I live in a place where this should be discussed more often.

I live in a place where this should be discussed more often.

Guess what - so do you...

Originally shared by Eli Fennell

What All Women Share in Common

A mass killing is never a good thing. The reaction to it, however, can tell us a lot about the state of society. Do we speak up in defense of the victims, or the victimizers? In the rush to defend the right to bear arms, or the innocence of the many over the guilt of the few, we can forget about the voices who can't defend themselves. At least, not anymore. The recent killing spree in Isla Vista by Elliot Rodger brings this issue to light with a vengeance.

No, not all men. Not all. Not even most. But yes, all women. All women have seen that dark face that can lurk even behind the face of a man who proclaims "I'm different!" This crazy shooter called himself the "Gentleman Supreme", as he spoke of his evil urges to slaughter them because they hadn't submitted to his desires. Women aren't just victimized by the guy with weird eyes lurking in a dark alley they ought not go down. They're victimized by friends, family, their own husbands; in secret or in public places in broad daylight while others go about their business turning a blind eye; in their homes, their offices, in an airport; by poor men and men of great wealth and influence alike.

It's not something we all like to talk about, and certainly not all the time, but an occasion like this brings the issue to the forefront. There is no FriendZone, only friends or people pretending to be your friend. There is no entitlement to sex or companionship with women. They're not here to serve our desires. Partnership and intimacy come from a basis of respect, and if you see women as objects to serve you in some way, then you don't respect women. And he who does not respect women has forgotten the face of his mother. Has abandoned his own humanity.

The Bible calls woman "Life" (Eve) and "Holy Spirit" (ruach). Hindus call woman shakti, "power", and elevates them to the power behind all men and all gods. The irony of this in terms of how India often treats women is laid bare in the "Abused Goddesses" campaign.

Behind Apollo (an Asian import), the Greeks built more temples to Hera than any other deity, and though literature may have called Zeus "King of the Gods", in reality he was an accessory figure in Hera's cult. Even his glorious son Heracles was, as his name literally means, "the Glory of Hera".

Women have been the bearers of life and the central rulers of domestic society since the dawn of our species, and yet for thousands of years they have been made to feel unsafe about their own ability to control their minds and bodies. To give or deny their emotions and bodies as they see fit, a privilege which most men enjoy by birthright.

You don't have to be a Militant Feminist to be militantly outraged that our society has for so long allowed this to happen. That even one man would ever think to defend a guy who kills because women would not submit themselves to him is proof that the problem isn't limited to the fringes.

#YesAllWomen
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/05/25/not-all-men-but-still-too-many-men/