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A Brigadier General in the US Army has been charged with rape. Well, actually, Brig. General Jeffrey Sinclair has been charged with a veritable laundry list of offenses, as set forth in an Army press release, among them
forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, attempted violation of an order, violations of regulations by wrongfully engaging in inappropriate relationships and misusing a government travel charge card, violating general orders by possessing alcohol and pornography while deployed, maltreatment of subordinates, filing fraudulent claims, engaging in conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman and engaging in conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline, or of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces.
While details are still sketchy, the charges apparently involve misconduct with several female subordinates.
Over on The Spearhead, W.F. Price bravely takes on the real villain here: women. Apparently their mere presence in the Armed Forces is enough to provoke male soldiers and generals alike to rape them and, while they’re at it, to buy booze and porn, mistreat their subordinates and rack up unauthorized purchases on government issued charge cards. In a post with the title “How’s that Women in the Military Thing Going Now?” Price gets right to the heart of the matter:
I suspect that the more combat-oriented environment an environment is in the military, the more likely these problems with women are to come about. For one thing, fighting men are more passionate by nature, and then there’s the fact that these men also turn women on more.
Yes, because when male soldiers rape female soldiers, the problem lies with woman in uniform getting “turned on” by men in uniform.
A forward base in hostile territory is not likely to have the same atmosphere as an assignment stateside. The sense of danger actually tends to make people more sexually charged, or so I’ve heard from those who survived battles and sieges on the Eastern Front in WWII, where female-operated AA batteries behind the front lines became de-facto brothels.
Of course, male soldiers are also known to rape civilian women, so by Price’s logic women should neither serve in the military, nor not serve in the military. In times of war, they should just do all us dudes a favor and cease to exist at all.
If not, well, women just need to face up to the danger of “hanky panky” that their mere existence creates:
[O]ur personnel are serving in a remote Muslim country with no access to local females to speak of, and things are bound to happen. As to whether Sinclair “forced” anything on anybody, we don’t know at this point, and it seems unlikely, but it isn’t surprising at all that some forbidden hanky-panky may have occurred.
At this point, virtually all we know about the alleged crimes here is contained in that laundry list of charges I posted above. Yet someone Price is able to deduce that Sinclair is likely to be innocent here. Evidently Price is convinced that anyone who is a “real combat general” and who has “earned a number of awards related to combat arms and parachuting” is someone who is to be implicitly trusted.
In the comments, the Spearhead regulars offer their own unique takes on the issues of women in the military.
Keyster seems to dream of a day when women can not only be kicked out of the military but also out of pretty much everything else as well, except presumably the kitchen:
It’s not safe to work or serve with women.
The potential for trouble is way too high.
Once they invaded the workplace the last vestige of male only space was the military. Now even this is no longer true. I don’t know where men can go and work with other men without female interference anymore. Even if you own your own business, the government forces you to hire them…and invest in all manner of special female accommodations, like breast pumping stations and tampon dispensors.
Ironically the safest “male only” space is a Gay Bar. And even then curious women wander in to meddle and cause disruption.
Numnut drops some biotruths on us all:
Appears women are very horny once a month and will have sex with the most aggressive male available to them at that time.This re-enforces the “thinking with the vagina” theme that a women herself espoused.
Now that the lawz have given wymyn free pass to act out their base animals nature,no man is safe from the Whiplash regret post-sex.(ref to OT)
No doubt these milfem cursors were ovulating and thinking with the gash when they asked to be screwed.
The proper thing for the law to do is recognize this animal instinct and either regulate wymyns behaviors of legalize male sexuality again.
Women want it both ways,a rough man for sex,and prison for rough men.
Jean Valjean hopes that this case will help to expose women for being the filthy sluts they really are:
The question on my mind is will this man fight the charges and reveal the sexual nature of many women in the military or will he go meekly to his fate?
A commenter with the highly ironic name Reality offers up this bit of secondhand shitthatneverhappened.txt.
There was a guy who had been in the military who told me that in actual warfare when the bombs start dropping & the gunfire starts coming at them in an actual combat situation, women just throw down their guns and start running screaming like they would do any other situation.
We’re doomed. All so we can pretend ‘women are just the same as women’ [sic] – that’s more important to all these idiots that run this country & half the idiot population than the security of the country. It’s that way in any situation in life- this political correctness & diversity shit is becomes more important than success, life or death- you name it. In that sense it’s like drugs or alcohol addiction – you throw away your whole life for this one stupid, trivial thing.
Equality: Stupid and Trivial.
I learn new things every time I read The Spearhead.
For some actual facts on the epidemic of rape in the military see:
Leon Panetta: Military’s handling of rape is an “outrage.”
Naomi Wolf: A culture of coverup: rape in the ranks of the US military
Victims say military condones rape
Rape in the Military: America’s Dirty Little Secret
New military rape lawsuit filed
Mention how maybe Israel should let Palestinians have the 20% of historic Palestine
I know of no such entity
“PC” a response you get.
Read some Israeli media and you see Israeli society is absolutely obsessed with the status of women.
Men do get raped by women, actually.
Yeah. I’m sure it happens all the time. I am small by guy standards, 5’9 and ~155 (and A LOT of that meager weight is just fat) and I have never in my life been in a situation where I have felt threatened or in danger by women, or even groups of them. My sister and other young women I have known, on the other hand, have either outright been victims of rape or have mentioned to me being in numerous situations where they had an immediate fear of it.
Someone doesn’t know how power dynamics work.
Then why don’t you explain it to me? Is this gonna be one of those things that because baby girls get wrapped in pink blankets it causes them to grow up less tall and with less muscle mass?
Since I haven’t seen this addressed specifically in the comments, I wanted to mention that in the US military relationships within a chain of command are prohibited, but those not involving a command relationship are generally allowed (generally, because I doubt a commanding general of a host unit could conduct any sort of relationship with a junior officer in a tenant unit).
Also, as a long time lurker and first time poster, thanks to Alex, Kiwi girl, and Nathan for their conversation in which Alex put into words, far better than how I would have, some of the unease I feel when people use institutionalization/straightjacket imagery… inappropriately? not sure if that would be the right word… As someone who’s dealt with mental illness, but only got the “Just Visiting” t-shirt, I’ve always wondered how to raise or of it would be appropriate to raise something which I’m personally very reactive to. I appreciate both Alex’s words and Kiwi’s and Nathan’s comments.
LOL!! No shit. I kept hearing that line in my head as soon as I read that starting sentence.
Well that is nice for you on not being scared of women (and great erasing of the fact that men do get sexually assaulted) but to somehow not have learned a damn thing from your sister’s experience is not a surprise.
my cat Arilyn wants to respond to Otis:
ggggggggggggggggggn[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[‘u;h/..//////////////////////;p-888888888888888hh
And look, she makes even more sense than zie does.
What about men who are raped by men? What about men who are raped by men in the military? When this happens, does it prove that men are unfit to serve in the armed services?
I’m wondering, Otis, when and where you’ve served? All your stories about the weakness and incompetence of female soldiers seem to be second/third hand accounts.
“I’m wondering, Otis, when and where you’ve served? All your stories about the weakness and incompetence of female soldiers seem to be second/third hand accounts.”
I’ve been wondering that about everyone quoted in the OP, too.
I’m wondering, Otis, when and where you’ve served?
You take me for some kind of backwoods rube? No, sorry I didn’t sign up to get shot at by 3rd worlder’s and ocean away.
What about men who are raped by men? What about men who are raped by men in the military? When this happens, does it prove that men are unfit to serve in the armed services?
Is this an attempt at the Socratic method or are you actually asking?
There is a huge problem of female troops getting raped in the army. It got so bad that during the height of the Iraq war female soldiers weren’t even allowed to use the canteen at night without being accompanied by their “battle buddies” because to go out alone was basically a guarantee she’d be raped.
So unless there is a massive case of male soldiers being raped by guys in their own unit that the military has somehow managed to sweep under the rug, the situations aren’t remotely comparable.
@Falconer:
The bisexual thing was the other day. I don’t remember who said it, but it was a comment that could be interpreted to mean that one could not be both bisexual and a virgin.
emilyperson pointed out that zie is bisexual and a virgin and asked not to be erased in such a way.
The original commenter apologized, clarified, and all was well. It seemed all rather civil from my reading.
Well, gee, I can’t think of a single reason why we wouldn’t immediately take the word of some guy on the internet who admits he has no firsthand experience with the military.
No, I mistook you for someone who had more to offer than third hand anecdotes about the incompetence of women who serve in the military. I know men who’ve served alongside women in the armed services and their stories don’t match yours. Do my second hand anecdotes trump your second hand anecdotes? A majority male military you refer to as “backwoods rubes”? Interesting.
No, I’m actually asking. There have been any number of stories and exposes written recently about male-on-male rape in the U.S. military. Much of it, yes, has been swept under the rug but that doesn’t change the fact that it has happened, does happen, and will happen in the future. So does that mean that men are unfit to serve in the military?
Or why we would believe the stories he was told by those “backwoods rubes” who DID sign up to get shot at by those lesser people.
Ooooops, I meant to put “those lesser people” in scare quotes in my previous comment.
“So unless there is a massive case of male soldiers being raped by guys in their own unit that the military has somehow managed to sweep under the rug, the situations aren’t remotely comparable.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/04/03/the-military-s-secret-shame.html
I don’t know if you’d consider “50,000 male veterans screened positive for ‘military sexual trauma'” in a single year “massive.” But as far as I’m concerned, ONE sexual assault victim of any gender is too many. And it’s an extra blow when the aggressor is supposed to be your comrade in arms.
Way to support the troops, there, buddy. I find the support-the-troops bumper stickers as annoying and aggressive as anyone, but I don’t go around calling our armed forces too stupid to realize they may not survive to get their college paid for.
So then Otis, what’s you’re point in posting here? You don’t think women should be in the army because men will rape them? Why aren’t you angry that some men rape their fellow soldiers? Are you implying that all men rape? Have you? No? How have you managed that? What’s so fucked up is getting mad at women for pressing charges againts their abusers — because what? What else should they expect? Your view of men is really sad, bro.
Male soldiers, when captured, have been tortured. Does that mean they shouldn’t serve? Because when they are overpowered and disarmed they may prove to be vulnerable? That’s everyone, dude.
That personal aside you offered up about your sister’s experience…if true, she must really hate your attitude. You couldn’t have possibly told your sister, “Well, what did you expect?” Because that would be vile and inhumane.
Otis, could you explain to me why in the merry blue fuck the fact that, according to you, men in the army just gosh darn can’t help but constantly rape women, and that even when you’ve been told that your own fucking sister has been terrified by men, and other women you know have been raped/attacked by men…
this is both the fault of women and proof they shouldn’t be allowed to do a job?
Because I’m squinting and tilting my head, and I’ve even tried doing the magic-eye thing, but there is no way in hell any of what you’ve said makes a lick of sense.
Otis, the fact women cant go around their camp without being raped by their own comrades says nothing about women. It does show the absolute repugnance of the men around who cannot keep it in their pants.
And I have been sexually assaulted by a woman. Guess I don’t exist, according to you.
@sweaty,
“I know of no such entity”
Read a book.
“Read some Israeli media and you see Israeli society is absolutely obsessed with the status of women. ”
So Israel’s supposedly more PC than the US, but only on one topic?
“Yeah. I’m sure it happens all the time. I am small by guy standards, 5’9 and ~155 (and A LOT of that meager weight is just fat) and I have never in my life been in a situation where I have felt threatened or in danger by women, or even groups of them. My sister and other young women I have known, on the other hand, have either outright been victims of rape or have mentioned to me being in numerous situations where they had an immediate fear of it.”
You might be an idiot. Just informing you.
“Then why don’t you explain it to me?”
Power dynamics, as in someone in a position of authority using said authority to take advantage of someone under said authority. No amount of physical strength overcomes that. Same with teachers and students, parents and offspring, bosses and employees, etc..
“Is this gonna be one of those things that because baby girls get wrapped in pink blankets it causes them to grow up less tall and with less muscle mass?”
Dafuq are you on about?
Dammit, ninjaed. Oh and Fembot – what Gametime said. If you’re going to stamp your feet and get hufftastic about being politely asked to not be a clod, then I really don’t fucking know what to say.
I’d be more eloquent but I’m still trying to get over Captain ‘I don’t need to fear being sexually assaulted or raped! This means that I’m better than women!’ over there.
@WeeBoy and it insults the majority of male military who DO keep it in their pants. FFS, MRAs, there are decent human beings in the military.
So does that mean that men are unfit to serve in the military
No because men as a group aren’t being victimized. The military only managed to get rape of female soldiers under control after taking extreme protective measures and launching a huge campaign against it. The reality is that most men in combat aren’t getting raped by their fellow troops whereas with female troops it is a much bigger problem. Even the PC army brass would laugh at the suggestion that male troops are getting raped at anywhere near the rate that female troops are. And in combat zones the disparity is even greater, even after all of the army’s precautions.
I’m guessing that Otis is going to explain to us that men, in general, are bigger and stronger than women which is why women have no business in the military.
Of course, this means that Otis, with his relatively small frame, is a lot smaller and weaker than some men. So if they kick the shit out of him it just means that he shouldn’t have been walking around.
Wow, these guys just get more blatant about the whole “I don’t really care what point I’m making, so long as I’m making it against women” thing.
“FFS, MRAs, there are decent human beings in the military.”
+1 to that, Kiwi girl. In two years on active duty, I only met two men who gave me a bad vibe. The rest were stand-up guys. It makes me sick to think of good men I met – my husband, or the guy who enlisted so that he could afford to take care of his new step kids, or the one who joined up solely so that his wife (who had MS) could have health insurance for the first time in her life – being tarred with the uncontrollable ravaging beast brush.