regards
Sachin
http://shayrionline.blogspot.com/

akshaya- Thank you and welcome to my Blog.

L- I know you just love the topic

Sachin- Thank you

Pa6ora- Lol! You just keep coming back

Duma Key- Sorry to hear about your friend… but sometimes lying to yourself is better than being honest.

Sumedh- I applaud you from the depths of my soul… It takes time, dedication, interest and above all concern to vividly analyze and elaborate on such a sensitive issue. I agree with most of your points… but there are so mny ways of seeing the matter… Many readers kindly shared their theories via email, and it’s just shockingly amazing to see how very different we all are in approaching and dealing with issues. It was very brave of you however to pour your mind out not so discretly… I admire and appreciate that. I look forward to reading more brilliant theories, thoughts and opinions from you on upcoming posts.
Thank you for your time and effort.

diana- Thank you and will do!

I sometimes can get a little disturbed by my own eerie calmness.

Now for some food for the thought-hungry people in this audience. (Though it might be late for it to be put on table, but I hope you have a nice vacation till then).

Suffering, just like BEING happy, peaceful, joyful, loving, etc; just like any state of BEING, is a state of mind. One CAN choose to BE anything if only one is able to convince oneself. That is to say that suffering is not something that happens to us (any circumstance or event), but rather it is the result of the way we choose to React (which is mostly an unconscious choice, resulting from our social conditioning and baggages) to whatever that is happening.

The exemplary woman in your story (which I hope is fictional) obviously chose NOT to suffer. Which is a strong, beautiful and a commendable choice; and also a choice which though rare, is not altogether an unknown, unheard-of one.

I am not trying to say that this is a RIGHT choice and the rape-victim who suffers has made a WRONG choice. I am not trying to Judge in the least. In fact, I am merely alluding to your own title – Every choice has consequences. But consequences, unlike punishments, are naturally occurring phenomenon. Punishments are artificial human impositions which spring always from fear, and mostly from a lack of trust (or remembrance) in the very process of life.

I think you used a beautiful word and I don’t think it was an accident – IT KILLED HIM. Such a choice of hers already has a direct consequence on the perpetrator. It removes the very ground from under their feet which have trampled upon countless individuals.

[I know I am being too verbose, but I feel compelled to continue. I hope you would forgive me for that.]

We, as a people, as a society, too often jump at the prevalent and clichéd concepts of revenge and justice without giving them a fresh thought;
In the context of this example, we proceed (very normally) directly towards the debate of punishing or pointing out the perpetrator. Which is extremely understandable, but it is a choice which springs again from fear, as you said, of protecting others from “suffering” the same crime.
But we need to pause. tarry. stop. and think about it a bit more. Why? Why did a person commit such an act? What series of events could have caused a person to develop such a world-view that he considered it agreeable to rape? (FOR NO PERSON EVER DOES ANYTHING THAT IS NOT DEEPLY IN TUNE WITH THEIR WORLD-VIEW AT THAT MOMENT). That it didn’t bother him or instigate his conscience to hurt another?
We jump so hastily towards delivering our limited concepts of justice that we seldom try to understand the perpetrator himself.
Because if we did, we would realize that it is our own (and our loved ones’) actions that we partake in daily and nonchalantly, our own unobserved, minor perpetrations that add up to create such Frankensteins.

Just as food for thought, it would do good to see why does the very concept of rape exist? Because our own hypocritically-based society puts a taboo on the most basic, important, natural, and primeval activity/instinct of ours – that which, when partaken in naturally (and not normally) betrays or basic instinct – of making love. Of BEING love. Our social conditioning makes the most natural of our instincts as the most abnormal ones; hiding them behind superstitions and institutions and ceremonies. That the very innocent act of hugging as two innocent kids would do innocently and lovingly becomes a big hype when they grow older (again showcasing natural Vs. normal) (Just as an example.)

Of course, this is only one out of an infinitum of plausible circumstances that, over a period of time, could cause members of our society to become “disillusioned” by it, turn cynical, and take out their rage in negative manifestations just like the one you beautifully and strongly worded.

So is it possible, we must ask ourselves, that we are all as responsible for every rape that happens, as the rapist? For most of us, perhaps at least for a fleeting moment, have colluded with our social upbringing and depicted/reacted to human love as a taboo. Whether we put such actions behind veiled justifications of traditions, philosophies, theologies, etcetera then becomes inconsequential. Plain and simple logic of ourselves should be used by ourselves, for ourselves.

Because, indeed, we MUST always live with consequences. Life ALWAYS has consequences. And so do our everyday actions which we (only too often) dust-off under the carpet.
And even, then, punishing an “offender” has consequences. It is a perfect example of attacking a symptom instead of healing a disease. Kicking our own feet in order to heal the hurt that our head faced when our feet tripped over steps. It only develops a vicious circle where punishments from both sides ensue, the only thing remaining to observe is the current disposition of the pendulum which has but two extremes.

We are the ones who create perpetrators. We are the ones who are perpetrated against. We are the ones who then punish those perpetrators, ending up only perpetuating the cycle of perpetration.

It is thus, that I find the example of a death ray machine and a chinaman a powerful one, but not an exhaustive one. Because it can also be alluded to killing the perpetrator with that very machine. And just as we assume that the chinaman is essentially “good”, we assume that the rapist is essentially “bad”. Whose one horrendous deed outdoes and outlives a possible life of unknown deeds. Whose one deed is sufficient for us to call ourselves just in denying him a chance for redemption.

It is not as if a baby is born a criminal or a rapist, you know.

——————————
I thank you for tolerating my verbose comment. You can of course delete it if you so decide, I wouldn’t mind in the least. I DO WISH TO CLARIFY WAS THAT IT WAS NOT MY INTENTION TO HURT, DOWNSIZE, OR CRITICIZE ANYONE/ANY POINT OF VIEW. The only thing that was intended was throwing some food for thought. I apologize heartily, in advance for any possible negative side effects or interpretations. For I know full well that there can be many. Including, but not limited to, the appearance that I might be advocating people to go about and rape. I”M NOT!!!

I’m no better than anyone else. Nor any more perfect than the spider who continues to fall off the wall.

With Love & peace to all,
A Disturbed yet Calmed Visitor.