WTF??!! DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT??!!

do search, we have thread here somewhere already

Hey Randi, et al

I have a few things to say on the topic, as 1) I've actually BEEN to Wasilla, Alaska, for at least a few hours (as a layover qualifies as visiting a country for Gov. Palin, a few hours in Wasilla actually meeting folks and doing things should practically qualify me as a Native, right?) and 2) as a rape survivor.

Let me tell you, it's no picnic to have the rape kit applied to your person. (It includes a camera, by the way; picture yourself having the normal discomfort of the feet in the stirrups gynecological exam, only it's minutes, perhaps hours, after you've been brutally and violently assaulted, and now a stranger is taking pictures of it. Fun, eh?)

It's a pretty shattering thing, but the worst is how other people respond to it. I call it the fighter pilot's response -- if your buddy gets shot down, they must have made a mistake, one you won't make, and you BELIEVE this, because otherwise, when you leave the flight line tomorrow, you could die too. You're automatically put on the defensive even by the most well-meaning friends. I lost track of how many times someone said, "Hey, it's not your fault, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

I can't speak for everyone, but me, personally...? I was at home behind locked doors in bed on a Sunday night, because I had to go to work in the morning. When I asked these people who had just told me it was MY fault, because of where I had been when someone managed to jimmy my window, where I should have been, they had no answer.

The worst response was from my fundie landlord. I am a spiritual person, and received great support from friends of many different faiths, as well as atheists. For my landlord, it was my fault I was a victim of a serial rapist because I was obviously being punished by God. (Hooey.) If I'd only been "right with God" I'd have been all right. (I think she was pretty scared, actually, she lived right next to me, and God would protect her, because she was righteous, or at least more righteous than I was. Hey, if it let her sleep at night, I'm not throwing stones.)

But that's where the idea that rape victims and incest and molestation victims should HAVE to 'suffer' by bearing children, because somewhere, somehow, it MUST be their fault, and whether it's because your skirt is "too short" or "you turned him on" or Eve as the source of all evil and sin in the world, like some very frightened and judgmental people believe [doesn't matter. What matters is it wasn't them, or theirs.]

I did my job. I knew enough to not mess with evidence, I called the cops, I worked with the cops, and I testified against this guy. (Mark Wayne Rathbun, google it if you like. Long Beach, CA.) I got my butt into therapy, and I've helped others as much as I can, and I've rebuilt my life. I had to face the decision of possible pregnancy, and I chose to make sure an embryo couldn't be produced, because it was best for me and for any child I might have. Other people would choose differently, and I WANT them to have that choice. The only thing a victim can do, is get as much good out of what they learn, and what happens to them [as they can]. For some people, that might be a child. It wasn't for me.

There, that's the context, probably too much, really. The thing is, to give someone who has just been raped a bill for the added (but necessary) humiliation and trauma of the rape SART exam, just tells them that it is all their fault, and they can't trust the cops who are their only hope for justice. It is beyond cruel, and absolutely makes it so much easier for the evil, soulless things masquerading as people to keep attacking, and getting away with it. Only someone who truly believes, "Well, it won't happen to ME, because I'm one of the (fill in the blank) people", could possibly think that this was for the "public good".

You know, I had a friend who was originally from South Africa ask me how much recompense I was getting for the assault. See, in the rest of the world, the government recognizes the injury, and actually gives victims like me cash resources they need to get their lives back together, in recognition of what has happened to them. I'm not saying we should do that here, but I still haven't been reimbursed by the DA for the expenses of the trip (food, that sort of thing, they paid the plane and hotel). I got help along the way, but it's been damned hard. One of the things that made it possible, was that I could respect and trust my cops (Go, Long Beach PD!). If they'd made me pay for my rape kit, there is no way I would have trusted them to actually care about my case, or go into court and testify.

As for Wasilla, it was a nice town, and the people I met were good people, the kind of people who join the military and become cops for all of the right reasons. They were self-sufficient, fair minded, and generous, but I wasn't there for politics, I was there to try and help get a program to stop child predators started. (I found some darn good ones in place, by the way, but this was before Palin became Gov. The cops and Troopers I met in Alaska really cared, and worked hard, in a thankless part of law enforcement.) Sarah Palin and her famil are no more representative of the people I met in Alaska, and Wasilla, than I think my landlady of ten years ago represents Christians.

My two cents, for what it's worth. Thanks for having a place to let me get it off my chest.

AIN'T that a kick in the head?

One in 4 women in America are raped...60% go unreported. RAINN STATS

I'll say it right there right now, if I had to have covered the cost of a rape kit when I was raped I NEVER would have even bothered to report the crime.

FUCK SP

Oh, sheeet, I should have budgeted for it! My bad!

ereese,

Thank you for your story. It is scary and inspirational. As a woman I am thankful this has never happened to me, but fully aware that it could at any time.

ereese,

Thank you for your story. It is scary and inspirational. As a woman I am thankful this has never happened to me, but fully aware that it could at any time.

Mine involved someone I sort of knew, a gun, threat of death if resisted. I'll have to go back to find the name... nothing I want to do..but it could be therapeutic.

Just imagine yourself unable to go outside...I almost starved to death because I was afraid to go out after the incident . Pretty fucked up crap. It was my Roommate who educated me. He knew the law better than I did. He knew there was a window of time to report a sex crime.

NEW YORK WOMEN AGAINST RAPE, 1974-1990 helped me save my life. Now they're good name has been co-opted by...drum roll...big business http://nywar.com/

Gorgeous girdles for everyone

I'll take one of those gorgeous girdles!

I maintain that I had it so much easier than so many people I know -- and I'm not mitigating the horrible, awful, etc., etc., of my personal experience -- because this was a stranger, a sicko, not someone I knew, even kinda sorta, and not my father, brother, uncle (or step-uncle as in the case of my great niece, also prosecuted), and because I was 32, not 2 or 3. I'm glad you had a friend there who knew the law, and who could help you.

Sheesh! Like I said, a business plan, not a conspiracy theory.

A shout out to the Sexual Assault Crisis Agency of Long Beach. Started by survivors, for survivors. And yeah, I know about agoraphobia, I still struggle with it.

*fist bump*

Fight on!

E

Yes, I heard that too. Palin is definitely a pig with lipstick.

She said she was a Bull Dog with lipstick but Pig is more accurate.

Pit Bull, lets be accurate : SP likened herself to a pit bull dog with lip stick

Part of the same idea as the Republicans told America - you asked for it, you wanted it, it's your fucking fault, so pay for it, bitch!


Obama Says Different.


America, you get the respect that you ask for. So ask for it.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...I have a question for the Sheriff Charlie "Fife" Fannon. What if the rape victim did not have insurance? Who did you charge for the rape kit in this not so unusual scenario?

You have hit on an important point. I understand the reluctance of victims of rape to come forward publically. But surely, if an individual was personally billed for this, at least one person (a friend, relative or even an attorney with a client) would come forward at this point and say so?

If an insurance company was billed, it would be more in the lines of cost recovery (ultimately for the taxpayers). If this was charged directly to an indiviual, it would be punitive.

Are there any known instances of this occuring?

...Dayum...I don't want to believe this! But I digress we are talking about Sarah "the chin" Palin.


http://opedna.com/2008/09/08/wasilla-polic...-for-rape-kits/

With forensic kits priced at $300 each saving the town over $14,000 yearly makes it seem that this town of 5700 has a bigger problem with the average of 46 rapes yearly than its budget!!!!! How could any person, let alone a woman, allow this to continue?

Easy - she's just flat-out pro rapist, anti victim.

She's on drugs.

You have hit on an important point. I understand the reluctance of victims of rape to come forward publically. But surely, if an individual was personally billed for this, at least one person (a friend, relative or even an attorney with a client) would come forward at this point and say so?

If an insurance company was billed, it would be more in the lines of cost recovery (ultimately for the taxpayers). If this was charged directly to an indiviual, it would be punitive.

Are there any known instances of this occuring?

The fact that the policy is in even in place shows that they don't give a shit about women's rights. If the sheer embarrassment and shame of the rape itself isn't enough to keep women from reporting such crimes to the police, the THREAT of a bill they won't be able to pay will ensure their silence.

Not for a woman professing her spiritual beliefs, in my experience.

Wasn't there a Reich Wing talking radio head that made a statement that in case of rape, a woman should just lay there and take it?
Maybe that would explain Sarah Palin's pro-rape stance.

McCain only “postpones” event by ‘rape joke’ fundraiser
By: SilentPatriot on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 4:30 PM - PDT

On Saturday, Nicole reported that John McCain abruptly canceled a fundraiser when he learned that the Texas oilman hosting the thing once made a tasteless joke about rape.

Sen. John McCain on Friday abruptly cancelled a Monday fundraiser that had been scheduled at the home of a Texas oilman, after ABC News contacted the campaign inquiring about a verbal blunder the Texan made during an unsuccessful 1990 campaign for governor.

Clayton Williams stirred controversy during his 1990 campaign for governor of Texas with a botched attempt at humor in which he compared rape to weather. Within earshot of a reporter, Williams said: “As long as it’s inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it.”

Well, now it turns out that the McCain campaign didn’t “cancel” the event; they just postponed it:

PR compromise

Late Saturday afternoon, a McCain aide confirmed to the Chronicle that the Midland event had been postponed but had not been taken off the calendar. The compromise allowed McCain to say he had not held a fundraiser at Williams’ house; it gave Williams an opportunity to say that the event he organized had not been canceled.

PR compromise, huh? I guess the joke is only disgusting enough to temporarily distance yourself from it. Classy.

So lets summarize:
McCain voted against funding the Violence Against Women Act
He selected as running mate a mayor whose town made rape victims pay for their hospital rape care. The Alaska State legislature made that illegal, although her police chief testified against that.
Alaska has the highest rape and incest figures in the county. It has the second highest rate for women killed by someone they know. Of course, Palin opposes ending pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
Palin fired the head of the state police, a man who had a strong outreach program for anti-violence women's groups. Her replacement for him- you guessed it - he was fired from his previous job for sexual harrassment. She had to fire the new guy after a week.

By the way, and off the point, Palin's kids, if they have enough Indian blood, receive free health care in Alaska as a result of the Native Claims Act. My siblings,who are about 1/8 Chippewa and live in Alaska, receive free health care, as do their children.

Yes, I heard that too. Palin is definitely a pig with lipstick.

So lets summarize:

What's misssing from this story is if any woman was actually personally billed for such an exam. I'm not referring to a bill sent to and paid by their health care provider. I'm writting about a detective either handing or mailing a bill (for hundreds of dollars) to some woman who was a victim of a rape.

I fully understand that there is a great reluctance for anyone to come forward into the National spotlight on this. I sure as all h#ll won't what to see anyone I know come forward with info like this. But surely there is some way to confirm or deny if this argument is academic, or if this type of billing actually occured.

Surely there would be a public expense record somewhere? No names are needed. Just the fact of a bill being sent directly to a rape victim or not.