Versión Español
Español In the last few weeks, feminists have been up in arms about a video of a woman walking through New York City and being harassed by men. The harassment the subject faced includes such horrid things as “hello” and “good morning.” Parodies have cropped up across the internet, including my personal favorite which features “Star Wars” heroine Princess Leia being accosted by everyone from the movie including dear old dad.
The group behind the original video, which I won’t give additional publicity to by mentioning their name, are working for legislation to outlaw street harassment. Apparently these strong, independent feminists, who don’t need a man, need the man of government to protect them from words they don’t like.
Curiously, while modern feminists deride men for such offenses as saying “damn” at a passing attractive woman, they have no issue with teaching little girls how to use really foul language to get a point across, as demonstrated in the “potty mouth princesses” video. (If you haven’t seen it, prepare to be offended.)
Apparently these strong, independent feminists … need the man of government to protect them from words they don’t like.
This is nothing new. The Marxists behind modern feminism have always sought new and creative ways to stifle speech and destroy the family unit.
In Puerto Rico, this started with the controversial Law 54 (1989) against domestic violence. Everyone is against domestic violence right? Yet within the original law is a section on verbal and psychological abuse. In plain language, that means if a man yells at a woman or tries to insult, control, or shame her, he can be charged with a crime and face years in prison.
Hard to believe right? No one could ever be jailed for calling his spouse a name? After all, don’t women outperform men when it comes to verbal abuse, intimidation, and manipulation? In my experience they do.
A few years ago I wrote a short piece on Puerto Rico’s Law 54, on one of my personal blogs. The article wasn’t even well written in my opinion; yet it has been among my most read posts ever. Despite not having promoted it much, it continues to be read on a frequent basis, and on occasion I still get comments.
One comment this week exposes yet another reason why people, men in particular, are leaving Puerto Rico for good. The anonymous individual shared his story of Law 54, and I have paraphrased it here for your entertainment and/or disgust:
I was accused under Law 54 two years ago for “verbal abuse,” whatever that means. In a phone conversation while my girlfriend was clearly out cheating, I called her a whore and a bitch. I made no threats, just two words.
She went to the police, and I was arrested at my house that night for Law 54 “verbal abuse.” I went to one hell of a dangerous prison and luckily was bailed out by a true friend who had to post US$7,500 cash as bond, since my bail was … ready for this? $75,000.
Yes, this was the first time I had ever been arrested. I didn’t even know calling a girl a dirty name was illegal in Puerto Rico. Perhaps I should make a cake and celebrate her cheating next time?
Well, after being bailed out from a third-world jail, I was ready to face a judge. Yes, it looked worse than those jails on Locked Up Abroad. There were drugs everywhere, no correction officers, 75 guys in one cage with cell phones, weapons, and gangs everywhere.
I went to court for the next four months every few weeks, since they kept postponing or denying motions. The woman who pressed charges never wanted me arrested; she was just doing what Puerto Rican women are trained to do: go to the police and cry.
She wanted the charges dropped, but she couldn’t manage that because it was the state versus me, not the accuser versus me. The prosecutor wanted three years in jail for me — I kid you not — for calling her a bad name. Three years out of my life in a stinky Puerto Rican prison.
Luckily the judge and eventually the prosecutor came to their senses and dropped the case. I left the island two weeks later, never to return.
I can’t explain how hopeless I felt, like I was in an Arab country being persecuted for something. And get this, I got lucky. When asked on trial if she needed a psychologist or was emotionally harmed by my two words, she said no. However, while I was in court I saw other girls cry and say “yes” that they needed counseling, and the men got whisked away for long jail terms.
Imagine if she had said yes. I would be in jail to this day.
It is crazy and corrupt in Puerto Rico. Do not come to visit or mingle with the women. It is a very serious problem, and I do not know of many friends who haven’t had Law 54 used against them. Only one deserved it, because he hit the girl. The other friends I know who faced Law 54 were simply there because their wives or girlfriends shed tears in front of a cop.
So there it is, in black and white. If this were an isolated case, we could brush it off, but both publicly and privately I have received information about this happening again, and again, and again.
Don’t believe for a moment this strategy has anything to do with equality.
This is standard neo-Marxist strategy, just like the street harassment video. Scream bloody murder at a problem that already has a solution, and then pass laws to protect people from imagined threats.
The result is an end to the family and an end to freedom. And don’t believe for a moment this strategy has anything to do with equality.
The solution? Personal responsibility and self-defense. If a man hits a woman, she has the right to protect herself; if a woman hits a man, he also has a right to self-defense.
In addition, the charges should never be the “state against the individual” in a crime between individuals. The crime should be heard as the person versus the person, and if the alleged victim says he doesn’t want to press charges, you should save the taxpayer money and drop the case.
Edited by Fergus Hodgson.
