Yesterday I had a meeting with the club promoters that run the venue that my band now performs at. I was about 30 minutes early and grabbed The African Connection, a free newspaper that was outside Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles. Flipping through, I came to an article about a prison guard at a juvenile facility who was accused of favors for sex. As I read through the article, I realized that the guard was a woman. She had had sex with two juveniles in exchange for food and candy. At first I didn't think much of it, but then it began to dawn on me that this isn't the only case of an older woman, in a position of authority who has abused that power to manipulate young boys into sexual situations.
In fact, the very first real life situation that I've ever knew about was a teacher at my Jr. high school and a boy that was about 13 years old. She was a very attractive typing teacher and he was an underprivileged Mexican boy. He was always in her classroom and for a moment, I thought that perhaps she was adopting him. Even after he went to high school, he would always periodically visit. And he even began to drive her silver corvette. We never really suspected anything because in our minds, the thought of such a beautiful woman taking interest in someone our age was so far-fetched and preposterous, we couldn't even entertain the thought. Perhaps there were those that could; I for one just couldn't buy it.
Fast forward about 20 years. I'm watching KCAL 9 news and the news anchor is talking about a teacher who was arrested for child molestation-no big deal right? I'm mean how many times have we heard this story? And then he (the news anchor) states the she's female (a bit more interesting now), and that this all took place in the city that I grew up in, (now they've got my full attention). They mentioned the teacher's name and said that several boys came forward and accused her of attempting to have sex with them and she even offered the use of her car in exchange. I was shocked-it was then that I realized that the young Mexican boy was (voluntarily mind you) the victim of molestation.
We've all heard the story of Mary Kay Letourneau, the woman that had two children with her underage student. And that beautiful woman in Florida, Debra Lafave, who was having an affair behind her husband's back with one of her underage students. This was once the arena that males dominated but now, with women assuming more positions of power, we are beginning to see that the phenomena isn't just about males. I too was shocked and aghast when I found out that my jr. high school teacher was f**king a boy around my age. I couldn't figure out why anyone would want to have sex with a minor. I mean, yeah, I did...WHEN I WAS A MINOR!!! But as an adult, I simply have no attraction for anyone under 21-actually, I really don't have much of an attraction for anyone under 27 or 28. If a woman even mentions that she's under 27, my eyes glaze over and I begin to think about what's on my agenda for tomorrow.
I guess the point of this entry is to illustrate how for so many years, men were rightfully vilified for abusing their position power and taking advantage of innocent females in lesser positions. If it wasn't the teacher/student situation, it was the stepfather/stepdaughter, or the adopted father/adopted daughter (Woody Allen anyone?). And this was the part of the argument that the feminist members of the National Organization of Women (NOW) used religiously to fight for women's rights. Now that women are in more powerful and influential positions, we are seeing some of the same predatory behavior. I think it's safe to assume that we have human behaviors and the only thing that keeps certain individuals from committing certain crimes is often circumstances. There are plenty of both men and women who are in positions of power and never abuse others. Plenty of step parents who never molest-plenty of teachers that don't attempt to do harm to their students-both male and female. And yes there are those that do. But it never was a gender issue, it was an issue of character. And sadly what we are discovering is that while NOW was riding on the back of this issue to gain prominence, it's the very same issue that has basically come back to illustrate that, although we are different in our physiological make-up, we are both still prone to have character flaws the lead us down paths of wrongdoing. It isn't a male thing or a female thing, it's a human thing.
I bet you older cultures like the Africans, Native Americans, and Europeans wouldn't even blink an eye when it comes to this subject. They know that women and men are both capable of committing any crime that's on the books. Women may not be able to forcibly commit rape, but through coercion, they are certainly capable of committing statutory rape. And as I mentioned before, it's circumstantial-the only reason they can't forcibly rape someone is that physically they are the weaker sex. If women were physically stronger than men, they would undoubtedly rape. I've heard stories of lesbians forcing sex upon women. I've even seen a lesbian get rejected over and over by the same woman as she continued to exhibit what I would deem inherently male aggressive behavior. I couldn't help thinking, "If that was me being so aggressive, I would've been accused of attempted rape,"
In closing, I guess I'm just hoping that we all realize that men are no more monsters than anyone else, and that both sexes are capable of doing some very ugly things. Remember Susan Smith, the woman who drowned her two boys because she thought that some guy wouldn't marry her if they were still alive? And somehow they almost managed to blame that on a man. And so as not to seem biased, there is a ongoing case here in California about a man who tossed his daughter off a cliff so the he wouldn't have to pay child support. Man, I would like to be the one that pulls the switch on this f**king bastard. How could you do such a thing to your own child? That innocent girl was supposed to receive protection from this lower life form. If that isn't the ultimate betrayal of both your male and paternal duties, I don't know what is. I hope he fries.
I am Black I
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