Hypnotized, Mesmerized by What My Eyes Have Seen?

Hostility—Probably the most common expression of aggression, ranging from mildly edgy to snarling. Being on the receiving end of hostility can be not only very unpleasant but also sometimes scary, because we know that whoever is delivering it has us in their sights and out of their heart, with attack weaponry ready for reloading. The majority of gang rapes by students are women. This behavior simply cannot be understood—although the volumes of commentary and analysis generated about the Central Park gang rape case in the Spring of 1989 have attempted to do so—without consideration of the perpetrators’ attitudes toward women and of women’s roles in the society and subcultures in which group sexual assaults are practiced and tolerated. A large number of recent studies of college students have identified the relationship between traditional sex-role attitudes to be more strongly correlated than antisocial personality with tolerance to rape. Traditional gender-role orientation are associated with rape-tolerant attitudes, and traditional attitudes toward female sexuality are associated with higher levels of sexual aggression. Some fraternity men are seen as more sexually aggressive than other college men and this may be due to a combination of reasons such as fraternities that are investigated are disproportionately ones with aggressive sex-role attitudes and socialization. For example, 156 tribal societies are been discovered and classified as rape-free or rape-prone. Most of the rape-probe cultures have prescriptions for gang rape, rather than individual rape. #RandolphHarris 1 of 21

Fraternities can be described as tribal societies as they form their own culture and associate with their own people. One cultural characteristic that was strongly associated with the prevalence of rape was having special places for men and special places for women. Among many fraternities and sororities, for example, each college campus (village) has a men’s house, where all the men live together; women and children live in separate dwellings. Thus, it is postulated here that group sexual assaults are most likely to occur in sex-segregated men’s housing or college campuses. Perhaps recognition of this patterned was formulated by democrats who want to do away with gender segregation and make it seem like requiring admission of women to fraternities will reduce aggressive and antisocial behavior. However, men should be able to have boys clubs, boys sports, which are allowed to remain segregated. If someone wants sports and clubs to have coed admission, perhaps they should form another society. Some parents do not want their boys to be distracted by hanging out with females. They would rather have them learn to socialize with other men, focus on their studies and work, and occasionally have coed parties. What should be done to reduce aggression and inform students of what rape is needs to be accomplished through education and keeping students from binge drinking by teaching them their limit. All we can do is provide people with better educations, but we cannot prohibit everything, nor change everything. #RandolphHarris 2 of 21

In rape prone societies, the genders are separated not only physically but also by rigid gender-role differentiation in which the male role is more valued. Thus, we might expect gang rapes to be most common among men who not only live apart from women but also perform roles closed to women (exempli gratia, football players and fraternity members). Allowing men to become cheerleaders is seen as welcomed because they are able to help the women highlight their skills and talent, but it is still a female dominated sport. Many people would actually like to see more cheerleaders perform on campus and on TV because dance has become so advance these days that it is impressive. Also, the traditional looking men and women, in their respective uniforms, is a sign of assimilation, which people from the old World like because it looks neat, much like the cookie-cutter houses in the suburbs. People like clean lines and organization. Nonetheless, in rape prone societies, which are sometimes labeled as male-dominated, a woman’s violation of her prescribed gender role may be punished by rape or the threat of rape. One of these prescriptions is that women are supposed to be sexually naïve and inexperienced. Gang rape is a punishment for promiscuity and can be seen as means of controlling women’s sexuality. Adulterous or promiscuous women are punished with gang in some cultures. Cultures believe they much discipline female receptivity to maintain the family structure. #RandolphHarris 3 of 21

However, one of our goals in society should be to teach men and women to have more respect with each other. It has been noted that men who grow up around women and are taken in by them and seen as an individual, tend to have more respect for women, and are less likely to be interested in them sexually, even if they are heterosexual. The idea in our culture is that all boys and men should be taught to respect women and ask themselves, how would they want someone to treat their mother, daughter or sister in that particular situation in which they find themselves in. And women should also ask themselves the same questions when it comes to dealing with men. How would they want someone to treat their brother, son, or father. We have to go from this thesis that these are the end of days and the World is a wild and out of control savage land and understand that we are not savages and can do better. We have to live in accordance with God’s rules and laws and treat others as we would want to be treated. Nonetheless, male student attempted to explain to me why a woman who charged several football players with rape and assault had not in fact been raped. Hi explanation was that, by dating two of the men who were close friend and having sex with each, she had hurt their feelings. They were angry at her for being sexually indiscriminate and, joined by other players, “ganged up” on her in revenge when she came to visit. The norm is that women are supposed to be sexually selective. If they are not, they may be “fair game,” or worse. #RandolphHarris 4 of 21

However, we are a society that is very advance and we have words. Perhaps we need to teach our children what rape is, how to avoid it, and to learn to communicate with each other when their feelings are hurt, instead of acting like heathens and assaulting people or damaging property. You also have to understand that while a man or a woman may flirt with you, even to the point of rolling around in your bed with you, that is they say “Stop!” that they may not be ready to have sex. They may want to wait or may need to attend to hygiene matters and will be more willing at another time. In the 1970s, women would say things like, “Let me go powder my nose” or “Let me freshen up a bit.” Those phrases may be safe ways of saying stop or giving one a chance to actually freshen up and may be accept by a man better than a hard “No!” or “Stop!” That way, he may not get angry or feel rejected, and it could give one a chance to escape a dangerous situation. A student at another college told me of plans his fraternity made for “running a train.” The woman was selected weeks in advance. They believed she was sexually promiscuous and therefore would not “mind.” If a young unmarried women in some societies takes a lover, she is supposed to be available to all men. If she refuses, she will be gang raped. Therefore, also have an idea about the type of person you are getting involved with, get to know them and their culture. They may not be the right one for you. Characteristics of gang-rape victims—the mean age of the victim in the 24 cases of campus gang rapes discussed in this view was 18; usually they were first-year students who were inexperienced with campus life. #RandolphHarris 5 of 21

Victims of group assaults b acquaintances at fraternities and men’s dorms tend to have to characteristics: They are naïve, but they have somehow gained a reputation among the men for being promiscuous. A “perfect victim,” from that point of view, was the complaining witness in a Sacramento State case. At the age of 21, he was divorcing the man she had dated from the age of 15; she had been at the university for a few weeks. To the 18- and 19-year-old men she accused, she seemed a racy character. Not only was she older and a divorcee, but also she had sneaked into the men’s form on prior occasion. One mad told the other, as they rode a bus to a football game that she looked like a “fourth of July slut,” and that he had had sex with her that first evening, within hours of meeting her. (She denied it.) Generally, women who habitually socialize with a group of men, and therefore are more often available to them, are no more likely to be victims of a group sexual assault than social outsiders are. The reason seems to be that social insiders are cognizant of the group mores. Sorority women learn from their sisters what different behaviours “mean” within the system. For example, they learn not to go upstairs to the bathroom at a fraternity party unless accompanied by another woman and that getting drunk is taken by the men as a signal of availability. Also, many of these men may be drunk and have no idea what they are doing. They could be in the “blackout” state and not even realize it. Women who are not part of the same social set as the men may be ignorant of the rules. #RandolphHarris 6 of 21

Consequently, they miscommunicate their intentions by violating the norms or may unknowingly take risks, and become target of sexual assault. Despite their knowledge of these rules, several of the victims in the 24 case were girlfriends or long-term friends of the perpetrator who were lulled into trust, thought they were protected in violating the rules, and found themselves betrayed. The measures being taken on college campuses to reduce the frequency of sexual assault may not ameliorate the problem of acquaintance gang rapes. Such measures include having separate forms for men and women, restricting visitation, and having better campus lighting. These policies and practices admittedly re designed to prevent sexual interactions among college students altogether or are orientated toward reducing the incidence of stranger rape. The cultural and attitudinal correlates of group sexual assault and the conditions under which campus gang rapes have occurred demonstrate that restricted access between the genders have occurred demonstrate that restricted access between the genders will not remedy the problem. Profound attitude change is necessary. With a few notable exceptions, educational efforts to reduce rape are primarily directed at or attended by college women rather than men. Although such education may help women to recognize when they have been raped, it will be less effective in reducing group assault than would educating those who have a choice about engaging in it. Prevention must begin with education of young men, particularly those who belong to male groups. #RandolphHarris 7 of 21

Attitude change in two areas will be necessary for men in groups to desist from joining in sexual assaults. The first such needed change is in attitudes toward women and understanding of women’s sexuality. It seems to be particularly important to convey that a woman who chooses to be sexual, perhaps with several different individuals, is still sexually selective and is not available to the population at large. Also, women should be allowed to dress sexy without being seen as whores of sluts. It is a misconception common among society that any woman who dresses or behaves “provocatively” is thought to be directing her seduction at all men who happen to see her and not at a particular men. Some people who dress provocatively are only doing so as a means of seeing how attractive they are or because they really like the fashion trends and want to be on the cutting edge of high fashion. For some women, dressing sexy boosts their self-esteem, not because of the attention they get, but because it makes them feel better about themselves. Wear as wearing baggy jeans, sneakers, messy hair and a sweatshirt every day might depress them because that is not what they consider attractive. It does not mean she is inviting you to harass her, that is just how she likes to look and she has every right to. An even more difficult area of change that would effectively reduce sexual assault is men’s attitudes toward themselves and their own sexuality. It is instructive to consider how men involved in group sexual assaults or “trains” may differ from those who find the practice unappealing and would not participate. #RandolphHarris 8 of 21

My interviews have yielded two characteristic attitudes of men who are repulsed by the notion. They feel that sex is private (they reject sex as an arena for “cooperation and competition”); and they feel tht sex is intimate (they reject sex without caring about their partner). Although attitude change at the individual level might reduce the campus acquaintance rape rate, it does not address the problem of group norms and group pressure. Yet, attempts to educate the groups as such will probably succeed only when the perspective presented is endorsed by highly regarded group members. In the absence of such leadership, an alternative is to diminish group cohesion and decrease opportunities for group assaults by dispersing members throughout campus residences. Comparing practical strategies, breaking up male groups would probably be more effective in reducing group assault than attempting to keep women out of men’s dorms, but it also could cause men to drop out or not enroll in college. Kids from wealthy families may simply go work for their parents after high school and universities would lose out on a lot of funding and they may start downsizing and shutting down. The anti-hero exhibits some of the qualities associated with the villain, ranging from brutality to cynicism to an apparent lack of empathy, yet is capable of taking heroic action, albeit in a far less glamorous or admirable way than the hero. The anti-he is a shadow-infused hero, a tortured rebel, brooding visionary, a morally complex revolutionary, a deeply flawed doer of good alone with considerable damage. The anti-hero is messy. Our darkness unleased with just enough light and care, seizing our attention and perhaps also our begrudging admiration. #RandolphHarris 9 of 21

As an example of the utility of the situational view, consider this. In mental hospitals, we usually find that behavior is tolerated which would cause witnesses great anxiety on the outside. In fact, patients are often employed within the hospital community in the most exacting of tasks for persons of their socioeconomic status, even while exhibiting the most garish situational improprieties. This functioning is called “a good hospital adjustment,” and the apparent capacity of these patients tend to be attributed to the “protectiveness” of the hospital environment, an explanation that allows everyone to go on thinking of the patient as sick. Upon examination, however, we find that a basic way in which social life on the inside differs from that on the outside is that insiders are persons whose threat to the situational order has been beautifully met by according them the status, with its accompanying incarcerations and stigmatization, of hospitalized mental patients. There is no need to sanction negatively each infraction because the very setting in which these infractions occur is, in itself, a continuous negative sanction. The infraction is something that has been paid for in advance. What was dangerously offensive to the public weal on the outside is an unimportant thing on the inside. The patient who actually come to like the hospital life may do so partly for this very reason. Being thoroughly accused of insanity, they need not fear the profound humiliation and embarrassment which often follows when this accusation is made by previously unsuspecting people. #RandolphHarris 10 of 21

A situational analysis, then, suggest some alternatives to the psychiatric view, but in so doing points up the social functions of the medical model. Psychiatry and mental hospitalization in part can serve as the therapy that our society gives to its threatened proprieties. However, this is, alas, a costly cure, one part of which is grimly borne by the state, and one part by the offender. There remains at least one serious question. Granted that symptoms of mental disorder are often instances of situational impropriety, it cannot be because of this (it is argued) that psychiatry is concerned, because there are other situational offenses and situational licenses with which it is not concerned. Insolence, contempt, indifference, presumption—all are qualities expressed through situational impropriety, and yet it is appreciated that persons expressing these qualities need not be sick. Similarly, men at conventions may indulge in all kinds of antics; but no one would automatically claim that such persons were insane. So, too, there have been notable aristocratic eccentrics who have affronted many proprieties and in spite of this escaped the charge of insanity. “Given the situation,” one would say, all of these antics are understandable and perfectly consistent with mental health. A problem here is the term “situation,” for in this context is has a special meaning. The situation’s gathering, as used in this report, is affronted in many of these cases. However, the social circumstances of the offender are such as to render one immune to penalization. #RandolphHarris 11 of 21

Whether we deal with one offender or with a group of them indulging jointly in the same offensive practice is not the issue; the question is whether the offender is in a position to commit situational offenses. Society, indeed, might get hopelessly clogged without such deviation. A mental symptom, however, is a situational offense that the offender does not get away with; one is in a position neither to force others to accept the affront nor to convince them that other explanatory grounds ought to be accepted. Situational requirements are of a moral character: the individual is obliged to maintain them; one is expected to desire to do so; and if one fails, some kind of public cognizance is taken of one’s failure. However, once this character of situational obligations is granted, we must see that a study of them leads off in may different directions. We may expect to find many different motives for complying with them, many different reasons for breaking them, many different ways of concealing or excusing infractions, many different ways of dealing with offenders. We may also expect to find that rules maintained or broken before one audience will not be handled in the same way by the same person when one is before another audience. And, of course, we find that an involvement ruling upheld in one community will not be honored in the next. One theme of this study, then, is that a moral rule is not something that can be used as a means of dichotomizing the World into upholders and offenders. #RandolphHarris 12 of 21

Indeed, the more comparative information we gather about a moral rule, the less easy it becomes to make statements about an individual who breaks it. Certainly we should hesitate to accept without further evidence the common-sense and psychiatric view that there is a unique class of situational offense that requires the student to shift from the social plane to a special one bearing on the profoundest aspects of the personality. If, then, we see inmates of mental hospitals as individuals who infringe involvement rules, and if we obtain a more sophisticated view of these rules, it will be possible to question somewhat the hard-earned conception that inmates necessarily are “sick persons.” Even a loosely defined social gathering is still a tight little room; there are more doors leading out of it and more psychologically normal reasons for stepping though them than are dreamt of by those who are always loyal to situational society. The regulation of communication conduct is not all there is to public order, but certainly this regulation is important enough to consider on its own, with concepts tailored to its particular demands. A special concern is that the symptomatology of the “mentally ill” may sometimes have more to do with the structure of public order than with the nature of disordered minds. By virtue of being in a social situation that is itself lodged within a social occasion, individuals modify their conduct in many normatively guides ways. The persons present to one another are thus transformed from a mere aggregate into a little society, a little group, a little deposit of social organization. #RandolphHarris 13 of 21

Similarly, the modifications in their behaviour which they suffer by virtue of finding themselves in a particular social situation—their enactment of situational proprieties—constitute, when taken together, a little social system. May I repeat: when in the presence of others, the individual is guided by a special set of rules, which have here been called situation properties. Upon examination, these rules prove to govern the allocation of the individual’s involvement within the situation, as expressed through a conventionalized idiom of behavioural cues. This allocation entails appropriate handling of matters we can discern as occasioned main involvements, “aways,” occult involvements, auto-involvements, mutual-involvements, margin of disinvolvement, and so forth. The enemy is a deceiver, and as a deceiver one will work and prevail in the later times. “Success” or “defeat” is no criterion of a work being of God or Satan. To some Satan is an anti-hero, he is not the Anti-Christ. The Anti-Christ is opposite of God. There could be an entity, other than Satan, who is by far darker and more destructive. Recall, Satan was the bringer of light and has some evil qualities. Nonetheless, calvary stands forever as the revelation of God’s way in working out His redemptive purposes. Satan work for time, for he knows his time is short, but God works for eternity. Through death to life, through defeat to triumph, through suffering to joy—this is God’s way. Knowledge of truth is the primary safeguard against deception. The “elect” must know, and they must learn to test and “prove the spirits” until they do know what is of God and what is of Satan. #RandolphHarris 14 of 21

The words of the Master, “Take heed, I have told you,” plainly imply that personal knowledge of danger is part of the Lord’s way of guarding His own. Those who blindly rely upon “the keeping power of God” without seeking to understand how to escape deception, when forewarned to “take heed” by the Lord, will surely find themselves entrapped by the subtle foe. Mechanical decisions and mechanical actions always contradict the methods of the work, and harm your work and your position in the work. If you cannot decide yourself what is more important and which way to choose, you must ask me. If you are seriously in the work and want to be in the work, you must not make any decision which may affect your life without first asking my opinion. Your own decisions in serious cases are bound to be based on self-will. However, you cannot ask my opinion or my decision when your decision is already made and you have already begun to act on the basis of it, because that means self-will in action, and in such a case it I too late to ask me. Questions as to my opinion and my decision when your decisions are already made, are really manifestations on insincerity with yourself and attempts to deceive me by false pretences. Try to realize that mechanical actions and mechanical decisions are always based on considerations outside the work (even if you persuade yourself that the result will be useful for your work), considerations of pleasure, of convenience or comfort; or they result from negative emotions or imagination. #RandolphHarris 15 of 21

If you are in the work and wish to be in the work, try to understand the most mechanical manifestation is lying to me or suppressing the truth for me. Demand for complete truth does not refer to people only beginning to work with me. They must make long preliminary work on mind and consciousness before complete truth becomes necessary and obligatory. However, when they realize the necessity for personal help, and when I find that they are ready and can help them, the principle of complete truth becomes obligatory. And it is certainly obligatory for all people who have been in the work for five years and also for some who have been in the work much less but have already formulated their aim. Remember that your chief work mut be on self-will. One begins to give up one’s self-will by accepting rules, but one must be sincere about it. Later one must give up one’s self-will in all serious matters and accept another person’s will, in this case, mine. Only by doing this, and doing it with full understanding of the necessity for doing so, one will begin to acquire slowly one’s own will. Really, the very act of giving up one’s self-will is the first act and the first manifestation of real will. The four lines of work on oneself can be designated: intellectual work—preparation; work on consciousness—aim; work on emotions—means, energy; work on will—control, and also energy. There can be discovered a beautiful insight into the human soul. One must become aware of the loneliness we experience as human beings. The truth is that no one can actually experience the deep emotions another person feels. #RandolphHarris 16 of 21

When one is forced to search further within oneself and accept the feelings one has repressed and refused to remember, the truly disturbing memories will be revealed. One can then think about one’s illness in terms of something real that has occurred in one’s life. When reliving all the memories that had been previously buried, it will release a tremendous need to relate to how one feels. You may not even want to suppress your thoughts any longer because they are so very real and need to be communicated to someone. When another person becomes a significant part in your self-awareness and helps you to become more of a real person, this can make one want to express one’s feelings to you. Only one knows the torment of one’s pain and somehow is able to endure it. No one else can feel the terror you hide deep in yourself. People need to speak to you, love you, and attempt to experience your distress. Violent convulsions and pangs are attached to the soul and medication may only provide temporary calm. A person’s eyes can reveal one’s agonies. And when people gaze into a tortured person’s eyes, the heartache the see and feel can sometimes only be described through tears. Sometimes we can only respond to one who has been hurt in the depths of their heart and to the bottom of their soul with love, our heart, and by sending our sweet soul to them. We want so desperately to help other, but sometimes there is so little we can do to eliminate their despair. #RandolphHarris 17 of 21

The process in which the diseases of violence and hate destroys a victim’s mind and body is heartbreaking. One’s body may become completely rigid, the head may lean backwards creating a sort of backward arc. It is in this rigid state that the body becomes so strained that one is in the most pain they have endure physically and emotionally. To the victim, this can be terrifying, and those who care are unable to part from the victim’s side. Thankfully, the hospital staff and the doctors are often warm and understanding because sometimes only bedside manner is what keeps people alive. However, even medical staff are unable to restrain from becoming emotionally distressed when observing the terrible pain. Words cannot adequately describe how empathy and compassion can save a life. Each stage of a victim’s degeneration is hard to endure. The high fevers, bleeding, weakness. The best thing that can be done in these cases is praying to God to let the torment cease and that He allows the victim to find his or her peace. Payers may not be answered for what seems like an eternity. Every part of one who loves you can feel your pain; their hearts, their body, their very soul wants to help the victim, to somehow make one aware of how you know they are suffering and that you too are feeling the pain deep within your heart. You loved ones want you to always be aware of their love, your warmth, and their compassion. They hope within their heart and soul that the victim knows that he or she is deeply loved by every heart that takes care of them and has tried to ease their pain. #RandolphHarris 18 of 21

When it comes to hindrances in system negotiations, one important element that determines how the pie will be split is each side’s cost of waiting. Although both sides my lose an equal amount of profits, one party may have other alternatives that help partially recapture this loss. Suppose that the member of the union can earn $300 a day in outside activities while negotiations with the hotel management go on. Now each time the management’s turn comes, it must offer the union not only what the union could get a day later, but also at least $300 for the current day. The entries in our table change in the union’s favor; we show this in a new table. Once again the agreement occurs at the season opening without any strike, but the union does much better. #RandolphHarri 19 of 21

The result can be seen as a natural modification of the principle of equal division, to allow for the possibility that the parties start the process with different “hinderance,” as in golf. The union starts at $300, the sum its members could earn on the outside. This leaves $700 to be negotiated, and the principle is to split it evenly, $350 for each side. Therefore the union gets $650 and the management only $350. In other circumstances the management could have an advantage. For example, it might be able to operate the hotel using substitute employees while the negotiations with the union go on. However, because those workers are less efficient or must be paid more, or because some guests are reluctant to cross the union’s picket lines, the management’s profit from such operation will be only $500 a day. Suppose the union members have no outside income possibilities. Once again there will be an immediate settlement with the union without an actual strike. However, the prospect of the substitute employee operation will give the management an advantage in the negotiation, and it will get $750 a day while the union gets $250. If the union members have an outside income possibility of $300 and the management can operate the hotel with a profit of $500 during negotiations, then only $200 remains free to be bargained over. The management gets $600 and the union gets $400. The general idea is that the better a party can do by itself in the absence of an agreement, the higher will be its share of the pie that is the subject of the bargaining. #RandolphHarris 20 of 21

To “fusion” must be added “diffusion,” for no part of the World is now completely cut off from the rest. Messages get through the most tightly guarded borders. Despite Mr. Ceausescu’s perceived cruel censorship, many Romanians were able to pick up Bulgarian television from across the border. (Many Bulgarians, in turn, preferred Soviet television to their own.) Even before the revolution, Romanians knew the names of the anti-Ceausescu dissidents who risked imprisonment by calling for human rights. Their names were familiar from foreign broadcasts beamed into Romania. Most East Germans were able to watch West German television stations, which told them things their Communist government would have preferred to suppress. (Much like FOXNEWS on cable tells us things the communist democrats want to suppress.) Thus in 1989, when big anti-government demonstrations occurred in Leipzig, East Germans learned about it from West German transmissions. In the same way, they found out when Hungary opened its borders to East German refugees and where cracks were opening in the Berlin Wall. Those out of reach of these West German TV transmissions lived mainly in the Dresden region, which was spoken of as the “Valley of Ignorance.” These “valleys” are getting smaller. Cross-border television “leakage” is hardly new, nor is the fact that Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and others beamed shortwave programming into the communist countries. The Voice of America broadcast eleven and a half hours day, reaching an estimated 100 million Chinese listeners. It even broadcast simple instructions on how to avoid government attempts to “jam” the transmissions. What is different now, however, is the subversive media strategy employed by today’s revolutionaries. #RandolphHarris 21 of 21