I live in a different world than most women do. I can at any time walk anywhere safely in my growing city. I simply decide "I want to go there" and I do -- after all, "what's the big deal?" Nobody will issue cat-calls in my honor, stop their car to offer me a ride on their mustache, nor grope me in a crowd. Odds are equally good that nobody will try to rape me or coerce me into a compromising situation. I know women who think carefully about where and when they go, plan their parking spaces when traveling, and avoid certain areas of town, especially when alone.
Let me give 3 viewpoints derived from Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism (based on my own understanding) .
- This imbalance in personal safety is one of many forms of injustice common in our society. Injustice? Yes, though I may define it differently than would commonly be defined. Justice, as defined in Objectivism is essentially giving people what they deserve. What part of having female gender means that women "deserve" this treatment, that they "deserve" to live in fear?
- The use of force by one individual against another is not only irrational, but is harmful to both individuals involved, and therefore wrong. The harm takes different forms for each of the people involved, but can be very real. This isn't just some random dictate, but is derived from our need as humans to have freedom to think and to act in our own best interest as a means to living a flourishing life. Thugs don't flourish in jail. Victims don't flourish when they feel the need to curtail their actions for their personal safety.
- (this is technically a variation on #2 above) A person's body is their primary property, to do with as they see fit. If they decide not to use their "property" for some purpose (even for "gratification" of an inebriated spouse), their right to determine the use of that property should be respected.
Nobody should have to live in fear. Nobody.
rootie
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