Antoine Dodson, and a truth about rape

Antoine Dodson, photographed by Michael Mercier, Huntsville Times

Okay. I laughed. A lot. You laughed. Hell, by his own admission Antoine Dodson and his family laughed at the way his energetic comments in July, after his sister survived an attempted rape, became an internet sensation. It was a damn funny rant, and, as Judy Berman, asserting that the meme needs to die, observes "it takes a lot of courage to subvert the expected anguished-victim response, to actually confront and explode viewers’ just-another-crime-in-the-projects apathy." It's good that with the proceeds from the internet sensation song that followed, Dodson's been able to buy a house and leave the projects.

So yeah, laugh. But while we're laughing, here's what sticks with me about Dodson's rant:

If the average reaction to rape or sexual assault was to fight off the would-be rapist and then swear that "you don't have to come and confess, we're looking for you, we're gonna find you" then there would be hell of a lot less of it.

The focus in society needs to be on stopping the perpetrator or bringing them to justice, not blaming the victim, which is still, despicably, all too common with rape. In a better world, more time's spent telling people not to be rapists than in bullshit berating of the victim.

The legal penalty for rape often remains abominably low, so, yes, people need to agitate for stiffer penalties and better prosecution. The average sentence for rape should be measured in decades, not years.

And yes, people, male and female, should learn self-defense. Violence, sadly, remains a fact of life and will as long as humans occupy the planet, however much we improve the world around us. Knowing how to deal with that is a good idea for a thousand reasons, something I've harped on here before.

But at the same time, if the reaction from the community — from bystanders, co-workers, acquaintances, friends and family — to this problem is, per Dodson, focused on fighting and finding rapists, then it will become far less common.

In the end, the point is to create a society absolutely hostile to rape, and that involves making it a life-ruining offense. A major part of that is letting would-be rapists know that they will face being shot, stabbed, beaten or imprisoned for trying it.

Comments

[jennifer]

I agree with the idea that a strong community response to rape is important. I see evidence of this in Spain, where I've been living the past 4yrs. Recently, the accused killer of a young woman went into hiding & her brothers & friends formed a search party looking for him. When something like this happens in a barrio or pueblo, it's not uncommon for the whole community to get involved. Home alarm systems or Neighborhood Watches are unheard of here because everyone finds out within hours at the local corner bar what happened and to whom. And if you're Gypsy, whoever messed with you or yours better run for their life! Antoine's response seems to be the normal & EXPECTED response here, for better or for worse.

[Magnolia]

We've become too passive as a society...I like the "Gypsy" way mentioned above in the first comment.

[ohia]

Thank you for speaking up about this. I hope to see you at this years "Walk A Mile in Her Shoes" and the many other events that happen in April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I volunteer with Our VOICE, the rape crisis center serving Buncombe County and always notice when you support them in the media or on SM platforms. You are an asset to our community and although we both seem to be extremely busy, I hope to see you around more often.