When I linked to Laurie Penny’s piece on rape recently, I particularly noted her sympathetic attitude towards young men who might be confused by some of the uncertainties generated by the Assange case and the ensuing discussions. I think it is legitimate – and important – to discuss any complexities raised by the issue of consent. But there have been some pretty outrageous comments in response to two recent posts on rape posted by Andy Newman and John Wight. Andy Newman’s piece, titled ‘Time for the Left to stand up for Galloway’, prompted Wight to repost his recent HuffPo piece on the same topic.
http://www.socialistunity.com/in-defence-of-george-galloway/
I’ll just focus on a few comments following John Wight’s article. Omar asks ‘Are some of us blokes missing something possibly?’ #10. To be fair, he is certainly not the only SU regular to take issue with the OPs. The first woman to contribute to the thread, Mhairi McAlpine – describes the attitudes on display as ‘fucking creepy’. #17.
Marko (not Marko AH of course) says (#20):
“Anyone who fights as tirelessly for the Palestinians as he does and who opposes imperialism as he does will always attract black propaganda.
I personally don’t see anything like rape here, just a sordid sex affair between a celebrity (albeit an heroic one) and some brazen groupies. I have zero sympathy with these women, now shoot me.
A little later (#30) he adds:
“Creepy…….stop with the insinuation, that is the basis of witchhunting (not a golden age to be woman)
If some guy jumps out of a bush and forces a woman at knife point to have sex that is rape and for me you can cut the guys bollocks off. Some nerdy looking weed, who happens to be a celebrity, gets involved with some brazen groupies and they moan about the experience. Fishing without a permit is more serious than that.”
Later he addresses Mhairi:
“I disagree that this constitues in any way rape. I have no sympathy for any of the people involved in this case but am concerned how this affects the vital work of Wikileaks.
What are we to make of your ‘creepy’ joke about imperialist aggression, which often involves gang rape by soldiers against defenceless victims. Not some brazen groupies involved in sordid sex with a celeb. Would you join in the gang rape I wonder, or would you be the one taking the photos?” (#40)
Although Tony Collins, moderating the blog, does take issue with him, he rebukes Mhairi more aggressively, even though (barring one rather dodgy allusion to Valerie Solanis) she seems simply to be challenging some of the appalling ignorance and sexism on display here.
