Nonconsenting Sex

[Jack Scribe]

I received the following email from a reader. This was in response to a scene in a recent chapter of Life's a Grind. I thought the message was topical and relevant. To think that this memory has been carried around for years. Wow! It is shared with his permission.

 

I feel compelled to comment on the attempted rape in chapter 15. It is both graphic and portrays what really happens when hatred is allowed to run unchecked.

 

I am 63 years young. This episode brought back memories of a similar incident in 1961.

 

In 1963 I was a junior in high school and worked at the local Newberry

[GaryKelly]

Non-consensual ANYTHING is an abomination. There's a rape scene in Green Room (my first book) which is true and worth reading because the outcome was eventually positive in terms of preserving Kyle's self esteem.

[eliotmoore]

I notice this enters into many stories. I even wrote rape in twice. I wonder about this. Would women be so quick to write rape into their stories?

[MMandM]

Rape is obviously based on gender (most of the time). But would they look at the rapist life and say "he's had successful relationships with women so therefore he doesn't hate women and therefore it isn't a hate crime".

 

Do they do the same with other hate crimes? What if someone attacked someone because they were Hispanic? Would they look at the attacker and say "he's has Hispanic friends so this isn't a hate crime"?

 

How is the line drawn between a "crime" and "hate crime"?

 

Federal law currently doesn't cover gender or sexual orientation as a protected class in hate crime laws and every state has their own definition of what is or isn't a hate crime. In many states it would be a hate crime to paint a swastika on the side of a Synagogue but there is no provision for hate crimes to include crimes against a person.

Edited June 10, 2007 by Mark_Marciano

[JamesSavik]

Any good detective or prosecutor should be able to look at the evidence, medical and otherwise, and get some idea about the motive. Especially when all fags must die is carved into the poor bastards chest.

 

Below I discuss the hallmarks of anti-gay hate crimes. If you've got a weak stomach, don't look. Warning: the stuff that I discuss below- you probably don't want to know.

 

 

 

In murders, a hate crime is characterized by overkill: many, many gunshots or stab wounds and wounds that occur post-mortem. Urination or deification on the dead or helpless victim in a hate crime is common. Often hate messages are carved into living or dead victims. The killing is usually a crime of opportunity and occurs with whatever is handy: sticks, bats, pipes, re-bar, bricks. Profilers often categorize this type of killer and killing as disorganized and rage-driven.

 

This is not always the case. Some of these murders show signs of planning or premeditation where there are more traditional weapons employed and the body is disposed of (dumped). [ironically, male on male sexual assaults are fairly common during a gay bashing.]

 

 

Hate inspired assaults are similar. Unlike a typical fight, the beating will go on long after the victim is down and helpless. The Perp (or perps) will stomp or kick the victim while he's down. Some variations on this are that if the victim is down, the perp may throw a flammable liquid on the victim and set him on fire. The victim may be tortured or humiliated for some time. In a case in Louisiana way back in the 70s, a basher cut off all of the victims fingers with a bolt cutter: one joint at a time.

 

 

Injuries are often very extensive: broken bones, blood loss, brain injury, concussion, etc. Recovery: mentally and physically is long, slow, painful and expensive process. A victim may never fully physically recover from an assault like this. Often they suffer from post traumatic stress disorder and mental/physical problems that accompany it.

 

 

[Luc]

Jack and Charlie were never formally charged or tried. They got away with this "Hate Crime," the term had not been coined, as Dave

[Graeme]

One of my online friends was raped when he was ten years old.

 

There is a site, Male Survivor that offers help to the male victims of rape. From what I have heard, it helps a lot of people.

 

What I have found encouraging is that male rape is not being pushed into the back corner as much as it used to be. In Australia, when the NSW Health Department started a website for rape victims, they included a section for male rape victims.

[JamesSavik]

I have given some thought to "hate crimes" over the years. A good part of me thinks that labelling a crime a "hate" crime is just to give someone a banner to wave.. A crime is a crime. A beating is a beating. A rape is a rape. Is there really a need for another label?

 

That's not really true. Hate crimes have a specific signature that I described in the blacked out part of my post above. Hate crimes differ from other crimes in ways that betray their motive and constitute an ongoing terrorist threat against a gay people.

 

The REAL problem, as I see it, is that law enforcement (police, sheriffs offices) are often less than diligent in investigating and prosecuting crimes against gay people.

 

Honestly- I don't care if you call it a hate crime or not. I would settle for a federal law that would prosecute local law enforcement officials who "file 13" criminal complaints involving bias crimes against gay people as a violation of the equal protection clause.

[Dusk]

eliotmoore asked:

 

"Would women be so quick to write rape into their stories?"

 

Yes. Rape stories are a popular subgenre in the fan fiction community, which is predominantly female. Sometimes those stories are written for titillation, sometimes to explore serious issues of abuse. The stories that are written for titillation aren't necessarily by authors who aren't concerned with real-life abuse. Sometimes rape survivors write such stories. The authors make a strong distinction between fantasy and reality, as I imagine many authors in the gay fiction world do.

 

Personally, I can't easily read stories where rape is presented for titillation, but I do very much enjoy stories that explore abuse issues.

[Razor]

The idea of being forced can be stimulating.

 

The act of forcing someone is deserving of swift and merciless retaliation. People let lines blur far too often.