Thursday, October 15, 2009

55 - Answers (Part 2)

Q: Rani - Yes, what are rapists and what do they rape for?
A: The dictionary defines a rapist as "one who commits rape". The first two definitions of the word "rape" are the ones that fit this discussion and are as follows:
1. the unlawful compelling of a woman through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse.
2. any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person.

So to be clear, a rapist is a person who forces sex on another person.

The second part of your question is more complex. I recently read a book called "Whoever Fights Monsters" by Robert K. Ressler. Mr. Ressler is the man who brought the art of profiling murderers to the FBI. He spent 20 years of his career interviewing serial killers and developing psychiatric profiles of them. It's a fascinating book and one I highly recommend.

So what does this have to do with rape? What I learned from reading this book is that many serial killers derive a sexual satisfaction from their murders. They do not fit in with society at large and with people in general. They still have the same urges as all humans, but because they do not fit in they have trouble finding outlets for that sexual energy. They will construct elaborate fantasies in their minds, then slowly build up to these fantasies. They will often return to the scene of the murder or keep certain things from the scene in order to relive the experience.

I also learned that many serial killers begin as rapists. Now, do all rapists become serial killers? No. I don't believe that even a majority of rapists are capable of morphing into serial killers. But I do believe that share some traits, most notably a less-than-human view of other people. If you do not believe that other people are in fact people then you will not treat them as such and will be more predisposed to take sex by force from them.

To pull it all together, my view is that rapists rape for sexual satisfaction which is caused by an inability to fit in with society at large.

Q: Jesse - How many more hockey players will rape minors before our season starts?
A: There was a story concerning this subject in early September. Three attendees of Clarkson's summer hockey camp were charged with having sex with a 16-year old without her consent. I am not certain whether it is one girl or several girls; the story doesn't explicitly say. One of the players has plead not guilty (I do not know about the other two).

It would make me happy to say that no more hockey players would rape minors before the season starts. And for all I know it's a true statement since additional incidents have not been reported by the local media. I believe that these three are the exception, not the rule. Am I being naive? Perhaps. Stories and rumors about the sexual escapades of hockey players are wide and varied. We'll have to follow this story to see if any other accounts of this kind of behavior surface.