Going Biblical on Rape Culture

I think that I have figured out a way to deal with rape culture, and it's simple: We apply all of the restrictions regarding female behavior in The Bible and apply them ruthlessly. Something that becomes very clear from reading all of the various articles on rape culture is that if you allow men and women to come together without chaperones rape is going to happen. Ergo, we need to stop allowing men and women from meeting. There are some very simple methods that we can enforce:

First, we enforce women keeping their virginity until after marriage under threat of death to both offenders. While this may increase the temptation to have sex, it will also drive down the marriage age. Not only does this help to limit births outside of marriage, but also helps to put a price limit on weddings, as younger brides also equates to cheaper weddings. Once teenagers realize that sex before marriage equals death, it should also eliminate any sexual crimes as well, such as rape.

Second, we recognize that adultery is a threat to society and punish it with death. It is not so much that marriage sacrosanct but that adultery causes bad feelings and that in order to spare those feelings, we need to eliminate any cause of hurt feelings, and that definitely includes adultery. If someone is caught committing adultery then two deaths result, as it does take to have sexual relations. If a he said/she said situation develops that one side was raped, but there is no proof beyond their testimony, then it should be assumed that the sex was consensual and both parties killed.

Third, we reinforce the idea that men and women have different jobs. This eliminates a lot of contact between men and women right off the bat as stratification of jobs ensures that contact between genders is limited. For those jobs where there is some contact, the rules regarding adultery should limit any desire to have sex. Most professions are easy to split, and should default to men when possible; after all, this split means that women will be back in the home and that men will be the ones making the money.

Now, if there is any rape, the rapist should be forced to marry his victim. It may sound more punishing to the raped than the rapist, but it reinforces the message that sex should only be between married people. Obvioulsy this also means that men should be allowed to have multiple wives, but that should be self-limiting; if you don't have the money you can't have the love. Oh; obviously prostitution should be totally illegal as well.

Now this may seem like it is limiting the rights of women; well, it is limiting the rights of women. But this should not be an issue, as women are now fully protected against rape and therefore completely safe. 

Science is a field of roses, thorns included...

One of the great urban legends out there is that scientists are above all of the pettiness of us other mortals. Somehow their education and experience in the realms of logic and science somehow make them morally superior to the rest of us and that we need to emulate them in order to be better people. After all, their greater intelligence gives them superior decision making abilities far beyond those of regular men.

There is no greater concept fueled by pure imagination that humanity can create.

Scientists are ultimately human and thus subject to all of the usual foibles that the rest of us have to deal with. Just consider the careers of Marie Curie and Michael Faraday. If success as a scientist was based solely on merit as some would suggest then all that would matter would be the talent one brings to the table, and nothing else would matter, not race, sex, social status, or even beliefs. The reality is far different when those factors are well-known to be factors that can hinder or even stop a career.

Consider Marie Curie. She is the mother of radiation, discoverer of a number of different elements, and exposed to enough radiation that her lack of super-powers is actually a surprise. Yet she required a certain degree of luck in order to gain even her education; she was lucky that she was able to find the Flying University, a college that wasn't supposed to exist but was the only one that accepted female students. Even when she began to receive awards for her talents she had to prove that her name hadn't just been placed on the paper and that she actually was all that. Although she did earn some high honors on her own, her gender kept her from fully capitalizing on her talents. Reality 1, Fantasy 0.

Michael Faraday was an incredible scientist, especially when you allow for all that he discovered. However, he almost gave up on science altogether. He was the assistant to Humphrey Davy, a major scientist in his own right. When Davy was invited on a tour his valet decided not to go, and so Faraday was forced into being both assistant and valet. Due to his lack of social standing Davy's wife refused to treat him as an equal, forcing Faraday to ride outside the coach and eat with the servants while also serving Davy in a number of roles. Faraday stuck it out, but he almost left science due to someone treating him a second-class scientist due to his low birth. Reality 2, Fantasy 0.

Before you think that of course they were treated roughly, it was a darker age then, consider that scientists are now looking at the belief systems of their fellows. Atheists are preferred, as a religious person will always go into a situation with an obvious bias, and that obviously irrational bias keeps them from thinking clearly. A person's belief should not be an impediment; if Science was truly a meritocracy the necklace one wears should not be an issue. Reality 3, Fantasy 0.

It gets worse when you look at the History of Science and note that there has always been a certain amount of contention that was slowed down the progress of Science. A discovery that is without some form of disagreement is a rarity; for too many there are bitter battles over every aspect of the discovery, and in some cases even the results were debated. Fortunately the era of dueling is behind us or there would be some serious violence; some debates have been fueled by a rivalry that easily matches any gang war ever fought. They are fought with an almost-religious fervor and with no quarter given. Congratulations are rarely given from one side to another as they gear up for the next war. Science is no field of daisies but a battlefield where the victors are rewarded by grants and promotions and the losers are never heard from again.

So if someone points out that Science is some sort of placid world where everyone supports one another and success is based purely on one's talent and ambition, feel free to gibbslap that person and laugh at his expense as you walk away from him. He is just not living in the real world.