Okay.

I think what I am about to write about is going to get me in a world of trouble. But that has never stopped me before.

SOOOoooooOOOOO . . . here goes!

The other day, I listened to a NPR program in which a feminist newspaper columnist expressed her outrage at a Toronto cop for his fashion advice to young women, and I think it’s time for me to take a reality check.

The incident in question was this: a Toronto policeman approached a group of young women on the streets of that city and told them that if they wanted to protect themselves against unwanted sexual advances, that they should not “dress like sluts.”

These women immediately brought their story to the media, and feminist groups around the world, literally, picked up on it. The policeman was berated as a sexist and, to “show solidarity” women (and men) across the globe are now participating in Slut Walks, in which the participants dress as sexually provocative as possible and take to the streets in organized protests.

What’s my reaction to that?

“Good for you!” I certainly NEVER object to women dressing sexily and parading their wares openly and with license! It’s GREAT entertainment!

 But how much good do I think these protests are doing?

None whatsoever. In fact, to be completely frank, I think that they are counter-productive. 

In all honesty, I agree with the sentiments of the Toronto cop.

Sorry!

I think the man could have chosen his words a little more carefully, but I believe that his advice was sound and correct. Does that make me a sexist pig? If so, so be it.  However, I think it makes me a realist, and I would give the same advice to my granddaughters that the cop gave to those women, simply because I wouldn’t want to see them get hurt!

Look. In a perfect world, everything is fair, no means no means no, and everybody loves one another, and alcohol is good for you, and there is no pollution or crime, and bluebirds and hummingbirds fill the air around us all of the time.

However, I don’t live in that world, and neither does anybody else.

In the REAL world, there is crime, and there is lust, and there are perverts, and if you dress in a certain way or act in a certain way, you may just attract the attention of these decidedly undesirable people.

Am I saying that we should blame the rape victim for being raped? NO! Rape is a hideous crime, and rapists, in my opinion, should be neutered…using a dull, rusty knife and without the benefit of anaesthesia.

I’m just saying, “Be careful and be prudent!” Look, you wouldn’t walk into a lion’s cage wearing Lady Gaga’s raw meat dress, would you? (I mean, you have every right to do it if you so desire, but if you did, I would consider you a bit stupid. You could shout at the lions, “No means NO!” until you were blue in the face, but, because they are lions, I really think that your words would not to deter them to any great extent. And even though you had every right to wear raw sirloin, chances are very good that, in doing so in that environment, you would be torn to shreds.)

AND, I am certainly not saying that most men are sexual predators. We are not! What I AM saying is that SOME are!

Simple as that. 

Now, one woman on the NPR program said that she was accosted on a hot July evening. Because it was so hot, she was wearing short-shorts.  She aggressively declared that she had every right to wear short-shorts as she walked down a city street in a seedy section of town, and her reasoning was because she wanted to remain cool.

In my opinion, she does not need to justify her choice of attire to anybody. However, there is the remote possibility that certain consequences might come about because of it, and those consequences have nothing to do with me, a Toronto cop, or anybody else judging her or thinking ill of her.  They have everything to do with her choice of clothing potentially attracting unwanted attention and actions by unsavory characters who have little regard for other persons.

I understand wearing shorts when it is hot outside. I wear shorts when it is hot. However, I do NOT wear skin-tight shorts that adhere to every nook and cranny of my crotch and ass, and that are cut high up on my butt cheeks. If I DID wear such things, I would be doing it to gain attention from others! (And trust me! I am GLAD that women wear such clothing!  I thoroughly enjoy it! And, fortunately, I would NEVER accost a woman, no matter HOW revealing her shorts were. UNFORTUNATELY, there are others who would consider that situation to be an open invitation for them to do as they pleased, no matter how stern the protests were.)

What I am saying is that you may have the RIGHT to wear any clothing or act in any fashion that you wish.  However, if you are groped or raped or embarrassed or humiliated by some Neanderthal, all the “rights” in the world are not going to help you out.

We are all human, and that means we all have hormones and lusts and desires.  Some of us cannot or simply will not curb those impulses.  And all of those “rights” are not going to get you un-raped.

The world is not fair, and it not right that we have to take precautions.  It is a damned shame that I have to lock my doors before I go to bed at night. It’s just wrong that I have to take my shoes off and go through metal detectors before I can board an airplane. It is just not freakin’ right that we have to have tamper-proof packaging to protect our foods against nuts who get their kicks out of poisoning innocent strangers.

So, if you want to have your “Slut Walks”, by all means, have them and feel good about yourselves. My question is, what is the purpose of these things? Is it to bring attention to the fact that women should be able to wear whatever they like in public? Is it to say that rape victims or victims of sexual abuse should not be blamed for the acts committed against them? All reasonable people already agree with those premises.

It is the unreasonable people who will not be swayed by these demonstrations, and they are ones that you have to watch out for.

Or are the “Slut Walks” organized to draw attention to the fact that rapists and sexual abusers need to be punished severely for their crimes? If that is the case, then that is a noble cause, as far as it goes.  However, to my way of thinking, assuring that rapist will be soundly punished for their actions is somewhat akin to closing the barn door after the horses have run away.  I do not believe that a person who is perverted enough to rape another human being is going to be dissuaded by the fear of punishment. And, even if the rapist is convicted, the raped woman is still raped.

Wear whatever clothing you like, but use your judgment when doing so. Is that thought so offensive? To me, it just makes good sense.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Sorry, but I agree with the Toronto cop.