in case you missed it | Groping goes one way with TSA

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Groping goes one way with TSA

Longmont resident Yukari Mihamae found out last week that groping only goes one way when it comes to the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA). Mihamae, apparently a frequent flyer, felt violated by repeated TSA screenings.

“I go through this every week, and every week there is some problem,” she told the New York Post.

TSA officials allege that Mihamae refused to be screened and that, when an argument ensued with security agents, Mihamae grabbed and squeezed the breast of a female TSA employee.

Mihamae denies this. Frustration runs high nationwide with TSA following incidents that include: forcing breast cancer survivors with prosthetics to remove their prostheses; patting down (i.e., groping) young children; requiring elderly, wheel-chair ridden passengers to remove adult diapers; knocking off the external urine bag of a bladder cancer survivor during an enhanced groping session.

Each time TSA does something like this, we’re told they’re “reviewing procedures” and “discussing options.” And then some other really unfair and terrible thing happens to an innocent traveler. Frankly, a lot of Americans are just disgusted.

Perhaps that disgust explains why Mihamae, who has not yet been charged with a crime, has a legion of followers on Facebook. A still-growing group calling itself “Acquit Yukari Mihamae” now has more than 4,000 followers.

But, whether Mihamae actually grabbed that TSA agent’s breast or not, travelers should view Mihamae’s ordeal as a precautionary tale. Just because the TSA agent grabs your junk, doesn’t mean you get to grab hers.

Life just isn’t fair that way.

Local idiots blame the victim

A woman walks home alone at 4:30 a.m. An animal masquerading as a man comes up behind her and rapes her, violating her body, mind and spirit. And the enraged public demands that the perpetrator be caught and punished, right?

Wrong. Local idiots instead demanded to know what the victim was doing out at 4:30 a.m. by herself. They act as if she is to blame for what happened to her, not the rapist.

Would they behave the same way toward someone injured by a drunk driver? Would they ask, “Why was she on the highway late at night? Did she want to be hit by a drunk driver?” No, of course they wouldn’t. Then why do they respond to news of sexual assaults in this way?

The perception seems to be that if women took sufficient precautions, they wouldn’t get raped — as if rape were an acceptable consequence of doing something “unsafe.”

What a load of bullshit! There is no moral equivalency between a woman who does something “risky” and a man who makes the choice to rape her. She is not even 1 percent to blame for what the rapist chose to do. The rapist alone is responsible, just as a drunk driver is responsible.

Rather than focusing our ire on the alleged victim in the July 16 rape and telling women what to do so that they don’t get raped, the community should focus on teaching men how not to rape.

Here are a few sexual assault prevention tips Boulder Weekly picked up at SlutWalk on July 2:

Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.

If you stop to help people with car problems, don’t assault them.

When you see someone walking by herself, leave her alone.

If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, don’t assault them.

Never open an unlocked door or window uninvited.

Use the buddy system! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you when you are in public.

Don’t pretend to be a friend in order to gain the trust of someone you want to assault. Consider telling them you plan to assault them. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the other person may take that as a sign that you do not plan to rape them.

Don’t forget: You can’t have sex with someone unless they’re awake.

Carry a whistle. If you’re worried you might assault someone accidentally, you can hand it to the person you’re with so they can blow it if you do.

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com