Hamas is just the latest in a VERY LONG line of military forces to use rape as a weapon

Why doesn't this omnipresent tactic provoke worldwide outrage?

Before I go further, let me be clear: This post is not directly about Israel or Gaza. Rather, I’m using current headlines to discuss a much bigger, long-term reality:

Male-dominated armies have been using the rape of females as a weapon of war — mostly without commentary or punishment — for centuries.

According to the United Nations:

“The data available reflect alarming levels of rape during conflict and its aftermath: between 250,000 and 500,000 women and girls were raped in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, more than 60,000 in the civil war in Sierra Leone, between 20,000 and 50,000 in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and at least 200,000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1996. Though shocking, in most cases these data are serious underestimates of the actual numbers of victims, most of whom never report to authorities. 

“Rape in conflict, when widespread and systematic, is now recognized as a crime against humanity and a war crime. However, it mostly goes unpunished, perpetuating impunity. Sexual violence is routinely ignored in peace negotiations. After the war, it is far more likely that perpetrators will be rewarded as part of disarmament and peace-building agreements than that their victims will receive care, justice, or redress. On the contrary, rape survivors are often rejected by their own families and communities.”

I could write volumes of details dating back centuries but for now, I’ll remind you that wartime sexual violence is:

• A crime against humanity

• Almost always gendered

• Standard operating procedure for all armies on all sides

• Something to be condemned by anyone who wishes to maintain their soul

Since all “sides” in the latest conflict have their bot farms working overtime to formulate and sustain a narrative, the latest Middle East “news” remains an emotionally manipulative stew of falsehoods and embellishments. Predictably, this comes in handy for anyone looking to gain social credit by broadcasting their [sic] opinion. 

As it pertains to the topic at hand, it means that many members of the “me too/believe women” team are now contorting themselves into pernicious pretzels to downplay or even deny the sexual violence that took place.

The loudest virtue signalers will not talk about rape as an enduring weapon of war because they are afraid. They’re not afraid that more women will be harmed. Nope, they’re afraid of how it’ll look to their fellow cult members if they deviate from the script and show an iota of unbiased human empathy.

Meanwhile, these options readily exist:

• If you choose, you can criticize Israel’s government for its response and/or root for an independent Palestinian state while still loudly rebuking the atrocities Hamas perpetrated on women and girls. 

• You can also acknowledge the undeniable fact that patriarchal violence is a worldwide plague that transcends the latest “news” cycle.

To not choose these options is to demonstrate that you’re so trapped by exhibitionist groupthink that you’ve talked yourself into ignoring or even supporting sexual violence being reigned down on women.

All across the ideological spectrum, all-or-nothing mindsets reign and turn their followers into compliant tools and wretched hypocrites. People claiming to want justice will casually turn a blind eye to either war rape or the indiscriminate bombing of civilians.

Things will not change for the better until individuals first do the important work of transforming themselves for the better. 

Fact: No one reading this post can control what happens in the Middle East.

But that sure doesn’t stop folks from posting all day/every day as if the outcome hangs on their every word. All over social media (including Substack), I see impotent outrage being performed with scenery-chewing fervor. 

It’s a time-worn weapon of The Powers That Shouldn’t Be™ to manipulate the masses into focusing on what is beyond their control. They want us to delude ourselves into believing that a post, march, tweet, rally, video, etc. has the power to sway everyone to one “political” conclusion or another.

Every time we fall prey to such conspicuous conditioning, we surrender more power to the vampires attempting to suck us dry.

Spoiler alert: Creating a sustainable, positive shift starts with us aiming our immense inherent powers at matters we can control.

This means:

• Doing the shadow work needed to identify your blind spots and biases

• Sidestepping the allure [sic] of hive minds

• Taking compassionate, ongoing action right where we are

Instead of ranting on Facebook and sharing memes you didn’t even bother to fact-check, imagine delegating that time and passion to vulnerable, at-risk beings within your reach.

The first choice supplies, at best, a fleeting dopamine hit for you.

To select the second path is to practice independent, critical thinking while actually helping others. Thus, you become a role model of what life will feel like when we consistently reject inhumane, top-down programming. 

Also, by pulling back the curtain to expose the scammers, we can each come to grips with the traps we have fallen into. There is no shame in getting played by master manipulators. The only shame lies in believing we somehow remain immune to such missteps. 

We can all do better. We must all do better.

Your behavior is within your control. Hence, you must look inward to help create an outward transition toward a righteous culture.

Step #1: Stop delegating your sovereignty and humanity to manipulators of any variety.

To link it back to the underlying theme of this post, the scourge of male violence ends when each of us — especially males — regularly make choices founded not in ego-driven fear but instead, in universal love.

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