Germaine Greer on 'Bad Faith' & 'career rapees'

An anthropological approach to rape in society

by Brian Bamford

YESTERDAY Germaine Greer argued on Radio Four's 'TODAY' program that we need to look at how the rape narrative is tackled and defined in society, and what this tells us about the treatment of women today.  She said, among other things, when asked to define her stance on #MeToo, Ms Greer declared: ‘I don’t actually think it’s gone too far, I don’t think its got anywhere at all.'

She then added:  ‘What we need is to sort out the law regarding rape and to sort out our concept of what it is.
‘It’s pointless now bringing up this stuff when [for] most of it no action can be taken.
‘Why wait 20 years?’

She of course neglected to concern herself here with the treatment of men or boys in society.

 Cambridge House & the abuse of boys

And yet, I live in Rochdale where it was at Cambridge House in November 2012, that the issue of the exploitation and abuse of boys by Cyril Smith in the 1960s was initially reported on this NV Blog and simultaneously on the Westminster Politics Home website.  A few hours later Simon Danczuk made his speech in the House of Commons (an earlier story about this in 1979 in Rochdale's Alternative Paper [RAP] had been squashed by a threat of legal action by Cyril Smith's solicitor).

Rape & Jean-Paul Sartre on  'Bad Faith'

Ms. Greer told listeners to Radio Four that #MeToo doesn’t work:  ‘I don’t actually think it’s gone too far, I don’t think its got anywhere at all.
‘What we need is to sort out the law regarding rape and to sort out our concept of what it is.’

To understand this better perhaps we should consider the nature of bad faith and exploitative behaviour in human relationships generally.  Ms. Greer talks about women who 'open their legs' to gain career advantages from Harvey Weinstein

In the North it was in the 1970s and 80s, and may still be, a common practice for women to hang around in  pubs using their charms in order to get men to buy them free drinks, and one (perhaps I should say second generation feminist) use to complain to me about these working-class women who boasted about it as she thought it was 'disgusting' and anti-feminist.  When I went working in London I worked with men in the sugar refinery in Hammersmith who used to chat-up women in clubs and when the women went to the toilet they would tell me how they would empty their handbags. 

Dealing with bad faith in a way which seems to relate to what Ms. Greer has said, the French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre. gave an example of a young girl on a first date:
'The young woman’s date compliments her on her physical appearance, but she ignores the obvious sexual connotations of his compliment and chooses instead to direct the compliment at herself as a conscious human being. He then takes her hand, but she neither takes it nor rejects it. Instead, she lets her hand rest indifferently in his so as to buy time and delay having to make a choice about accepting or rejecting his advances. Whereas she chooses to treat his compliment as being unrelated to her body, she chooses to treat her hand (which is a part of her body) as an object, thereby acknowledging her freedom to make choices.'

 The #MeToo Mob in Hollywood want to argue that they had no choices and had to succumb to Weinstein's wilds and that they had no power of agency. 

Another example of bad faith that Sartre gives is that of a young woman on a first date.  The young woman’s date compliments her on her physical appearance, but she ignores the obvious sexual connotations of his compliment and chooses instead to direct the compliment at herself as a conscious human being.  He then takes her hand, but she neither takes it nor rejects it.  Instead, she lets her hand rest indifferently in his so as to buy time and delay having to make a choice about accepting or rejecting his advances.  Whereas she chooses to treat his compliment as being unrelated to her body, she chooses to treat her hand (which is a part of her body) as an object, thereby acknowledging her freedom to make choices.

For Sartre, people may pretend to themselves that they do not have the freedom to make choices, but they cannot pretend to themselves that they are not themselves, that is, conscious human beings who actually have little or nothing to do with their pragmatic concerns, social roles, and value systems.

 Germaine Greer's anthropological analysis & the initiation of 'Donkey Dick'!

Germaine Greer's approach to what she calls 'career rapees' is it seems to me anthropological, while Sartre's is philosophical.

I mentioned Rochdale, and the historic case I knew about of the teenagers abused by Cyril Smith at Cambridge House, using spanking practices and 'false medicals'.  I could have dealt with the historic practices of the initiation ceremonies which took place in the factories in the North West of England in the 1950s and 60s, when I was an apprentice electrician.  Last month we had Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tueday, and it was at that time common for young apprentices to get their balls blacked or greased, or both.  De-bagging's of lads were often indulged in on the shopfloor on the pretext that it was an ancient custom of an 'iniation ceremony', in the 1950s it was argued that this should be done when lads reached 18-years when the lads became 'improvers', perhaps owing to the advent of the Welfare State, lads were becoming too big at 21 on completion of their apprenticeship when they officially 'came out of their time'.  One lad at Tweedale & Smalley where I worked, gained the title 'Donkey Dick' and seemed to enjoy the title as well as the exploits and High Jinks.

However an outsider may view these escapades, and when I did try to protest I was made to feel like a wet blanket,

How do we consider these initiation practices?  Are they to be represented as the abuse and exploitation of young people and apprentices by tradesmen?  Or are we to see it as an ancient custom perhaps handed down to us from the times of the rural village? Perhaps even Harvey Weinstein and those who engaged with him thought they we involved in some ancient ritual or initiation ceremony.

 Jean-Paul Sartre on Bad Faith | Outre monde:

www.https://outre-monde.com/2011/03/29/jean-paul-sartre-on-bad-faith/ 
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Rochdale 'Three Girls' Sex Groomer's Sentences

Last week, in response to reports that all but two of the men sentenced for involvement in the Rochdale gang grooming in 2012, have now been freed, Maggie Oliver, the former detective constable who was portrayed by Lesley Sharp in the BBC drama 'Three Girls', was reported in the Rochdale Observer thus:  'Maggie Oliver insisted the seven [men] who have been released should have been charged with rape - rather than sexual activity with a child or trafficking offences - which attracts a longer sentence.'

Decisions on charging alleged offenders is I understand the responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service [CPS], not the police.  Below is the list of offenders, their charges, and convictions.  It will be seen that some of the offenders. like Hamil Safi and Abdul Aziz, were actually charged with rape but found not guilty on that count and guilty of a lesser offence.  Is the former police officer saying that the jury verdict was wrong in those cases?:

Hamid Safi: Illegal immigrant Hamid Safi, of Kensington Street, Rochdale, was found not guilty of two counts of rape but convicted of trafficking and conspiracy. (Afgan)

Mohammed Amin: Taxi driver Mohammed Amin, of Falinge Road, Rochdale, was found guilty of sex assaults and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Abdul Qayyum: Married father-of-two Abdul Qayyum, of Ramsay Street, Rochdale, was convicted of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Adil Khan: Taxi driver Adil Khan, of Oswald Street, Rochdale, was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Mohammed Sajid: Cash-and-carry worker Mohammed Sajid, of Jephys Street, Rochdale, was found guilty of rape, trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Abdul Rauf: Taxi driver and Muslim preacher Abdul Rauf, of Darley Road, Rochdale, was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Abdul Aziz: Taxi driver Abdul Aziz, of Armstrong Hurst Close, Rochdale, was cleared of two counts of rape but was convicted of trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Kabeer Hassan: Kabeer Hassan, 25, of Lacrosse Avenue, Oldham, was convicted of rape and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Shabir Ahmed: The evil predator who led the Rochdale child sex grooming gang - Shabir Ahmed - is locked up in Leeds prison and fighting efforts to deport him back to his native Pakistan. He was convicted of two counts of rape, one sex assault, trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

Danczuk & '...a realistic chance of prosecution'

by Les May

UNDER the headline ‘MP slams police “failings” as abuse inquiry closes’ a week ago the Rochdale Observer reported the statement from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Simon Danzuk’s comments regarding an investigation into allegations of abuse at Knowl View school which has resulted in just one person being charged with offences.

This is what GMP had to say ‘Between April 2014 and April 2015, 13 files with multiple allegations were submitted by GMP to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) relating to 27 suspects and 16 victims (I think they mean complainants), of both physical and sexual offences. In 2016 the CPS communicated their decision on the final one of the 13 files that was still under review. No further action will be taken in relation to this allegation.  In May 2016 a further file was submitted to the CPS and in August 2016 the CPS advised there was insufficient evidence to support a prosecution.’  (my emphasis)

And this is Danczuk’s response: ‘I believe that there has been a catalogue of failings by GMP during the investigation of these crimes.  A failure to prosecute will leave child sexual abuse victims devastated that the people who changed their lives forever will not be brought to justice.  This statement from GMP announcing that they have not been able to prosecute any more abusers will, I am sure, mean that the perpetrators of these horrific and evil crimes will sleep more happily in their beds tonight.’

In other words he ‘knows’ the people accused are guilty and if the evidence cannot be found it is due to police failings.

Five days later it was the turn of the CPS to make a statement regarding an allegation that Mr. Danczuk raped his wife:
‘It has been decided that there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.’  (my emphasis)

And Danczuk’s response:
‘I am grateful for the decision made by the CPS and relieved that the investigation has now come to an end.’

No suggestion here of a catalogue of police failings. No suggestion here that rapists will sleep more happily in their beds.  No suggestion here that someone has not been brought to justice.  No suggestion here that the accused ‘got away with it’.

That’s what makes Mr Danczuk such a lovable character:  his complete indifference to what a humbug he is.

I leave it to Northern Voices readers to ponder the significance, if any, of the slight difference in wording used by the CPS in their two statements.

Danczuk Rape: 'Insufficient Evidence' say CPS

SIMON DANCZUK, the MP for Rochdale, who has been facing a rape allegation dating back to 2006 will not face any further action, prosecutors have said.

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk was questioned by Lancashire Police over the allegation on the 4th, January.
But the Crown Prosecution Service said no further action should be taken because of 'insufficient evidence'.
Mr Danczuk said he was 'relieved' the case against him had been dropped and described the investigation as an 'immensely stressful period'

'I expect Labour Party to lift my suspension'

The now independent MP had been suspended from the Labour party a month before the rape allegation emerged, when he admitted sending inappropriate text messages to a teenage girl.

The 49-year-old voluntarily attended a police station by appointment when he was interviewed over the rape claim.
He said in a statement: 'I am grateful for the decision made by the CPS and I am relieved that the investigation has now come to an end.
'Even though I maintained my innocence throughout, this has been an immensely stressful period for me and my family.
'I now expect the Labour Party to conclude their investigation into these matters and lift my suspension as soon as possible.'

'Decision Fully Explained'

In a statement, the CPS said:
'Following receipt of a file from Lancashire Police... the evidence was considered by a specialist prosecutor in accordance with the code for crown prosecutors.
'It has been decided that there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.
'The complainant has been informed and we have written to her to fully explain our decision.'
Lancashire Police said it 'entirely respected' the decision of the CPS, which it had 'worked closely with' throughout the investigation.
'While these allegations were made against a public figure, we have been committed throughout to investigating this matter in the same professional and victim-focussed way that we would all such allegations,' it said.
The force said it 'remained committed to investigating allegations of this nature, no matter how long ago or what the role, position and status of the alleged offender.'
Labour said the MP Simon Danczuk 'remains suspended from the party'.

Review: 'STREETCAR' to Claustrophobia

A journey through sociological & sexual 'rape'

AFTER her performance as Hamlet in the play of the same name last year, I was wondering how Maxine Peak originally a lass from Bolton would manage to tackle the lead role of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee William's play 'A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE' now being performed at the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre.  I needn't have worried Maxine rose to the job and took us down into a wounded world of which Arthur Miller described as 'STREETCAR is a cry of pain; forgetting that is to forget the play'.

But how are we to approach such a play mired as it is in the cramped space of a two room sparsely furnished apartment offering us views of a combined living-room and bedroom with a bathroom on the side?  When Blanche from Mississippi arrives to live with her sister Stella and her brother-in-law Stanley, in New Orleans she was already what we would now call 'damaged' by having experienced a marriage to a homosexual man who had just died.  Then begins the disintegration not only mentally of Blanche, but of the relationships of those who come into contact with her, not just Stanley and Stella, but Stanley's workmates, like Mitch.

Rachel Clements, lecturer in drama, theatre and performance University of Manchester, in the program's brochure writes:

'There are reports that in (Elia) Kazan's 1947 production (on Broadway), some audience members cheered as Stanley carried Blanche to the bed to rape her.  Although one hopes this kind of response is now consigned to the past, both Mitch and Stanley's reactions to and judgements about Blanche's sexuality are not so wholly remote.'

And Ms. Clements in keeping with our contemporary 'Women's Studies' addiction continues:

'How far STREETCAR recreates or critiques rape culture sits somewhere between the play, the particular production and each individual audience member.'

That last comment by the academic would worry me if she hadn't concluded:

'But STREETCAR is a social, even a political, play because it works to show us how and why Blanche becomes disbelieved.'

While the play is about an individual's mental condition, and how others relate to how Blanche breaches or disrupts the social order of a tight-knit community, it is also about how the participants can recover social order in the claustrophobic setting in which they all find themselves.

Ms Clements further argues:

'Indeed, the tragedy of the play's closing scene is desperately total:  everyone loses.'

In a real sense by excluding Blanche, everyone loses personally in order to recover social, and perhaps political, order and even sanity.  Because I believe Tennessee Williams is what I would call a grown-up homosexual he is playing-off realism against a more romantic magical approach in the theatre.  Blanche wants she calls magic rather than realism, but being romantic and dancing to music, doesn't prevent Blanche from describing Stanley as a Neanderthal and a Polack*, not to mention dreaming the day away in Stanley's bathroom, playing the radio or drinking his bourbon.  

I'm not a professional drama critic, I'm an electrician by trade, who later became an ethnomethodologist (student of people's studies) at Manchester Poly. in the 1970s, but I can see the predictable sociological destination of a claustrophobic society such as that portrayed in 'A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE'. 

This is not approve of the physical rape of Blanche in any way, but rather to draw attention to her own sociological 'rape' of the lives of the other characters in the play, especially of Stella and Stanley's private life.  One has only to be aware of the underlying cultural, ethnic and clash social-class between Blanche and Stanley in the play to grasp the politics of the play.  Having lived in Spain (Mi casa, Su casa) in part of the last half of the last century where the guest may be privileged over the host; I am also aware that in some cultures Blanche's plight may be seen in a different light than that in more Anglo-Saxon cultures such as England or the USA, and it may well be that even in the deep-south 'in the heat of the New Orleans apartment' the attitude to the 'guest' may be different from ours.

*  The noun Polack in the contemporary English language, is an ethnic slur and a derogatory reference to a person of Polish descent. It is an Anglicisation of the Polish language word Polak, which means a ... Look up Polack, Pollack, Pollock, or Polock in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The Archers: Domestic Dramas North & South

THIS week, the Telegraph's media correspondent Patrick Foster reported: 

'Rape charities have called for the arrest of Rob Titchener, the bullying husband in the long-running Archers domestic abuse plot, after his wife revealed that he had raped her "over and over again".
'Polly Neate, the chief executive of Women's Aid, said it would be "an insult to abuse survivors everywhere" if Rob, who was stabbed by his wife, Helen, as she tried to leave him, was not arrested after Tuesday's explosive episode.'

Giving evidence earlier this week, Rob's wife Helen, who stands accused of his attempted murder told the court:  'He was determined to have a baby. I told him I wasn't ready but he wouldn't listen. The first time he plied me with wine he held me down by my wrists. I told myself, he was my husband, it should be fine, but it wasn't fine, was it.'

As the trial proceeds this week the emotionally charged program has been an unfolding drama of a high level of  abuse by a middle-class husband Rob Titchener against his rather unworldly wife, Helen, in Ambridge somewhere in the Midlands. 

But giving evidence for the first time, Helen said: "He was determined to have a baby. I told him I wasn't ready but he wouldn't listen. The first time he plied me with wine he held me down by my wrists. I told myself, he was my husband, it should be fine, but it wasn't fine, was it."

Meanwhile, today the Express reported that 'After Helen revealed that her abusive husband repeatedly raped her, pleading that she stabbed him in self-defence, her lawyer Anna made a shock breakthrough.  During tonight’s instalment of the BBC Radio 4 soap, the frustrated lawyer - who has pleaded with Jess for so long to make a stance - finally delivered the good news. 

Catching Helen’s family outside the courtroom following the third day of the torturous trial, Anna beamed: “Good I’ve caught you - now, don’t get too excited by this, but Rob’s ex-wife Jessica has come forward.”  As Tom and Pat celebrated, Anne interrupted: “I can’t really say what she’s going to say, but it’s significant; She’s given a statement”.'

In the light of all this nail-biting media drama which is keeping the nation on tenterhooks one wonders what Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, is thinking as he awaits the outcome of a police investigation into allegations that he too transgressed while married to Sonia Rossington.   www.dailymail.co.uk/.../My-years-abuse-sex-text-MP-Disgraced-Danczu...

Police Quiz M.P. Over Alleged Rape

SIMON DANCZUK, the controversial suspended Labour M.P. for Rochdale, was yesterday interviewed under a police caution at Rossendale police station over an allegation of rape.

 Yesterday, a Lancashire Constabulary spokesperson said:

'A 49 year old man from Greater Manchester has today (Tuesday, January 12th) voluntarily attended a police station in Lancashire where he was spoken to following an allegation of rape.  The man attended by prior appointment and was not arrested. He was interviewed under caution.'

 Mr. Danczuk vigorously denies the claim of rape which dates back to 2006.  The interview under caution is in response to a complaint made by his first wife Sonia Rossington, aged 39, to the Lancashire Constabulary on January 4th, 2016.

 A spokesperson for the Lancashire police said:

'Inquiries are on-going.  We take all allegations of a sexual nature extremely seriously and understand how difficult it can be for victims to have the confidence to come forward.'

 Photos of Simon Danczuk entering and leaving the Rossendale police station, dressed in a black Crombie overcoat with matching shoes and blue suit and tie, and accompanied by a woman carrying a file, were circulated in the media.   

 

'Why Rape Culture is a Dangerous Myth?'

by Les May

THERE was an interesting discussion about the book 'Why Rape Culture is a Dangerous Myth: From Steubenville to Ched Evans' by Luke Gittos, on today's Woman's Hour.  Closing the discussion the presenter said 'This will be debated on Twitter as some of you are beginning to do already'.



If there is one certainty in this world it is that nothing is ever debated on Twitter  which has become just a channel for denouncing other peoples views.  If we are to have a serious discussion about rape, it's not going to be on Twitter or Facebook.