In the "I wonder" category
Granted, this is fundamentally pointless, but I got to thinking about it earlier today.
I wonder what would happen if the daughter or wife of any Republican legislator - House or Senate - were to go public with information about a sexual assault. Would that change anything?
Just on the statistics along, that's likely. So many here on DU have written of sexual assault that they have experienced directly or that a spouse has experienced. Surely the odds are good that a wife or daughter of some 300 Republican congresspersons and senators has experienced sexual assault. What effect would that have on the vote or on legislation generally regarding women. Same question would apply, I suppose, to abortion and abortion rights. Granted, being shot did not affect Scalise's view on gun control, so who knows. It's just a random thought as I ponder our future.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Sorry if it is a blanket statement, but today's GOP is not your grand-daddy's laconic, fair minded, and self-sufficient grange members. Women are property, even their wives, daughters, mothers and sisters. Current GOP thought is that women are born to be either helpmeets or victims - the Sin of Eve and all that. It's okay to care about them, but they're still lesser beings.
Oh, sexual assault is disturbing to the GOP personally - but not enough for them to do anything if it isn't politically expedient to the hierarchy.
In fact, if their women are assaulted, GOP men tend to do everything in their power to first check the social standing of the assaulter, and then figure out who to blame starting from here:
1) Rich White Men are never supposed to be guilty, nor are their sons. The woman or girl is either lying or brought it on herself; she should have done everything possible to avoid tempting him.
2) White Men are occasionally guilty - depending on how much power or status in the community they or their parents have. It's a 50/50 coin toss as to the level of responsibility of the women for the assault.
3) Poor white men, strangers/travelers/ PoC are mostly guilty. Women are no longer totally "responsible" for their assault due to the way they acted or dressed, no matter what age they are - unless they have a sexual "history", are equally poor, or are WoC.
4) Women always carry some responsibility just because they are at the wrong place at the wrong time, or didn't act the way the GOP men wanted the script to go.
"For heavens' sake, what was she doing staying late at work, or walking home in the middle of the day, or being asleep with her bedroom door unlocked? Why didn't she scream, or fight to the death for her honor?"
Haele