09:55 – The US Navy is being widely and unjustly ridiculed for its Sexual Assault Prevention Tips poster, which the Navy confirms is for real.
What no one seems to have noticed is that this poster is not targeted at potential victims, but at potential rapists. This isn’t a “how to avoid being raped” list; it’s a “how to avoid raping someone” list. As far as I know, this is the first-ever list of tips to help would-be rapists avoid raping someone. It’s ridiculous, yes. Particularly jarring are the modifications of advice usually offered to potential victims. Use the buddy system: take someone along to stop you from assaulting someone. Carry a whistle: give it to your prospective victim so that she can blow it when you start raping her. Geez. But when I tried to come up with a list for potential rapists, I couldn’t do much better.
What is particularly disturbing is that the Navy finds it necessary to issue such a list. Are there really so many Navy guys who can’t control their impulses to rape women that they need such a moron-list for guidance? “If you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault them!” Is that really something that slips the mind of Navy guys?
More lab work today, interspersed with doing laundry.