21 Men Holding Signs Quoting Their Rapists

[ZombieHorde]

more at the link
http://www.liberalamerica.org/2013/11/12/men-holding-signs-quoting-their-rapists/

[roguevalley]

1. I wish them all the best they can find. I have a struggle with violence against everyone

[Skittles]

2. thanking these men

very brave indeed

[LoisB]

3. Agree

[PumpkinAle]

18. Yes they are

very courageous to come forward like they have done.

[rhett o rick]

4. k&r thanks for posting. nm

[pleinair]

5. Thank you to these men for speaking out!

Kudos to these courageous men for taking the risk and speaking out! Wishing for a world where rape and violence didn't happen--but since this is in our world, we have to expose these crimes and work for justice.

[onecaliberal]

6. Very courageous

[tymorial]

7. Brave men... I wish that I were so brave.

I was raped when I was 22 years old. I am bisexual and was recently out of the closet at the time. Two "friends" of mine took me out to dinner for my birthday. They were an older couple and I didn't know many gay/bisexual men in Rhode Island (this was in the early days of the internet.. 1999). I met them on the IRC and we would get together for coffee every now and again. I had met them enough times that I thought that I could trust them. That night they slipped something into my cocktail at the restaurant. I vagualy remember the events of the rest of the night but at 2am I knew something was very wrong and I got out of the house. I remember them telling me later that I had "injected a new spice into their relationship and love life." They thanked me. My rape screwed me up for a long time and it probably still is. I never told anyone except for the counselor who helped me get sober... and now.

[Rhiannon12866]

12. I am sorry that this happened to you

I hope it helps to know you can talk about it here. Welcome to DU! You're among friends.

[Tess49]

13. I know it was difficult to share this. Thanks for YOUR bravery. n/t

[Agschmid]

15. Very sorry this happened to you.

I appreciate your bravery for sharing and I encourage you to always work to help this from happening to others.

[yardwork]

16. I am so sorry.

[wryter2000]

17. Welcome to DU

I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm glad you felt you could trust us.

[Jackpine Radical]

19. You ARE that brave. You just proved it.

[IronLionZion]

27. ...

[IrishAyes]

33. Betrayal in any form is always heinous, but rape is one of the worst. Very brave of you

to tell your story; I'm sure there are readers who can't/won't say anything but will still benefit from hearing it. As others have said, you're very welcome here and most will support you. If some POS tries anything, we'll make him/her think twice before repeating it.

[nilram]

39. You are brave now. Thanks.

Really, two rapes -- the first one by drugging you, so you couldn't resist the second. Cowardly, shameful, and dreadfully hostile of them. You're not to blame for any of it.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

8. heartbreaking.

Very courageous of them.

[FourScore]

9. This makes me so sad. n/t

[uppityperson]

10. Rape is wrong no matter who.

[mythology]

11. I applaud anybody who can find the strength to do this

It takes an incredible amount of courage to do so.

[grilled onions]

14. Years Ago Children Obeyed

They were adults and you were a kid. They demanded--they took and you had to take it. It was pounded in your head. They did not think that that fear you had ground into you could backfire when others who also knew about the word obey could so easily use it against you. There was also the snitch factor. If you told there would be dire consequences. Many of us did not have a strong bond with a parent to know they would believe you over Uncle Bob or that babysitter down the street. Parents did to educate their offspring in a firm way but not scare them into secrecy.

[liberalmuse]

20. Rape is such a horrific crime.

The rapist usually goes on to rape more people, and most likely will be let off with a slap on the hand in the worst case scenario, because there are some men (and to a much lesser extent, some women) who do not see anything wrong with violating others, taking at will. They're in our highest courts. The victim? They are usually demonized if they dare come forward, along with having to deal with PTSD, trust issues, and so many other things for the remainder of their lives.

I honestly can't comprehend how someone willing to rape another human being could ever become a decent person. Usually they are the ones who cry the loudest when they are caught, as if they are the true victims. I can't comprehend anyone who would blame a child for being molested or another human being for being the victim of rape. These people are no better than the rapists, because they give them sanctuary, allowing this heinous crime to continue.

[LeftishBrit]

21. k&r

Rape is a horrible crime, and too many victims feel unable to speak out.

[tymorial]

23. True.

This is very true I was raped by two men and I felt tremendous shame that I remained silent. I can't imagine the shame a man feels if he is raped by a woman given that we live in a society where a significant portion believe this to be an impossibility. We have other portions who have minimized the suffering of those men by changing what happened to them from rape to "made to penetrate." Anyway, I have been reading for a long time but this subject is one that I feel strongly about (for obvious reasons) and felt the need to contribute. As for the person who said I felt save posting here: I believe that most of the posters here are honest and good people. that being said if I was forced to use my facebook account to use my real name, I probably would not have posted this. Just like most people, I too am a prisoner to expectations of gender.

[riderinthestorm]

25. ((gentle hug)) Be well brave tymorial!

Your story and journey to recovery is very powerful.

[cyberswede]

22. Sad. They are definitely brave.

[riderinthestorm]

24. Heartbreaking and also incredibly brave

This will help others eho feel like they are soooo alone.

[shenmue]

26. Mercy

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

28. I shudder to think of the RW comments on an article like this. It does take guts to say

fk it and share about something like this, and that's just another example of how fked up our society is.

[tymorial]

29. Sadly its not just the rw.

Gender expectations are not necessarily political. I would concur that it is worse on the right but gender expectations intersect all aspects of our culture. Before I married my wife, I dated a black man for several years and he feared sharing his sexual preference with his family and community. He knew what had happened to me before we met and he told me that he would rather come out as gay than tell anyone that he was raped. Sigh, he died in a car accident 2 years ago. He was the nicest most gentle person that I have ever known. I hope he is in a better place and finally has some peace.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

55. True. We are all socialized and unconsciously are burdened with unnecessary, unhelpful

gender expectations. And many people never question or examine them.

Sorry about your friend. RIP.

[elias49]

30. The article says 1 in 3 women have been or will be sexually assaulted

in their lifetime. WTF??
That is friggin outrageous!
I never knew it was that bad. Honestly!

[IrishAyes]

31. Whenever I see this subject, I try to recommend an excellent movie about

male victims called 'The Rape of Richard Beck' about a police officer who was typically insensitive until it happened to him. It was a tv movie but a groundbreaker for its time. Starred Richard Crenna. It's bound to be available somewhere, but I don't have a link. If someone wants it and can't find it, I'll help you look.

[winter is coming]

32. I remember seeing at the time. You're right; it was excellent. n/t

[IrishAyes]

34. I understand that movie is used in therapy groups, it was so good.

[Rhiannon12866]

38. Here it is, 1985, starred Richard Crenna and Meredith Baxter, impressive cast:

The Rape of Richard Beck
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089882/?ref_=nv_sr_1

[bananas]

42. "Deliverance" is another one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliverance

Widely acclaimed as a landmark picture, the film is noted both for the memorable music scene near the beginning, with one of the city men duelling on guitar with a strange country boy playing banjo, that sets the tone for what lies ahead—a trip into unknown and potentially dangerous territory—and for its notorious "squeal like a pig" male rape scene. In 2008, Deliverance was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

[IronLionZion]

44. Full movie on Youtube:

[McCamy Taylor]

35. The victims' fear and guilt is the predators' secret weapon

so the more people who speak out, the less power the predators have.

[AllyCat]

36. We have a violent society. Healing to these and all victims of rape.

[JNelson6563]

53. This^^^^^^

[ZombieHorde]

37. I wish I could rec the responses to this thread.

DU is a great community.

[Behind the Aegis]

40. Mine said: It's like I raped you. HAHA! You know you wanted it.

Sexual assault and rape against males is still a source of jokes, nervous laughter, suspicion, and blame. There is still a long way to go in helping boys, but especially men, overcome various issues associated with being a victim of rape.

[pansypoo53219]

41. "what were they wearing?" guys are such sluts you know.

man these guys are men.

[MerryBlooms]

43. Incredibly brave.

[IrishAyes]

45. Thanks to those who provided links to the movie I mentioned.

Not only did it benefit from an impressive cast, but one of equally brave artists. At the time it could've been a career killer to appear in such a production. I've always thought the world of Richard Crenna, for this movie above all. Never was a finer actor on the planet.

[Skidmore]

46. Regardless of who is the victim, people need to remember that

rape is an act of violence and exerting control. It is a crime against humanity. One of the worst.

[DRoseDARs]

47. Speaks volumes that certain voices are absent in this thread. nt

[redqueen]

49. Right. Thanks for kicking it.

And thanks also for taking a huge stinking dump in this thread, which was great before I read your shit stirring turd of a post.

[ZombieHorde]

50. Not everyone sees every thread.

I know I miss a lot of threads.

[etherealtruth]

51. Rape is a vicious heinous crime

[redqueen]

52. It is. And it's long past time men started speaking up

and killing off the myth that all males want sex all the time and if they don't there's something wrong with them.

[etherealtruth]

54. Exactly

Those men were brutally victimized ... like all victims of rape ... through no fault of their own