Your suggestion - that women should carry guns - ignores the society that doesn't condemn rape; the courts that don't convict rapists; and the police who don't arrest rapists.
It ignores the fact that people have to be 21 to get a gun and gun ownership is not guaranteed.
You migt not think you're blaming the victims but here tou definitely are. You are saying that women who don't carry guns are to blame for being raped, and for other women being raped. Did you realise that when you wrote it? Is this an example of you "asking difficult questions"?
...ignores the society that doesn't condemn rape; the courts that don't convict rapists; and the police who don't arrest rapists... ignores the fact that...gun ownership is not guaranteed.
You got me. If I didn't ignore those things I probably would have written this:
"Which do you think will reduce rape right now?...change the culture?"
"Getting the police to do their job would be great. How do you do it?"
"...a Beretta in every purse is the only real solution, but it's also a solution that the government will never support. Only rich people and jewelry stores deserve to be protected by guns."
You are saying that women who don't carry guns are to blame for being raped...Did you realise that when you wrote it?
I didn't realize I was sending secret messages that can only be decoded by you, no.
Suggesting an action to mitigate the failings of society is not the same as blaming those societal failings on women. If someone organizes a group of women to try to pass better rape laws, are they blaming the victims for not lobbying enough? Why is it that suggesting anything to help until the situation gets fixed makes everyone assume you don't want the situation fixed?
I'm not defending or attacking his position, I just think these hair-trigger accusations of victim-blaming are harming your cause far more than they're helping, since they make people tune out actual victim-blaming. Regardless of the merit of his suggestion, its silly to say he's blaming the victim when he's not, and clearly didn't intend to. It would be perfectly acceptable to actually argue against his statement, but this "anything that isn't focussed solely on changing society is victim-blaming" is getting ridiculous, and trivializes the disturbing reality of actual victim-blaming. (for example, the quote I read the other day which said "something like that doesn't just happen, she must have done something to get herself in that kind of situation").
As a disclaimer: I don't think his suggestion is a realistic solution on a widespread basis, though it may be helpful in individual cases. Just because someone might suggest, for example, that their sister carry a gun if she goes to the red-light district at night, doesn't mean they're going to blame her if she doesn't carry and gets raped.
