Editor,
In response to the letters to the editor written by Stefanie L. Taylor and other UNM females in the July 26 to Aug. 12 Daily Lobo, we feel that the accusations and the broad stereotyping of UNM males as rapists were totally inappropriate and misleading.
Ms. Taylor made the statement, “It is the most cunning of insults to suggest that women learn to protect themselves against rape while not considering how men can prevent committing the act of rape.”
First of all, the simple use of the word man here is completely and utterly insulting and offensive. Our society does not need to teach all men how not to rape. It is not something that men are born with and must learn to eliminate.
The people that commit these acts are criminals, and like all other criminals, should be treated accordingly. The suggestion that all men have this barbaric tendency, and have to learn to alleviate it is absurd.
Please note, “It is the most cunning of insults to suggest that people learn to protect themselves against assault while not considering how violent criminals can prevent committing the act of assault.”
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This is a generic statement that can be substituted for any crime, and I think now we can all see that this statement had absolutely no relevance whatsoever.
The above statements also prove a very simple point. Criminals and violent offenders do not live be the rule of “Tell me not to do it, and I won’t.” In the real world, people do terrible things without any regard to the law. It is beyond me that someone, who claims to have such a broad social consciousness, could make such a biased claim.
I think that we can all agree that one bad apple does not spoil the bunch. The men that commit these acts are not a true representation of the male population at UNM or anywhere else. The UNM police lieutenant’s comments about women being more aware of their surroundings and to avoid certain situations, are a good lesson to us all, and are certainly relevant in this case. We think that instead of claiming that the police at UNM have some kind of conspiracy against women, we should try to learn from the professionals in this field so that maybe the men who commit these crimes can be stopped and women can protect themselves.
Joey Minarsich and Tyler Steele,
UNM Students
