Rape Apology and a Punk Scene that Pretends to Give a Fuck.
Trigger Warning: This blog entry is about rape culture and the apathy of a hyper-masculine punk scene that pretends to care about women.
An old vegan straightedge "feminist" friend of mine has a band that recently toured with The Casualties. If you haven't heard through word of mouth or the cyber-grapevine, the frontman for The Casualties, Jorge Herrera, has been publicly accused of sexually assaulting a woman. This woman, "Beth," has posted an anonymous blog post about her experience with this degenerate here: http://putyourdamnpantson.com/2013/11/05/guest-post-i-wont-apologize-for-being-assaulted/
Since then, more women have been coming forward through word of mouth and through social media about the sexual assaults they have experienced at the hands of the accused.
The following screen caps are the reactions from ACxDC, a Southern California Powerviolence band, in response to their fans concerns that touring with a band who has an accused rapist as the frontman may be problematic for a Vegan/Straightedge/(supposedly)Feminist hardcore group. There are actually dozens of instances where they regurgitate the same rape apologetic bullshit throughout their facebook page, but there are literally hundreds, maybe into the thousands of posts to sift through to find them. Much has been deleted as well (and probably for the best, as those were much more inflammatory and rape apologetic than the ones that remained). These specifically pertain to them equating rape accusations to blind faith in god.
Again, patriarchy prevails in a scene that gives no fucks about women or rape.
Their position is that of neutrality, which in and of itself is problemtatic. I did eventually decide to express my opinions on their page. I kept my name intact, but erased all profile names that aren't mine or ACxDC's.
Again, equating belief of rape accusations to religion while dismissing any perspectives they believe as "fundamentalist." And if that isn't enough, when I publicly announced on my Facebook page that I can no longer support their band for their questionable positions concerning these allegations against that punk rock vocalist, it got personal.
Even though what was described above ^^ happened about eight years ago, apparently the need to denigrate a feminist and bring up personal traumas (which are still triggering and are dangerously close to sexual assault for me) to justify their dismissive attitudes supercedes the need to call out an accused rapist on the allegations hanging over his liberty spikes.
My understanding is that nobody from ACxDC spoke to The Casualties concerning the rape allegations on tour, and The Casualties have yet to make a statement about the accusations. It was brought up at one point that nobody was accusing Negative Approach or MDC of rape apology or placing pressure on them to acknowledge the current situation, but that's neither here nor there. I am not aware of what their fans have expressed to them. I am not friends with them on Facebook, and I don't particularly like either one of their bands, but I do have reason to believe that they have acknowledged the current situations and that their fans were definitely placing pressure on them to at least make a statement about recent events. MDC dropped the tour because of it (good for them). ACxDC's response? Well, I couldn't find it because they probably deleted it (I actually haven't been able to find a lot of what I found most problematic on their page... hm...), but I do remember them making a statement about how maybe MDC had figured it out and dropped, or maybe they were bullied into choosing a side (the same logic was used on me, as I was apparently bullied into becoming a fundamentalist feminist).
It's situations like these that speak volumes about the rapid decline of punk rock as a subversive, radical subculture. Or maybe it hasn't declined, and maybe I've perceived it differently than everyone else. Being dismissive of rape in the punk scene just goes to show that punk rock has become nothing more than a shit show. A sausage fest. It's become a breeding ground for patriarchal, heteronormative, at times racist, often times homophobic and transphobic, male-centric bullshit that is ever so pervasive in our so-called subculture. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's always been this way.
Much love and solidarity to Beth, who chooses to remain anonymous for her own personal reasons that we won't hold against her. Just know that your blog post is making its rounds around the country and probably around the world, and you have allies everywhere. Every reblog of your experience, however traumatic it was and continues to be for you, inspires more people to talk about their experience with sexual assault. Whether it's concerning the same assailant or an experience with somebody else, it is important that these people have a voice somewhere and that somebody is listening. A bittersweet thank you for sharing your experience. Hopefully, sometime soon, I can share some of mine.
