[QUOTE Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch the nigger by the toe.
If he squeals let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, mo QUOTE]
My cousin who is black was adopted from an orphanage in cork 40 + years ago. He was so unusual (race wise, in Dublin) that when neighbours kids called over the fence: "Nigger Nigger Nigger", he used to call back Nigger Nigger Nigger; as he had no idea what they were talking about.
Of course I would. I say I am going to kill people all the time. Nobody is dismissing or accepting anything. We all agree that the comments were stupid. I simply want to know why Prime Time decide to do a piece on it, it is on front page of our national media, politicians are commenting in the Dail, there are two investigations, Amnesty International are sending people to the Corrib, the women involved are holding press conferences saying local people are in danger. All this because of stupid immature tasteless remarks made between three men.
At the risk of either stating the obvious, or creating a bigger row, I would respectfully point out that the gut response to this issue may will be divided across gender lines.
The reaction of women to rape is very different to that of men. Men (I think) consider rape akin to a lesser offence than murder and probably sometimes, depending on the violence of the offence, to a lesser offence than a serious physical assault. To women, it is an extremely emotive issue. I would almost never leave my house worried that I might be robbed, beaten or murdered, but I would almost always (on a night out for example); be aware of the threat of rape. It is so omnipresent in all of our subconcious that we almost consider it normal.
We say to each other and to our wives, daughters, friends: Don't take a taxi home on your own. Don't walk home alone. Don't leave the party without your friends. We don't verbalise it but we are aware that the threat is constantly present.
There are thousands and thousands of reported rapes every year. They are the ones which are reported - officially considered to be less than a third of the actual number which occur. There aren't 3 or 4 rapists in Ireland commiting all these rapes. It is more commonplace than we like to admit or confront.
I would prefer ( if that's a suitable term) to be assaulted for my handbag and end up with a couple of broken ribs or a broken jaw than to be raped. Do men get this? Rape goes to the very core of your physical and bodily and mental integrity and right to exist as a person and not as someone's whim.
And men do not
in general live under this constant unspoken and practically 'second nature' threat which limits and controls women's behaviour, without them almost being aware of it.
So if you live with this and you know that it is prevalent in society and you know that if it happens to you and you get the courage of your convictions to report it; then you will be going to the same guys who joke about the subject in what they (rightfully) thought was a private conversation. That is what makes it so much worse.
