Big Driver

"Why are there three hundred thousand battered women each year in America?"
"Because they won't...fuckin...listen."

I am still reading Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King, and once again I thought the second novella earned a separate post. The "joke" above was what stuck out the most, and goes back to a topic I've mentioend quite a number of times in this blog. I really have seen or heard jokes similar to the above, and I think its a symptom of a serious illness within our society. Many men still believe it's the place of women to be submissive. Many more, regardless of how they themselves treat women, propogate these kind of jokes, or post pictures of battered women online, and allow misogynists to indulge themselves that this kind of behavior is still accepted...because in some part it is.

Ben Roethlissberger, the Pittsburgh Steelers QB falls into this category, as far as I'm concerned. I don't give a flying fuck whether or not they have a case for the DA, his repeated behavior with multitudes of witnesses is enough for me. He's a piece of shit we'd be better off without. I become almost physically ill at the sight of fans cheering him. Brett Myers, pitcher for the Phillies, punched his wife in the face in front of hundreds of passersby on a visit to Boston. Not even a whiff of a criminal charge. I believe he should be in the cell next to Big Ben.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg. With athletes, we probably breeze over the numerous reports of abuse, but they are in the paper every week. Why is this scum still allowed to play? I think any substantiated claim should end a player's career forever. Period. The fact that it doesn't indicates we, as a society, still believe women should be submissive.

This completely un-objective sociological report is off topic, but it helps explain the climate Tess feels like she will have to deal with in the story. She recites the joke to herself, because she really believes that is how she will be perceived, like she deserved that rape. No, I don't think you will find more than a handful who will admit that women ever deserve rape, but I think you'll find a pretty narrow definition. Big Ben blocks himself into a bathroom with a drunk girl? Come on, it's not rape if no one hears her scream...and yes, that part comes right out of our beloved Bible, where a raped woman is put to death if she doesn't scream, and has to go to trial even if she did scream, and no one was there to hear it. I think this ancient code hangs on, and as much as it sickens me, Tess has very good reason to worry about how she will be perceived.

Which leads to her actions. I like how the story ends, brutal and bloody. No, I am not a violent person, but I do think rapists have given up their right to live, and Tess is perfectly justified. I even understand her fears leading her to take matters into her own hands rather than face humiliation by going to the police. It's hard to say whether I think she should have done it, but I can guarantee I would never vote to convict her were I on the jury.