Here’s a novel idea- why don’t men watch what they drink so they don’t rape? Or why aren’t “rape industrialists” telling them to? Why isn’t Mac Donald telling them to?
It seems we’re in agreement that the “rape industrialists” are not interested in reducing the incidence of rape – either the real rate, or the inflated rate they like to cite. As for telling men to behave themselves, I’m all for that, too. I’d like to see both sexes act more responsibly.
I think Americans are more prissy and puritanical about alcohol (and other stuff) than Britons. Getting pissed – whether you’re a student or not – is fun. It doesn’t give men an licence to rape and it doesn’t turn rape into non-rape.
Getting drunk may be fun, but it must be recognized that it results in diminished capacity. People who voluntarily compromise their abilities should take measures to ensure their safety. For an alcohol-related example, people who go out for drinks are encouraged to have a designated driver so that the drinkers do not become drunk drivers.
As njcommuter writes, the situation can be more ethically complicated than a sober person taking advantage of a drunk person. What if they’re both equally drunk? Is this like a double negative, and each parties’ lack of informed consent cancels the other out? What if they’re at different levels of drunkenness? When regret/realization sinks in, hours after the fact, how in heaven’s name is the law to figure out which party was how drunk at what time, and exactly what were the effects on comprehension and consent for each?
Toss in conflicting firsthand accounts of the events in question – which may very well be both parties’ honest recollections. “He said, she said” becomes “he said, she said, he was drunk, she was buzzed, and neither one remembers everything that happened.” How can this mess possibly be sorted out?
Is it best for society to make some attempt, and to label the participants as ‘victim’ and ‘rapist,’ however accurately or inaccurately? Or is it preferable for the two parties to accept that both made mistakes, both acted irresponsibly, and modify their future behavior so as not to put themselves in a like situation?
