ACLAF Archives (Recreation) - It's not even about Consent

Luke, this one's for you. More post-necromancy!
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Some time ago, the UK proposed a law that would turn sex with a drunk woman into rape. Much to the lamentation of cougars (shouldn't it apply to men after all?) and pick-up artists everywhere, The idea behind the bill is that a severely drunk woman cannot legally consent to sex on the grounds that her judgment is impaired. And thus, it is little more than a flimsy pretext to be trotted out whenever the government feels like sending more men to jail. Familiar? Thought so. My understanding is that the proposed law has now been killed, replaced with some other measure to send more people to jail, but this still raises a very important issue regarding our culture, in that this is not even about consent; it's about alcohol, and how we treat, or mistreat the devil's brew in western culture.

Ask any boyscout worth his salt about fire, and he'll tell you that fire is something to treat with respect, and care. We all learned as children that fire can be incredibly useful when used correctly, and absolutely devastating when abused. Just ask the folks in Southern California.

A stinkingly similar rule holds true with alcohol.

Most people love to forget the simple fact that alcohol is a form of poison! Alcohol can fucking kill you if you take too much! Alcohol is something that must be treated with respect. That's why don't allow children to drink, because it can cause them great harm, and they haven't yet demonstrated sufficient responsibility to be trusted to handle something that can be so deadly.

Studies clearly demonstrate that there is some sort of positive correlation between the amount of alcohol consumed by a woman, and the likely hood that she will make a rape accusation, whether the sex is consensual or not.

And here in lies the problem. By entertaining notions that alcohol can be used as a legal excuse for what might be regretted later, the state effectively allows women to regress. How can we trust a person who cannot drink responsibly in our society? How can we trust someone who can't be trusted not to burn down houses? You see, after they screw up, we put these people in jail, or in mental institutions to make sure that they don't ruin it for the mature responsible folks in society; the adults.

Put another way, what did your parents do when you did something wrong, and childish? They sent you to your room! What is jail sometimes but a more grown-up kind of room?

You see folks, an adult who cannot be trusted with booze is no adult! Alcoholism occurs when people loose control over their own lives, and allow alcohol to take control. The only difference between a grown binge drunk, and a child, is that one of these two has a rational human being in control of their lives.

So to get so drunk that you can't see, and sleep with someone isn't rape, it's childish! Anyone who entertains the idea of accusing the person they slept with while drunk is equally childish, and they deserve to be treated like that name sake. Suck it, up buttercup! Either such a person is responsible enough to handle drinking, and therefore takes responsibility for their actions while drunk, or they are someone who can't handle it, and doesn't deserve to drink at all, because they lack the maturity to use the poison responsibly! Alcohol is a privilege, not a right princess!

So you know what? You want us to prosecute? FINE! We'll prosecute! On your way out, turn in your identification, car-keys, and put on the chastity belt that will be provided.

If you're not ready to handle alcohol, how can you possibly believe that you can handle sex?