Ways to End the World

With every revalation about Sarah Palin’s Wasilla forcing women to pay for their own rape kits, there’s always been a little wiggle room that suggested it might not be as bad as it seemed. But in every case, when the answers came, they made things much, much worse. Let’s review:

First, bloggers unearthed an old news story explaining that the former Democratic fovernor of Alaska had signed a bill into law requiring that local government pony up the necessary funds for rape kits. Based on the timing of the story, bloggers correctly inferred that Palin had been mayor of Wasilla during this time — and furthermore, it was clear that Wasilla was one of the cities where women were required to pay for the gathering of this vital forensic evidence at that time. However, a number of people were initially hesitant to write about the story because Palin’s level of culpability in the matter was extremely unclear. There was a chance that until the governor signed the bill she didn’t even know about the law in her city. In my eyes that wouldn’t have exonerated her, but it was a valid concern.

Soon enough we learned a little more and things got much worse. Not only was Palin definitely aware of the issue if she was doing her job — her own chief of police had publicly explained that paying for rape kits would cost the city between $9,000 and $14,000 annually — but the governor had signed the bill into law specifically because of Wasilla. Palin’s city was the primary motivating factor. At this point, there was no forgiving her and bloggers like Atrios, Josh Marshall and Ezra Klein wrote about their disgust.

So did I. But I’m a kinder, gentler soul than I like to let on, and there was still a voice in my head raising doubts — one you may have heard too. “Sure,” it said, “taking care of rape victims is a big part of her job, just as is taking care of murders and so on. But a lot of people — especially conservatives, whose parents and communities tend to minimize rape as a non-concern or even the just desserts of slutty women — don’t understand what rape really is and the importance of things like rape kits. They, however wrongly, just don’t understand the importance of the issue. It isn’t on their radar.” Again, that’s not an excuse — but that little voice kept me from absolutely loathing Palin, at least provisionally.

Now even that little voice has been silenced. Last night, Hilzoy alerted us to an important story by Justin Rood. It seems that Palin has a long history of actively ignoring rape and domestic abuse — and absolutely no excuse for doing so. Among other damning facts, Rood explains that the state of Alaska leads the nation in rape and domestic abuse, making “one of the most dangerous places in the country for women and children.” How dangerous? They have 2.5 times the per capita rapes of the national average. Of course there’s no way Palin could not know this, indeed Rood writes that she has agreed it’s an “epidemic.” She even campaigned on promises to fight the problem — promises she has completely forgotten. Victims’ advocates say they aren’t on her radar. And she fired the highest official in her administration focusing on the problem when he failed to illegally fire her former brother in law.

Furthermore, Jill at Feministe wrote yesterday that it turns out Palin was actually and actively responsible for eliminating funding for rape kits in Wasilla. It not only happened under her watch, she did it.

In short, no official in Alaska has any excuse for not knowing about their rape epidemic or the necessary countermeasures — law enforcement tools such as rape kits. Palin has clearly known about it for a long time. But under her leadership and by her direct intervention women were charged for their rape kits — and, given Alaska’s grotesque rate of rapes, probably quite a few women. A law was specifically passed to end this practice in her city. Later, she ran on promises to stop the problem. But instead she’s done nothing and actively obstructed those who tried. She has been at best complicit in Alaska’s rape culture, and at worst an active enabler.

Make no mistake: charging women for their rape kits is not only an obscenity in light of the fact that no one is ever charged to have their murder investigated, it is well and truly tantamount to endorsing and even participating in rape, especially that of poor women and those without support networks. Charging women for their rape kits means many won’t get them done, which means that rapists will go free, which will not only encourage but directly cause more rapes. It also discourages women from reporting them in the first place by reinforcing an already-oppressive sense of shame.

I don’t want to be accused of losing control of myself in my rage, so let me be perfectly clear: I’ve thought this through carefully, calmly, and over a period of a day. I know exactly what I am saying, and I mean every word.

Sarah Palin has all but conspired with rapists in her state to increase their opportunities for assault and their success in getting away with it.

She is unfit for office. A decent society would chase her out with torches and pitchforks.