Umm... I don't know what to call this one? Hypocrisy? How We View the News? TBA, I guess for now...

Today is St. Patrick's Day, and we all know what that means:

This.

I've been out of the house from about 11am until about 9pm.  I've gone out to get a coffee, take out some money from the ATM, buy TTC tokens, go to dance class, etc.  And every time I have done this, I have seen some drunk girl, wearing entirely not enough clothes, running around the streets drunk, saying inappropriate and offensive things, and pretty much just acting like an idiot.  My first thought was "what a slut.  I mean, c'mon, have some self-respect."  But, my other problem is that I like to play devil's advocate.  I do it so much, that I even do it to myself.

The arguments that go on between me and me in my head are scary.  And kind of a waste of time.

So I thought about the recent "SlutWalk Toronto."  You can read about it here or here.  The idea is that we shouldn't be judged based on how we look, or how we dress, or how we behave.

There has also been a lot of talk about this article from the New York Times.  It basically insinuates that the rape of an 11 year old girl by as many as TWENTY EIGHT men was her own fault, or the fault of the mother as "she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground..." To read more about the controversy and response, this article is a great place to start.

I forced myself to think about things in a different way.  These girls can wear their trashy clothes, act in a trashy way or tease men.  This does not give us the right to judge them, it does not give men the right to demean them.  A woman should be able to take off all her clothes, tell a man she wants to have sex with him, and then at the last minute change her mind.

But then I realized-

There's another story making news in some circles lately.  And mainly due to the lack of news it originally garnered.  It is this one.  And this is the controversy.

I posted a question about this story on my facebook.  I asked why it didn't seem anyone was talking about it.  The first response was that, due to the devastation in Japan, a lot of other stories have not gotten as much coverage as they would have.  Definitely a fair response, and I agree, to some extent.  The second response I got was that the Israeli government has permitted continued construction in West Bank settlements.  CNN reported this tragedy as a "terror attack," emphasis on the quotations.  Fox News mentions in the headline that continued building has been approved in the settlements.  The main sentiment is that the family almost "deserved" this horrible fate, as they chose to live in a highly controversial area.

Just like girls "deserve" to get raped when they act like sluts?

When a terrible act of terror is committed (and yes, I would also consider rape an act of terror) we must not judge the victim.  The politics of the state in which they live, the way they dress, where they were, and at what time- none of this matters.

We ask for more compassion in this world.  We call for sympathy, empathy, and understanding.  Now let's stop picking and choosing when we choose to step up, let's stop turning a blind eye to pain and suffering based on politics, nationality or race, and let's start supporting one another- without judgement, without hatred, without preconceived notions.

Thank you.

Fogel Family funeral in Jerusalem.