May 20, 2013
“Accidental Rapist” from Marie Fortune’s blog
The Rev. Dr. Marie Fortune, founder of the FaithTrust Institute and author of several books on sexual assault and domestic violence, says the controversial song, “Accidental Racist,” by Brad Paisley and LL Cool J caused her to think about the so-called “accidental” oppression of people. “As a white woman raised in the South, I’ve heard the angst expressed before,” she writes,. “I just don’t buy it.” But she goes on to say the song provided a take-off point for writing another version, which she calls “Accidental Rapist.” Its message relates to FaithTrust Institute‘s efforts to increase awareness of sexual violence, while working to end it through its training, consulting, and educational resources.
Related: See related references to rape culture in our Link of the Day this past March 26. See also “Ten things to end rape culture,” an article in The Nation. Addressing this issue is relevant at any time and all the time, but perhaps all the more so right now as Congress is demanding that immediate action be taken to curb the escalating statistics on rape in the military. (If you haven’t seen the revealing and shocking documentary,The Invisible War, about rape in the U.S. military, you can now rent or purchase it on DVD. It puts a human face on the damage caused by such assaults and is eye-opening in a way that’s impossible to grasp through statistics alone. See the trailer and clips about it on the PBS Independent Lens website.)
