On Rape, On Reparations

At the end of the day, we are best advised not to go about taking fault for others’ actions—or inactions for that matter. Naturally, this opening remarks calls to mind the matter of rape. We, the PeopleWe are all different. And I believe we all have been around this earth long enough to know this fact to be true. Call it genetics, call it sociological, call it both; at the end of the day, we cannot run from our innate differences—we can’t deny the fact of them. One person’s ‘like’ is another’s ‘distaste’; one’s ‘yes’, another’s ‘no’; one’s ‘of course’, another’s ‘but why?’. That is why on lovely evening nights you will find countless fellow human beings cramped in tiny spaces, music blaring nonsensically, sweat and heat all around… Humans beings assembled in heat to listen and dance to music from large speakers—music of which can be found on their small devices of phones tucked in their very own pockets and handbags; taking sips of liquor from overpriced bars, drinks which perhaps sit cheaply in their own fridges or shelves at home; networking over loud conditions, hearing nothing, yet nodding vigorously to this pseudo-conversation. A human experience… Nonsensical when dissected,...