Like many people, I’ve been paying some attention to the Occupy movement. Boston being within a few hours of me, I occasionally check their site or twitter for updates. Last night they held a “General Assembly” and the topic of the day was “How does a movement which takes representation and democracy to extremes deal with rapists?”
The question was not “Do we kick them out?” As a place that is explicitly trying to be family and LGBTQ friendly, convicted repeat sexual offenders simply cannot be present. The question was “How do we go about shunning people, and how do we decide who to shun?” Probably a tough question for any group of people who want to be welcoming and loving, especially one trying to be “The 99%”
Among the tweets, I found this link:
It is a fascinating article about the intersection of sex politics and the other so-called “radical” movements. Much to my dismay, it contains many stories of misogyny, domination, and bigotry within movements that otherwise sought justice. The main point is that you don’t need to be a snitch to destroy a movement. You can do it through dishonesty and unchecked machismo.
Stories like the ones in that article make me glad to have the relationships I do. Sometimes I think that promoting safe, healthy, open relationships is just as important a cause as any other. I don’t mean that a Free Love Sexual Satisfaction Mega Orgy (Patent Pending) will free us from our capitalist/socialist/alien oppressors. I mean that we need to stop deceiving one another in our relationships. Maybe honest actions, open minds, and open hearts can help us make a better world.
Of course, good sex doesn’t hurt either.