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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsConservative Group Plays Down Danger Of Date-Rape Drugs, Blames Drunken Co-Eds With Weird Animation
A webseries produced by the conservative American Enterprise Institute argued that women are overly worried about being assaulted via a date-rape drug when they should be more concerned with monitoring their alcohol intake, Talking Points Memo reported. The reason why fear of drink-spiking has become widespread seems to be a mix of being more convenient to guard against, and the fact that such stories are exotic, Factual Feminist guest host Caroline Kitchens says, citing a University of Kent researcher. Like a more adult version of stranger danger.
Kitchens criticized unspecified feminists for making women alter their behavior when going out under fear of some vague improbable threat. The video also featured an animated re-enactment of a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee fraternity party that led to the fraternitys suspension after women who attended the event told authorities that there were separate all you can drink cards sold to women who were considered hot.
Three women and one man were hospitalized after the party, Kitchens said, but she emphasized that no date rape drugs were found at the fraternity house, using finger quotes to illustrate her point. She also called for a reality check regarding concerns over drug-induced sexual assault. Just think about it, Kitchens said. It requires the stranger to find the drugs, slip them into a womans drink undetected, manage to take the victim away from her friends without anyone noticing, and then reliably erase her memory of the experience. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/conservative-group-plays-down-danger-of-date-rape-drugs-with-weird-animation/
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Alcohol. Sure, there are some people out there who put *additional* drugs into people's glasses, but the vast majority of rapes that occur at or after parties are going to be based on drugging the victim with plain old alcohol. And yes, it still is a drug. So 'monitoring your alcohol intake' IS 'being concerned' about a date rape drug. And it's a sad comment on society that women have to worry about not only other drugs, but also being misled about how much alcohol is in the drinks they're being given at parties. You can't just assume that 'punch' is just fruit juice, or that those beers or wine coolers aren't spiked with something with a higher alcohol content. Alcohol was the date rape drug of choice for millennia, and still is. Saying that no 'date rape drugs' were found at a party awash in alcohol is delusional.
enough
(13,262 posts)excessive alcohol is the most common reason for incapacitation.
I have no idea WHY the American Enterprise Institute is going after date rape drugs. I suppose they are trying to undercut women's accusations that they were involuntarily drugged. They do seem to be harping on the point that excessive alcohol consumption is "usually voluntary." So girls, if you get raped, you can't claim it was against your will.
Half the time watching this, I thought it was satire.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Being drugged with plain old alcohol 'doesn't count', because we're all born with innate abilities to realize exactly how much alcohol we've consumed, and how much is in our bloodstream and how quickly we metabolize it.
If Republicans put half the time into actually trying to help people that they do into telling people bad things done to them are their own fault, we'd probably have virtually eliminated poverty by now.
tanyev
(42,610 posts)Is she really a conservative????
big_dog
(4,144 posts)along with suggestions for 10 yr olds to get lessons shooting uzis
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)Rhinodawg
(2,219 posts)After today,hell, I'm getting shit-faced now.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Not sure why she's making that distinction.