General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEve Ensler - "Dear Mr. Akin" (huffpo piece, one of the best ever written)
Dear Todd Akin,
I am writing to you tonight about rape. It is 2 AM and I am unable to sleep here in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I am in Bukavu at the City of Joy to serve and support and work with hundreds, thousands of women who have been raped and violated and tortured from this ceaseless war for minerals fought on their bodies.
I am in Congo but I could be writing this from anywhere in the United States, South Africa, Britain, Egypt, India, Philippines, most college campuses in America. I could be writing from any city or town or village where over half a billion women on the planet are raped in their lifetime.
Mr. Akin, your words have kept me awake.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eve-ensler/todd-akin-rape_b_1812930.html
Berlum
(7,044 posts)Thank you Eve for writing it, and thank you lapfog for posting.
tilsammans
(2,549 posts)Thanks for posting it.
2on2u
(1,843 posts)DrDan
(20,411 posts)Powerful!
bulloney
(4,113 posts)Hear hear! That request can apply to a lot of other members of Congress, too.
peacebird
(14,195 posts)Frustratedlady
(16,254 posts)If, after reading, they still believe their strange and distorted thoughts on rape, they are surely condemned to a life of bitterness and hate.
Dustlawyer
(10,495 posts)rape to advance his, and his parties interests through religion and it's anti-abortion stance. You have a party who's policies are so against most Americans, they must find issues that divide the country, and using religion, get the people worked up enough that they gain voters who would normally not vote against their interests. The Party itself couldn't give a shit about whether a rape victim carryies the child of that rape to term or not, but using that divisive issue, gains the followers of one side of the debate as loyal voters despite the parties stance on many other important issues. It takes the most depraved, low life scum, to do something like this. Enter Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and this dickweed, Akin! I believe Akin is one of the duped and really believes what he is saying. He seems too stupid to have risen to where he is today, except that people like him will do or say whatever their corporate masters tell them too without question. I believe that this time around they are happy enough with Obama who gives them the key things they want while appearing populist. That is why they have these idiotic, heartless bastards out there for the Repugs, to threaten us and stir things up so that we overlook the bad things Obama does which seem minor by comparison. They are conditioning the population to accept things that would ordinarily seem shocking, so that things like the utterly horrible act of rape can be discounted to the point that AMERICANS, will force other AMERICANS to carry the baby of this violation, to term. People everywhere, including here at DU, need to understand this, it is not about D's and R's per se, it is about corporate control of our government and media. Sure I prefer D's to R's, but I have no illusions about who ultimately controls them both. This article very clearly demonstrates the depths they will go in their little game of control. They are the scum sucking bottom feeders of the world!
yardwork
(61,650 posts)Chorophyll
(5,179 posts)Thank you, lapfog_1.
Lucy Goosey
(2,940 posts)very moving
Emit
(11,213 posts)read imho.
Jeneral2885
(1,354 posts)Does Akin know where Congo is? Luckily, he is not on the House Foreign Affairs Committtee. Otherwise USAID and/or MCC would be forced to spend money to promote "legitimate rape".
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)Thank you for this post...
mnhtnbb
(31,394 posts)dbackjon
(6,578 posts)We'd be having this conversation?
renate
(13,776 posts)I know most men take rape seriously, but I think that many men in power do not. It's not going to happen to them, it's not going to happen to the women in their lives (I know that no woman is completely safe, but who would be so dumb as to rape a congressman's daughter?), so it's easy to play political games with women's issues, just like it's easy to play games with poverty once it's never going to happen to them. I don't even think it's deliberately cruel; it's human nature to care most about the issues that are likely to affect one personally. As a representative, it should also be a duty to care about the issues that affect constituents, but....