Enough is enough. No, I don’t mean you’ve eaten enough Goldfish Puffs at night to help you get through studying for that geology test (come on, people, I know it’s not just me). I’m talking about the (http://mizzoulife.missouri.edu/enough-enough/).
If you haven’t seen the video yet, I’m triple-dog-daring you to go watch it, so now there’s really no turning back. But if you’re too busy shoving those tasty little puffy fish down your throat, the video sums up how we need to stop making excuses for those who fall victim to sexual assault.
We’ve all heard the excuses of girls walking home at night by themselves or walking around in not-so-casual clothing (to put it nicely) in the middle of the night. We tend to use that as an excuse for unfortunate events that later happen to them. But what does blaming the victims for their behavior or the way they dress say about us as a culture?
It says we’re pretty demented.
[According to the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center](http://www.clevelandrapecrisis.org/resources/statistics/sexual-violence-on-college-
campuses), 25 percent of college women will fall victim to sexual assault at college, 3 percent of college men have reported surviving rape or attempted rape at some point in their lives, and most repulsively, every 21 hours there is a rape on an American college campus.
A lot of these assaults go unreported, which is just as sick. We’ve gotten to the point where Sen. Claire McCaskill told the Washington Post she is “more concerned about schools with no reported offenses than those with many.”
For the love of whatever god you believe in, or don’t believe in (I don’t judge), please speak up and say something if you witness anything. It’s almost as bad to see something and not speak up than committing the assault. Speak out, so victims can get the help they need, and to prevent this disgusting problem from happening.
The statistics say many victims are under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of or before the attack.
This substance intake is a common excuse as well. Even though intoxication runs loose like a scared pig from a slaughterhouse on college campuses, it is never the victim’s fault for being assaulted. Being raped is not a choice, under any circumstances.
It’s like blaming a newborn puppy for peeing on your favorite pair of shoes when it didn’t know any better because it hasn’t been house-trained yet. You wouldn’t blame the puppy, would you? If you say yes, you need to get your sanity checked, because puppies can do no harm.
If you don’t blame the innocent puppy, don’t blame the people who can’t give consent due to intoxication. Come on, guys, it’s that simple.
Another excuse brought up in the video is that victims walk home by themselves and are consequently blamed for being assaulted. It only takes one decent human being to form a buddy system to make sure everyone gets home back safely. We’ve all heard the same lecture from concerned parents: Safety is in numbers. As much as we think we’re individuals and don’t have to listen to our parents, they’re right on this one, believe it or not.
Don’t be a bystander and let someone walk alone. In the words of Enrique Iglesias, be someone’s hero, baby. Step up and be a hero for not just one individual you’ll save from being assaulted, but also for showing how the “Enough is Enough” initiative improves everyone’s lives, from concerned parents to college kids everywhere.
