"Disastrous Duplicities"

Rape is a serious, devastating crime that imposes much more damage on its victims than the physical act itself. In addition to the assailant's damage, the law violates and damages the victim further. As a result, rape becomes culturized, bar jokes, and pushed to the bottom of the pile of serious priorities. A myriad of women coming forth three decades later against BIll Cosby serves as a adouble-edged sword in the fight to make lawmakers take prosecuting rape more seriously. On one hand, it sends a message that there is a fight going on to bring the criminal element of rape to the front page, and it can be punished regardless of time lapse. On the other hand, especially in this case, the victims being women who have capitalized, gained fame, or had fruitful careers in which the accused assailant has somehow fortified, opens the door for defense attorneys to discredit the victims and decriminalize the alleged rapes. Additionally, our youth struggle to fit into society every day. One of the biggest struggles they face is bullying because of bias against their sexual orientation. Jaden Smith has been highly publicized in cross-gender dressing. He attributes his choices to "making a statement against gender barriers in clothing", not to a statement of his own sexual orientation. Does the prosecution of three-decade old rapes help or hurt the fight for stricter laws against rape? Does Jaden Smith cross-dressing but not claiming sexual orientation differences enable our youth to become more confident in their identity? Or is it just another crazy fashion fad for our youth to follow? Join in tonight with your thoughts by calling 347-327-9967 at 10:30 PM EST.