Last weekend the Obama Administration teamed up with popular site CollegeHumor.com to hit home with something that we actually don't talk enough about: sexual assault.
A video was released via College Humor comparing sexual assault to a bear attack. Funny enough, right? But before you watch the video, let's talk about some of the statements said by actor Jake Johnson who plays the role of the "innocent" bystander refusing to engage in the reality of rape culture.
"Just pretend it's not there."
The epitome of the bystander. This applies to so many topics -- whether it's rape, self-harm, suicide, or even just personal problems -- that are evident to everyone around, and yet no one speaks out. The reason why we don't talk about sexual assault is because it's uncomfortable. And as humans, we have a very hard time being open and vulnerable, especially in a public setting. But not talking about it only makes it worse. Not talking about the things that hurt us, or even the potential of danger, gives them power, and suddenly we've invalidated those who have gone through or are fearful of these experiences. By pretending it's not there, we're saying that this thing, whatever it is, isn't really a problem.
"I don't think it's going anywhere, but I don't know what to do about it so I just ignore it."
See also: "This is not my problem" and "I know this isn't a good thing, but I'm not capable of handling it so I won't even try." This is where education also plays an important role, because so many people genuinely get scared about how to handle assault. This, friends, is why videos like this that steep into mainstream culture are so important. Because now you don't have an excuse. In fact, you never had an excuse. but just in case you thought you did, check out these websites that have been available for quite some time:
"It's not gonna eat all of us, it only eats like 1 in 5 so..."
Which ties directly into...
"That means one of us is gonna be eaten!"
"Statistically! It doesn't mean one of us, it means one in five people is gonna be eaten."
Okay guys, real-talk time: just because the odds are "low" doesn't mean it can't happen to you, your sister, your brother, your best friend, or literally anyone else. Again, this is classic invalidation of the issue. We've become so isolated and are stuck in the mindset that bad things couldn't ever happen to anyone we love that we forget the reality of it. And when we tell ourselves, "It won't be me, it won't be me," then we are willfully unprepared for if, God forbid, it is us. This also makes people fearful of speaking up because of the denial of those around them. If in a group of people you have one saying, "This won't ever happen to any of us, come on," the shame that someone in that group might feel might prevent them from ever speaking up and healing from an attack.
"Hey, what happens between you guys and the bear is none of my business."
This is another way of saying, "Hey, you chose to go upstairs and be alone with him or her. I won't ask, I'll just assume everything was consensual so I don't have to deal with it. My hands are clean." This is a refusal to allow yourself into your friends lives as an act of being a coward and is probably one of the biggest cop-outs to try and keep yourself isolated from any kind of messy situation. But guess what? If there's something hurting the people around you, it is your business to try and prevent or heal that hurt simple out of being a good human.
"It's fine. The majority is fine. I don't want to deal with this problem."
This one speaks for itself. It's selfish and there's no excuse for not getting involved or educated when it comes to sexual assault. Simply because the majority of the population isn't affected first hand doesn't mean that we just ignore the issue.
But the good news? We have the power to end all of this. As a nation and in our communities, we have to talk about these things and we have to fight back. We've got to stop pretending like this doesn't happen and stop plugging our ears and closing our eyes. You wouldn't leave a wounded victim lying on the ground to bleed out and die after a bear attack. So why would you do the same for a victim of sexual assault?
Watch the full video here:
