goodness fucking gracious

[averygoodun42]

On one side, I'm, erm, happy that rape, especially date and party rape, has lately been getting the attention it needs, but this rash of reports of gang rapes is...

What the fuck have these parents been teaching their boys? Anything? At all?

I ask that not only because of the supreme lack of compassion, moral fiber and general respect these boys* have been displaying, but because... How fucking stupid can those boys be to not know that posting photos of the assaults online won't come back to bite them?

Granted, until the recent advent of digital society, the photos were more easily kept under wraps...

Still.

I think the Nova Scotia case is the most horrifying of all the recent teenage cases, however, given that nothing, absolutely. fucking. nothing, was done by the so-called grown-ups in authority, despite the photographic evidence of the crime. No wonder she killed herself.

*By the way, I don't care what the chronological age of a male who rapes is. A guy is a boy until he shows an ingrained sense of responsibility and respect, so rapists automatically don't qualify for the title of "man".

In more personal, and far less horrifying, news, I'm annoyed because I consciously decided to be consistent on the science test today, which means I know I got at least three questions wrong.

Not unrelated, I am becoming more and more convinced that this teacher has no business being a teacher. He really, really needs to go back into research where he belongs. He knows his stuff too well to teach it, because he forgets that we're ignorant of a good deal of what he talks about. Not only that, but he doesn't follow the rule of repeating everything three times. He says something once, and then tests us on it six weeks later (okay, maybe it was only a month and two sections later this time, but still...). Yes, it's annoying as all get out for those who grasp things quickly, but repetition is a key factor in most people's learning, and therefore in general teaching.

And I also think that he isn't keeping clear limits of which textbook to test to. Most of us have the less detailed one that focuses on concepts. A lot of his test questions are focused on the details that are only tangentially referred to in the text (and only said once in lecture).

I know science is difficult, but, well, I also know that with the amount of time I've been putting into studying, I should be getting a FAR better grasp on the subject matter than I am. (As measured by the tests...)

And considering this course's credits won't even transfer as science credits (because of the textbook), I think I'm justified in complaining about this.

Bah.

The worst part is that the professor and I have a friendly-acquaintanceship outside of school, and yet he's the first professor I will definitely be skewering on the evals. I guess I'll just have to disguise my handwriting a bit and/or hope he doesn't take it too hard...

Ah well. It's Friday. I have a fair amount to do this weekend, but I think I can safely take some down-time and watch another episode or two of Downton Abbey while I have the place to myself. Since sleeping and gardening isn't going to happen, that is. (It's absolutely miserable out (freezing rain), so gardening really isn't an option. ;-)

So, guilt-free Downton it is!

Comments

[mundungus42.livejournal.com]

I read a depressing but hopeful article the other day called The Day I Taught How Not To Rape that really hit the nail on the head as far as teenagers not understanding rape goes.

I totally hear you on your teacher. I had a chemistry teacher like him, and it wasn't until befriending an inorganic chem PhD student that I really understood the disservice he'd done us. And good on you for excelling in the class despite having a less than stellar teacher!

[satismagic.livejournal.com]

Thank you for that link. Very interesting, and shocking. But yes, hopeful, too.

[junewilliams7.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the article, Mundungus. Yeah, kids just don't understand some things... It cannot all be blamed on the media, as parents need to step up and be blunt about these topics. I'm glad this teacher spoke honestly and openly. The kids' reasoning is flawed -- as if any of them would be cool with someone stealing their money or car while they were asleep.

Elizabeth, I hope you get a better science teacher next time. Can you start canvassing other students to see what they think of the department's other teachers?

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

Excellent article. I'll be passing this on to #1's school so that it can be used in PHSE classes and ethics classes.

[zalena.livejournal.com]

At a fundamental level, this isn't just about sex, it's about consent... a conversation about basic boundaries we can begin at a much earlier age.

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, there's a series of adverts/public information films appearing on British TV and in cinemas which show a situation in which consent is not given and depict the young man in question standing outside the situation watching himself and realising he is raping the girl. Another one shows a girl experiencing physical and verbal abuse from her boyfriend and she, again, is on the outside watching herself and realising that abuse is what she's experiencing. They're films which show very believable situations as nothing out of the ordinary and then FORCE the viewer to realise that they ARE out of the ordinary and WRONG.

[mundungus42.livejournal.com]

I can imagine the fuss from certain quarters in the US (and certain elected officials) such PSAs would cause if they were aired here. I mean, demanding equal pay for equal work gets one branded a "Feminazi" here. I can't imagine what we'd get called for demanding that mens' defaults ought to be "not rape."

[zalena.livejournal.com]

Speaking of consent... let me know when you get to the end of S3. I thought there was a 'consent' moment that was completely brushed under the rug under the guise of 'tolerance.'