I am so sad for the families mourning their children right now. I would be a complete mess if either of my sons lives were cut short in any circumstance. I’m so excited for them to grow up and begin their adulthood adventures. But to lose your child to a hate crime? The age of the victims- early 20’s, just beginning to be on their own…nope. Too angry. I am so fucking angry. I can’t bring myself to really go into detail about the killer, but check out The Belle Jar’s post: http://bellejar.ca/2014/05/24/elliot-rodger-and-men-who-hate-women/

What I am able to share right now is my contribution to the YES ALL WOMEN hashtag on Twitter.

Yes ALL women who step foot on a college campus significantly increase the already high chance of being sexually assaulted. We’re also the ones targeted in most mass shootings that occur at schools. Need some stats on that? Check out Policy Mic’s post that includes infographics: http://www.policymic.com/articles/89905/what-elliot-rodger-said-about-women-reveals-why-we-need-to-stamp-out-misogyny

The community college I attended was notorious for violent assaults on women after dark in the surrounding streets where students parked. It was so bad that once, when I was still in high school, a friend told me she started taking classes there, the first thing out of my mouth was, “But aren’t a lot of women raped there?” She paused, and said “Uh, I guess so, but you can’t let that stop you from getting an education.” Oh. Right. I guess we can’t.

And there I was at that same school a few years later. Night classes. Awesome. Women had a system of walking in a group to one person’s car then being dropped off one by one around campus. Never walk alone at night to your car. And the guys who used that to feel powerful over women? “Hey, I’ll walk you to your car (eyebrow waggle)” just made it worse. And always, and I mean ALWAYS the men who had the most misogynistic views- which they shared continuously in class- were often the first to volunteer as escort. That they were immune to the threat of being raped in the parking lot after class and that they had the power to nullify the danger just by being present wasn’t lost on them. When we said no thanks to the would be protector the anger at the rejection was completely disproportionate. “Fine get raped. I’m a nice guy. Now you deserve whatever happens to you.” Really? Awesome. Fantastic environment for learning, no?

These men weren’t mentally ill. They were opportunistic assholes. And yes ALL women have to interact with them if they want an education.