Even though I hate the media as much as I do, I can't stop myself from being entertained by their hypocrisy. Recently I have seen a plethora of articles, opinion pieces, editorials, news stories, and so on about the importance of consent. This, in and of itself, isn't a bad thing. No one thinks rape is good (except, maybe, rapists) and I do believe consent is important. I Just find it strange that the same publication that just spent several pages lecturing on the importance of sexual consent completely disregards its own message when it comes to, lets say, which political candidate it thinks I should vote for or what position I should take on a specific political issue. What they don't seem to understand is that consent applies to more than sex and if they try to pressure the public into taking a position, they are disrespecting our right to consent as badly as a pushy drunken, frat, boy at a party.
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This state of affairs boggles my mind and leads me to believe that these supposed "consent advocates" seem to lack any understanding of why it is important. We all know that rape is a terrible crime partly because it is a violation of a person's body but so are a number of other crimes that we do not view as being on the same level of depravity. Assault, for example, is also a violation of a person's body but we do not give that crime the same weight as rape. What makes rape such a terrible crime is that it robs a person of their right to choose. It is the deprivation of freedom and autonomy that elevates the crime. The thing that we really value is the ability to freely choose not to do a thing.
This double standard is the reason that I find it hypocritical when someone, in one breath, speaks about the importance of sexual consent and, in the next breath, tells me that I must give my consent to be governed by their political candidate. The situations are different but the principals are the same. In short, I have a right to say no in both sex and politics. I'll point to the 2016 presidential election as an example, you couldn't turn around without someone calling Trump a rapist for the "grab em by the pussy" remark but then the same person would tell you that you must consent to Hillary Clinton's governance. I didn't want to fondled by Trump or governed by Hillary Clinton and and when people told me that I must vote for Clinton I reacted the same way I would have if they told me I must be fondled by Trump. To be explicit, I said "fuck off".
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I won't tell you what your politics should be and I won't tell you how to feel about consent because it's not my place to do so. However, I will ask that if you are going to talk about sexual consent, please remember that consent extends beyond your crotch and that you shouldn't pressure people to do things that they don't want to do in order to please your political sensibilities. Simply put, don't grab anyone by the pussy and don't tell them who to vote for.
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Peace
Keep it real! I'm a fucking adult I don't want you to tell me what to do, I can make up my own mind. I never thought to connect it to consent, but I can see where you are going with it.
Thanks. I think its a good way to sell the issue. There are probably better analogies but I think making that connection might strike a chord with some people who need to learn that lession.
I mean technically speaking you are correct, but with someone telling you how to vote you can just say "Cool, fuck off" whereas rape is typically a little more physical than that.
They're dickheads, don't get me wrong, but I feel as if that isn't the best analogy. You still have your own agency to vote for who you want.
I agree that it isn't the best analogy but I do feel that it is a good way to sell the issue. These people tend to view coercion and attempts to convince people as violations of consent. Your point is valid but I feel like we need novel ways of selling the issue which is what I was driving at here.