I'm not one of those people who expect athletes to be a role model. Way to smoke that pot, Michael Phelps. Thanks a lot for crushing my blind faith in humanity, Lance Armstrong. They are human just like the rest of us. They can disappoint. Attaching too high of an expectation on them will backfire more often than not. The thing is, athletes are role models for many. It's the nature of the beast, I suppose. Well, in a pretend world of Okie's athlete role models, Serena Williams is not one of them.
Plenty of articles out there to choose from on this one concerning her statements concerning the Steubenville rape victim. That's right...victim. Remember the victim, Serena? No...apparently not.
From her Rolling Stones interview, Serena hops right on that blame-the-rape-victim bandwagon.
Do you think it was fair, what they got? They did something stupid, but I don't know. I'm not blaming the girl, but if you're a 16-year-old and you're drunk like that, your parents should teach you: Don't take drinks from other people. She's 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn't remember? It could have been much worse. She's lucky. Obviously, I don't know, maybe she wasn't a virgin, but she shouldn't have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that's different.
What Serena Williams 'Taught Me' About Rape is today's daily read on this situation.
1. Rape is your fault if you're 16 years old girl.
2. Rape is your fault if you're drunk.
3. Rape is your fault if your parents didn't teach you not to take drinks from other people.
4. Rape is your fault if you're too intoxicated to remember it.
5. Rape could possibly be your fault if you aren't a virgin.
6. Rape isn't a position you should put yourself in.
7. Rape is only a problem if you were "slipped something" … that's different.
The rape and sexual assault of women in this world has been a tactic of war and control since the beginning of time. Our bodies politicalized. We as women are constantly guilty for being women, for being beautiful, for being afraid, for being drunk, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Search for one woman that was "asking for it" … and you'd have a snowball's chance in hell of finding one. Williams' statements hurt plenty of us to our core.
I appreciate how this article ends:
Until we are willing to teach all of our children that "no means no", we will continue to perpetuate this cycle of shaming. It is a responsibility for all of us to champion.
I am reminded of the Zulu proverb "Ubuntu" which simply says: I am a person through other people. My humanity is tied to yours.
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