"Rape & Get Drunk". Good times, good times...

You know, some people might think that it's because of my job that I looked at this graffiti today and saw the word "Rape". Others might look at this picture and confirm for me that I saw it because that's what it damn well says.

Interestingly, it also said "Get Drunk" immediately beneath this:

Ah, drunken raping. My idea of a fun Saturday night.

But How Did They Know?...

Crowbar Communique: Received Monday June 27th, 12:39 p.m.

I just received an email with the subject line, "Your VALIUM Prescription is Ready...".

I'm not sure how to feel about this. Perhaps it'll be clearer if I go break something.

CB Out.

HQ Staff Update: The Drums Are Getting Louder

There are dark rumblings afoot in the Resistance Force, my friends.

Often at this beautiful time of year, we, the loyal operatives of the fight for justice, find ourselves sorely tempted to say "fuck it all" and go sit next to water. It's not that we're not dedicated to the fight, it's just that it's easy to feel laid back and less pressurized when the sky is always blue and the beer commercials are in full rotation. Self-denial being our strong suit in the movement, instead of enjoying a cooler, some fake friends, and sweepingly heterosexual entertainments, we are, instead, gearing up for a showdown....

For a long time now we've known our local Boyz In Blue are the minions of The Dark Side (TM). For those who have never attempted to report a crime of violence against women, let us fill you in on what would be likely to happen to you if you did. There are two basic scenarios and our police response is a variation of one or the other:

SCENARIO A:

A seemingly sympathetic police officer will nod his head, look like he's paying attention, and by all accounts, make you believe that they really do think something bad happened to you and they want to do something about it. Then you will experience complete radio silence for an extended period, start to go a little crazy as you call and call, trying to find out what the hell is going on, only to discover that lovely Sympa-cop seems to have lost your phone number. Then one day you'll come home to a message on your answering machine telling you that although the Thin Blue Line really does want to stand in front of you, unfortunately there is simply not enough evidence that you were raped for them to go forward. It is only after you process your initial shock, devastation, and utter certainty that this is somehow your fault, that you will realize that Sympa-cop never actually interviewed the perpetrator, never had your rape kit sent for analysis, or spoke to any of the key people with information that he should have spoken to. Should you attempt to bring this to Sympa-cop (or anyone else's) attention, you will encounter a Wall of Silence, quickly followed by a strange metamorphis in your friendly, neighbourhood officer. Crowbar has some good secret agent tricks but Sympa-Cop has the ability to simply dissolve at will, to be quickly replaced with his chameleon-like counterpart, Officer Angry. Officer Angry will let you know in a hurry that he's sick of hearing from you, this file is closed, he has grave doubts that anything ever actually happened to you in the first place, and by the way, did you know YOU could potentially be brought up on charges?

SCENARIO B:

A seemingly sympathetic police officer will nod his head, look like he's paying attention, and by all accounts, make you believe they really do think something bad happened to you and they want to do something about it. However, over the course of your discussion (or perhaps in a subsequent one) you'll start to note a distinctive shift in Sympa-cop and his questions will become harsh, judgmental, interrogative....in short, he has begun the metamorphisis into Officer Angry. Before you know what happened, Officer Angry will be telling you you weren't really raped, that he knows you're lying, and that he could charge you with Public Mischief or Obstructing if you don't shut your stupid mouth and get out of his police station. You will sputter, protest, cry and think this is all some horrible nightmare, and Officer Angry will only find these responses infuriating. You will ask to be allowed to take a polygraph; Officer Angry will tell you they don't do that in these cases. You will ask to meet with his superior officer; Officer Angry will give you a phone number for someone who never picks up or, if they do, threatens you coldly when you phone them too. You will become completely convinced the media will want to know what's happened to you - Officer Angry will make it clear that they're cutting you a break by not charging you now but they "cannot protect you", should you choose to stir up further trouble. If you go that further step and call up your local newspapers you'll discover that they don't give a shit and the police response to your rape is not news. In fact someone calls them up with a similar story nearly every damn day.

You will reel around like a drunk who's been hit with a pool cue, completely unable to process that this is actually happening. You'll realize that when you tell your previously supportive friends and neighbours, a shutter descends over their eyes and their nods become cursory at best. At first this will baffle you, until it dawns that they also think you must have been lying if the cops did this to you - after all, police don't do that stuff to real raped women, right? You'll start calling social service agencies, community groups, police services boards and will slowly become aware that you are morphing in the public eye into "the crazy lady" with mental health problems who always shows up at every public meeting and starts the same old song and dance.

This is the reality of reporting sexual violence in our fair city and, sadly, this is a somewhat sanitized version. For years now the Resistance Force has been aware of the corruption in the walls of our cop enclave, but neither diplomatic missions nor multiple armed forays behind enemy lines have borne a result. In the meantime, still more women walk out of the police station looking like they've just been hit with a 2 by 4.

And so, as the sun streams down around us and the "normal" people barbeque and wear golf shirts, we in the Resistance Force are developing a new strategy....in the very near future there will be a quiet little gathering of some of our various force commanders and a handful of women who are ready to sign up for our humble revolutionary brigade. They're sick of this shit, sick of waiting for other people to do something about it, tired of protocols, meetings with Crowns, useless Victim/Witness offices, apathetic media and well-meaning, comforting words. They want action, a call to arms, a retaliatory strike, and they're not going to rest until they are heard.

Crowbar hears trumpets in the distance - perhaps far in the distance, but there, nonetheless.

Stay tuned for minutes from our summit meeting, and communiques from the front lines. This could get interesting.

The Dark Side Speaks (No, really!)

Weeeee're baaaaaa-aack...

I admit, faithful Resistance Force operatives, my energy has been fading. Drowning in a pool of seemingly insurmountable Dark Side(TM) power, I confess, I was starting to doubt the inevitability of victory for the Resistance Force. Weeks of silence with nary a communique from me and only ghostly cobwebs hanging in the corners of Crowbar Headquarters...it was starting to seem all hope was lost.

And then, suddenly, the unthinkable happens. You've heard the stories about the Cake Wafit identity, whittling away at The Dark Side (TM) from within, conducting her covert activities, practicing her subterfuge, and trying to ferret out those ever-elusive hidden agents who can be lured into the Resistance Force?

Well, tonight, in a world premiere, one of them speaks on Crowbar for the first time. Meet....Dark Side (TM) Double Agent #1 - The Man In Black:

Introductory rant:
I am a member of the Dark SideTM. However on most days can relate to Crowbar in some ways. I am a stormtrooper with a conscience and am not oblivious to the massive faults and inadequecies of a system that has failed many. The same system by the way that has also designed many "support systems" designed to "aid" those it has damaged and alienated. Idiotic rationales need to be challenged, mainstream thinking is equal to not thinking.

It's too easy to follow status quo.
No really it is!!! just do the following:

Don't ask questions..Don't see anything through anothers eyes...Those with power know better than the rest of us...Sit back and read The Sun...Find a place above some other group so you feel better about your own fears and inadequacies...Lock your door..Drop your eyes and don't look around...Advertise companies on your shirts, hats, and shoes, blend in motherfuckers...Watch pharma ads without recognizing there is something wrong...Let others live your life for you through reality TV...Be fearful,let it drive you..But trust your police..Trust your government..Trust your boss..Let them think for you...If something was wrong surely we hear the real deal in the newspaper?

Even as a stormtrooper I cannot commit to the above. I like to think I am influencing a system to be better. I like to believe I am a part of something larger. An unspoken knowledge there are others fighting for change.

Many a day with bleeding tongue I would much rather pick up a crowbar

--
Posted by Anonymous to Crowbar at 6/8/2005 10:50:44 PM

Is it real? Yes, kids, it is. For once, this is not some crazy identity Crowbar has made up to amuse herself and is, instead, the secret line to the Dark Side's inner machinations. He's in the meetings, he collects the paycheck and, recently, he snuck Crowbar past the sentries posted at the gates.

Now none of us can know how safe this really is. The Man In Black has been helpful so far, but what if he lets the cat out of the bag on the Resistance Force's secret plans for overthrow and potentially bloody coups? It's a risk we have to run. Crowbar's in, but her back is exposed.
Stay tuned for more up-to-the-minute (or week) developments on this new and unprecedented level of Black Ops. Oh yeah, and remember: Big Brother is reading us now.