The Streets
Returning to America for the first time in thirty years was interesting. Nothing seemed to have really changed. I had expected an extreme form of political correctness based on news reports and social media. What I learned is not that much had changed except for weaker iced tea and more multiculturalism. I cannot say I was disappointed.
I was one of those people who actually liked America, though its problems of homelessness and racism towards Black Americans had clearly not changed. Despite all the reports of theft and violence, I never felt unsafe here. After watching a homeless woman get raped through forced oral sex in front of the local Royal Canadian Mounted Police back home and again on a wall near my section of the hotel after a night of dancing and drinking in Cancun, America did not phase me.
Being white in America determines the culture. Being a Black person who is homeless and addicted in the United States means being up against the cops and being visible, vulnerable, and unable to access resources. Being white in America would be a very different thing under these circumstances. There were few white homeless people in the States. Resources that are available to whites are simply not available to Blacks in the same sense. The history of segregation, housing discrimination, underfunded education, and slavery was still holding them back.
I had no other explanation. There was no reason to believe that Blacks were less motivated or intelligent. There were many successful Hispanics and Asians, but they did not face the same racism, history, and discrimination that African-Americans did.
There were a lot of complaints about Americas liquor laws. After watching carelessness amongst teenagers with alcohol, I was uncertain how I felt about it. It seemed to me that most people over the age of 21 were responsible with alcohol and developed a healthy, moderate attitude towards it.
I never saw that behavior amongst teenagers or all the late-age teenagers in British Columbia and Alberta. Alcohol abuse was rampant and beer bong contests were a thing. I heard stories about women being abused at these parties. Political correctness prevented any discussion of wearing appropriate clothing, limiting alcohol, not hanging around late at night in isolated places or night clubs, or avoiding frat parties.
By no means am I trying to blame women or suggest that rapists get off. I have seen many aggressive men with sociopathic, sexist, and violent attitudes. To them, women were objects. This attitude was nurtured by egoism, narcissism, the male culture surrounding sex, enabling parents, and pornography. However, I fail to see why anyone would ignore the obvious and create a situation that would set up young women against these men in opportunistic, dangerous, and irresponsible fashion by pretending that other factors do not contribute to the situation.
I was sexually assaulted in a theatre randomly on a date out of nowhere and was prevented from getting help or fighting off my offender. I was choked and nearly choked several times. It is amazing I never suffered any permanent damage, and this is coming from someone whose mouth was rebuilt with fiberglass after an accident with a pipe at the age of four, an accident that ripped open the roof of my mouth and nearly caused a hemorrhage. The top of my mouth is rebuilt partly with fiberglass and surgical precision. I cannot Scuba dive or sky dive; both are highly irritating. I also avoid spicy food. Other than that, I have not had limitations.
The term rape culture came up at a time that women were being blamed for being murdered, beaten, and choked in courts of law across North America. I was not surprised that victims did not want to come forward. Any history of sexual promiscuity, mental illness, homelessness, drug addiction, hooking, or other questioned activity was mentioned by the defense and used against them in order to have charges dropped. It was just the latest version of victim blaming by the laws and courts.