROBBED.
3) Where the FUCK do you get off, implying that this woman is dirty and nasty, rather than the ANIMAL who violated her?!
To be perfectly frank, I don’t care if this woman was drunk as a skunk, fucking every man in sight for cash, and passing out cocaine like it was candy (and for the record, the article states nothing of the sort – these sick citizens just imposed their own twisted, warped conclusions/fantasies stemming from their own disgusting prejudices onto this poor woman). Her occupation, state of sobriety, etc. are all complete nonissues here.
I don’t care if she was walking down a back alley at 3 a.m. stark naked. NOBODY asks to be raped. NOBODY deserves to be raped. This woman is a VICTIM. I am completely horrified at the mob mentality of these bastards ripping a victim to shreds. As a society, we’re supposed to be beyond this “the woman is asking for it” bullshit. We’re supposed to have evolved to the point where we empathize with victims of heinous crimes, treat them with respect and dignity. Clearly, at least in Augusta, some of the rabble is still stuck in the Dark Ages.
I noticed a minority of commenters echoing my sentiments of disgust, and that gives me a small amount of hope. To the rest, whom I have quoted above: shame on you! How DARE you insult this poor woman you don’t even know? How DARE you cast aspersions on her character; insinuate that she somehow deserved, invited, or played any role whatsoever in the crime, the terrible violation that was committed upon her? You know absolutely nothing about what it means to be not just a homeless person, but a homeless woman. You know absolutely nothing about what it means to be vulnerable and brutalized beyond belief. If there is such a thing as karma in this world, one day you will, and you’ll look back on this moment and weep for the injustice you have perpetuated.
Bastards.
