Rape Culture ~ #Poetry by @Tashtoo

He stood beside me as the the news played on.
I had known him for years
Well meaning, kind hearted, intelligent, educated
White collar to the nines
worked for the government
complete with 1.5 daughters at home
just coming of age in this messed up digital era

Yet again, our hearts both devastated
as news of another young girl
raped, assaulted, and mocked,
by a school, by a community,
by the same digital era that as parents, we both feared
had finally given in to the abuse
and taken her own life.

Four boys, a smart phone camera
yet, despite being the victim
It was she who was shamed.

I watched his face grow whiter
I saw the fear in his eyes
I knew he was thinking of his girls
It gave me hope
until he spoke...

"How are we going to teach our daughters they can't be getting drunk like that?"

Biting my tongue did no good
the pain was too much to bare...

"How about teaching our sons that just because she's drunk doesn't mean she wants to fuck"

Crass...perhaps
but how much longer can we deny the issue.

He didn't respond,
and I realized...that same mind, probably didn't think much of me
being a woman and speaking in such a manner.

The screen shot changed
A flyer on a telephone pole
on the victim's street
bold yellow paper
bold black print

"Support our boys"

My stomach rolled again...
it's been rolling ever since...

Shame on us.