Rape culture, the epidemic that never wavers, has felt a surge this week. Not that rape culture ever takes a break. In fact, it actually “works” harder than the multiple occupation-holding Jamaicans parodied on In Living Color. However, the cases that presented themselves waver between the obvious, the surprising, and the scarily unknown. In the matter of days, rape culture has rubbed off our societal make up before any clock could strike twelve.
And under that makeup is an ugliness that would make Stevie Wonder cringe.
Rape Culture: The Obvious
All along, people have been screaming about the guilt that Bill Cosby has harbored. Now that the Jello pudding has hit the fan, all those that thought he was guilty can relish in satisfaction:
Bill Cosby has admitted to getting prescription Quaaludes to give to women he wanted to have sex with, newly released documents show.
The documents, dating back to 2005, stem from a civil lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand — one of the dozens of women who have publicly accused the comedian of sexual assault. The records were made public Monday after The Associated Press went to court to compel their release. [1]
And then there is this part:
In a sworn deposition, Cosby answered questions from Constand’s attorney, Dolores Troiani.
“When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?” Troiani asked.
“Yes,” Cosby replied.
“Did you ever give any of those young women the Quaaludes without their knowledge?” Troiani asked.
Cosby’s attorney objected and told him not to answer the question. [2]
As heartbreaking as this all looks, Cosby has a problem. Whether it be his voracity for multiple women or his use of drugs to “give” to them, the rape culture virus is rampant within his physiology. One only hopes that others not named Darren Sharper can learn from this.
Rape Culture And The Surprising
It is one thing to see the already accused be put through the ringer. It is another to see someone that you would least expect go through a police investigation. And this is what happened to Jared Fogle, Mr. Subway himself:
Amid a child pornography scandal that in May ensnared the executive director of Fogle’s Jared Foundation, which combats childhood obesity, state and federal authorities converged on the Subway spokesman’s Zionsville, Indiana, home early Tuesday.
Officers and agents led by Indiana’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force raided Fogle’s home where he lives with his wife and two young children. They confiscated computers, media storage devices, DVDs and documents. One law enforcement officer entered the home with a dog capable of sniffing out micro SD cards, typically used to store photos and videos, CNN affiliate WTHR reported. [3]
Now, I don’t know what they found on him or on his computers. I do know this: one of his foundation workers actually was caught up in child pornography and Subway has suspended their working relationship. Thus, Jared Fogle is looking crazy even if he isn’t guilty.
Rape Culture and the Scarily Unknown
Now, those two previous cases dealt with known figures in the lexicon of pop culture. However, it is the cases that deal with regular, everyday people that seem to be the scariest of all:
A man from California sits in jail in Detroit awaiting trial on charges of luring a 16-year-old Detroit girl into interstate prostitution.
The case started right in the middle of a popular outdoor event in the city, The Detroit Jazz Festival – which took place on last Labor Day weekend in Hart Plaza.
Evidence shows Kevin Keys, known online as Stac A Dollar, lured the 16-year-old girl into the sex trade by telling her she would make a lot of money.
Sex for money with the girl took place inside a tent right next to the festival. [4]
And that’s not all, my fellow readers. Yes, it gets even worse:
She did not go home. Detroit police put out an urgent call for help.
According to the investigation, Stac A Dollar, saw the missing person report and bought the teenager a wig so she would not be identified.
He allegedly took all the money raised from his sex tent to buy bus tickets and took the teen to Minnesota.
The man marketed her, shot several sexually explicit photos and sent them online to potential customers. [5]
This actually shook me to the core. The audacity of a man taking a teen and pimping them out is practically sickening. After he found out, he kept doing the foolishness instead of letting her go? For me, it isn’t the public figures getting caught up; it is the common citizens that are up to no good that is the most petrifying of all.
Rape Culture Epilogue
Rape culture is a problem that appears in a myriad of forms. It appears in the form of the highly susceptible finally being caught up. It also exists in the form of the unexpected clean cut person being accused. Even worse, rape culture appears as the creep that would do the worst to someone’s underage daughter. In all of its forms, rape culture has to be approached and eventually eradicated.
And it can only happen when we start in the mind.