Justice, At Last

I'm exhausted, so this'll be a quick one, but I couldn't miss the chance to post about how glad I am that Romeo Cormier got convicted of all six of the charges laid against him. If you're not familiar with the case, you can read the victims' testimony here, but beware that it does contain disturbing descriptions by the victim of what she went through.

I thought he was going to get off for sure. Cormier and his defense tried everything, from claiming the he and the victim were in cahoots together, and it was a botched plot to kill her husband, to insisting that Cormier could not possibly be held accountable for his actions due to his narcissistic personality. Despite the plethora of claims touting Cormiers' innocence, he has received a sentence of eighteen years, minus time already served. While this is much less than the life sentence that the crown (and concerned followers of the trial, such as myself) were hoping for, it is certainly better then the ten to twelve years the defense was bargaining for.

The fact that a rapist in a high profile rape case can be charged and convicted gives me a much needed glimmer of hope for society. While Cormier himself isn't a high-profile douchebag, the case did gain a lot of media attention. When such media attention is focused on a rape trial, it usually goes poorly for the victim, due to the fact we live in a rape-and-rape-apologist-culture. More than once during the course of this trial, it looked as though Cormier would get away with all he did to the victim, and at one point it even looked as though he might've convinced the court that she was to blame. Personally, I think eighteen years isn't enough for this asshole, but it's way better than I'd hoped for. Rot for a while, Romeo Cormier. Good riddance.

It's Okay To Be Takei

So, I was doing some research on Tennessee's new "Don't Say Gay" bill. What utter bullshit. Now, I know how right wing conservative Tennessee is, but just ignoring homosexuality in the hopes that it'll go away? This is garbage of the stinkiest kind. The bill has already passed in the senate, and is fast on its' way to becoming law. Now, American politics isn't my forte, being a Canadian and all, but this is just too dumb for words. Apparently, George Takei, better known as Mr. Sulu on the original Star Trek and gay rights activist thinks so, too. He's fighting the bill at all stages and has lent his name to a cause that makes the bill seem every bit as stupid as it is.

 

I think this is awesome. He makes me smile. It's definitely okay to be Takei.   

In completely unrelated news, several cities around Canada are starting a new anti-rape campaign complete with ads called the "Don't Be That Guy" campaign. The campaign started in Edmonton, and is focused on taking the blame and onus off of women and letting men know it's NOT okay to sexually assault women. It's about fucking time that the constant victim-blaming stopped and men are forced to own up to their own violent behavior. I hope that this campaign produces some positive results, and that men think about their actions and make some positive changes. I won't hold my breath however, as I suspect that the MRA backlash will be fierce. But, at least it's not another "Watch Your Drink, Watch Your Friends, Watch Your Back" message giving women the impossible to complete checklist of what-to-do-to-not-get-raped. At the very least the Don't Be That Guy campaign seems to be a small step in the right direction.