This painting is of the rape of Lucretia. As a result of the rape, Lucretia commits suicide and it lead to the downfall of the Roman monarchy and the rise of the Roman empire where they changed the law so that rape was punishable by death and had no statute of limitations. The reason was, Romans felt they should be stoic and the men should be able to control themselves and not let their animal/sexual urges get the better of them.
So from the rape of a noble women, the roman monarchy fell and the roman empire was born which frowned upon rape and encouraged self-control of the men.
After Christianity was introduced, rape became acceptable again because 'the woman was really asking for it', Rome did fall.
If only we would pay attention to history.
It seems to me that there is NO coincidence that Muslims are fleeing their countries where women are totally without rights. You take away a woman's right to say 'no', her rights to control her own destiny, and her rights to property, then you are on a route to crashing your society.
And this is where the US is heading with taking away women's rights to a safe abortion, and her right to say no to sex. Men, and some women are using hard won rights, in the US are battling constantly to take away women's rights, by saying things as stupid as 'being falsely accused of rape is as bad as being raped'. Really? being used against your will, either drugged with a date rape drug or alcohol or 'legitimately' as Akin would call it is the same as being falsely accused of rape, I don't think so. Then Republicans would say 'if (rape) is inevitable, then relax and enjoy it'. Then women who decide to keep the resulting baby, despite what Akin says, may have to endure the rapist father demanding access to the child.
I sometimes think men think women are just like them, that we are always willing and ready for sex. Actually, no we don't think about sex nearly as often as men do, and even this conservative study says women think about sex half as often as men do. And I know I've consented to sex with a man who was so awful at it, I couldn't wait for the whole experience to be over. No he didn't hurt me, he just wasn't good. Most women have stories of sex with men that were so bad because their partner was gross, inconsiderate or inappropriate. I am the last person in the world to say what people should or shouldn't do in their bedrooms if it is discussed, consenting and people are sensitive to each others needs.
What this taught me is to be very careful about who I say yes too. But for some reason men would argue that they were so good that once we've had sex we always want it. Wrong. Most men are awful in bed and women learn to fake an orgasm pretty quickly. Young men are often especially bad.
Men must control themselves, this is key to building a better society.
Then there are morons who think that "If God has chosen to bless this person [the rape victim] with a life, you don’t kill it." This is assuming that God does any blessing at all. This whole thing about babies being miracles is rubbish. It may be a miracle for parents who want children, but to me if a baby was truly a miracle, god would turn up and hand deliver the baby to the parents instead of the woman having to endure the ordeal of child birth, which is extremely dangerous to both the mother and the child, and the mortality from both is on the rise in the US despite so many people advocating to get rid of abortion.
Then there are those 'christians' who say 'you don't punish the son for the sins of the father'. Yet ignore the punishment of the women having to endure the pregnancy. She is being punished at least twice, with the rape and then the ordeal of putting up with the pregnancy. Some say pregnancy is not a punishment, but it is if you don't want to be pregnant. Pregnancy is debilitating, it can make you sick with diabetes, morning sickness and you can't move around easily. You are admonished not to drink alcohol and take drugs. Plus then you are saddled with whether to raise the baby yourself or adopt it out and if you choose to adopt it out, no doubt many women will be worrying about the child for the rest of their lives. All this can effect, if not destroy, the rest of a woman's life.
Pregnancy is the result of biology. Like we eat and drink, there is waste. Hair grows because of biology, cancers grow because biology goes wrong. Fetus' biology is faulty and the pregnancy results in miscarriage. There is nothing magical about this, that doesn't happen to cats and dogs and every other living creature everyday. Yet human fetus' lives seem to have this paramount importance even over the life of the mother.
And as much as men try to ignore the impact of women on their lives, women can turn men's lives upside down, ask any man whose gotten a divorce. You would prefer to ignore us but you notice us as soon as we walk in the room. This the reason Muslim women have to wear burqa's to protect the men from themselves. Is it any wonder people flee Islamic countries, women have no rights and men are not taught to control themselves?
Women are not a wedge issue to be ignored. How women are treated impacts everyone in that society and tells you exactly how good that society is. With the introduction of abortion, crime rates fell in the next 18 years. Its no wonder that western countries are better places to live. The west have the best governments (although there is always room for improvement) because they ensure the best treatment of women. As women's rights have improved in the west, society has become better. Women's right to chose their own partners gave rise to social mobility.
Men who think men are badly treated in the west should consider moving to Afghanistan, where they, like women, will have few rights.
At this point I'd like to thank all men who support women's rights, we need you more than ever. Because I think we don't stop the GOP diminishing the rights of women, this is where the US is heading. Do we really want to turn the US into the christian version of Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan?
So from the rape of a noble women, the roman monarchy fell and the roman empire was born which frowned upon rape and encouraged self-control of the men.
After Christianity was introduced, rape became acceptable again because 'the woman was really asking for it', Rome did fall.
If only we would pay attention to history.
It seems to me that there is NO coincidence that Muslims are fleeing their countries where women are totally without rights. You take away a woman's right to say 'no', her rights to control her own destiny, and her rights to property, then you are on a route to crashing your society.
And this is where the US is heading with taking away women's rights to a safe abortion, and her right to say no to sex. Men, and some women are using hard won rights, in the US are battling constantly to take away women's rights, by saying things as stupid as 'being falsely accused of rape is as bad as being raped'. Really? being used against your will, either drugged with a date rape drug or alcohol or 'legitimately' as Akin would call it is the same as being falsely accused of rape, I don't think so. Then Republicans would say 'if (rape) is inevitable, then relax and enjoy it'. Then women who decide to keep the resulting baby, despite what Akin says, may have to endure the rapist father demanding access to the child.
I sometimes think men think women are just like them, that we are always willing and ready for sex. Actually, no we don't think about sex nearly as often as men do, and even this conservative study says women think about sex half as often as men do. And I know I've consented to sex with a man who was so awful at it, I couldn't wait for the whole experience to be over. No he didn't hurt me, he just wasn't good. Most women have stories of sex with men that were so bad because their partner was gross, inconsiderate or inappropriate. I am the last person in the world to say what people should or shouldn't do in their bedrooms if it is discussed, consenting and people are sensitive to each others needs.
What this taught me is to be very careful about who I say yes too. But for some reason men would argue that they were so good that once we've had sex we always want it. Wrong. Most men are awful in bed and women learn to fake an orgasm pretty quickly. Young men are often especially bad.
Men must control themselves, this is key to building a better society.
Then there are morons who think that "If God has chosen to bless this person [the rape victim] with a life, you don’t kill it." This is assuming that God does any blessing at all. This whole thing about babies being miracles is rubbish. It may be a miracle for parents who want children, but to me if a baby was truly a miracle, god would turn up and hand deliver the baby to the parents instead of the woman having to endure the ordeal of child birth, which is extremely dangerous to both the mother and the child, and the mortality from both is on the rise in the US despite so many people advocating to get rid of abortion.
Then there are those 'christians' who say 'you don't punish the son for the sins of the father'. Yet ignore the punishment of the women having to endure the pregnancy. She is being punished at least twice, with the rape and then the ordeal of putting up with the pregnancy. Some say pregnancy is not a punishment, but it is if you don't want to be pregnant. Pregnancy is debilitating, it can make you sick with diabetes, morning sickness and you can't move around easily. You are admonished not to drink alcohol and take drugs. Plus then you are saddled with whether to raise the baby yourself or adopt it out and if you choose to adopt it out, no doubt many women will be worrying about the child for the rest of their lives. All this can effect, if not destroy, the rest of a woman's life.
Pregnancy is the result of biology. Like we eat and drink, there is waste. Hair grows because of biology, cancers grow because biology goes wrong. Fetus' biology is faulty and the pregnancy results in miscarriage. There is nothing magical about this, that doesn't happen to cats and dogs and every other living creature everyday. Yet human fetus' lives seem to have this paramount importance even over the life of the mother.
And as much as men try to ignore the impact of women on their lives, women can turn men's lives upside down, ask any man whose gotten a divorce. You would prefer to ignore us but you notice us as soon as we walk in the room. This the reason Muslim women have to wear burqa's to protect the men from themselves. Is it any wonder people flee Islamic countries, women have no rights and men are not taught to control themselves?
Women are not a wedge issue to be ignored. How women are treated impacts everyone in that society and tells you exactly how good that society is. With the introduction of abortion, crime rates fell in the next 18 years. Its no wonder that western countries are better places to live. The west have the best governments (although there is always room for improvement) because they ensure the best treatment of women. As women's rights have improved in the west, society has become better. Women's right to chose their own partners gave rise to social mobility.
Men who think men are badly treated in the west should consider moving to Afghanistan, where they, like women, will have few rights.
At this point I'd like to thank all men who support women's rights, we need you more than ever. Because I think we don't stop the GOP diminishing the rights of women, this is where the US is heading. Do we really want to turn the US into the christian version of Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan?
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