Reply #292: Well, I don't know. I think most decent people who are told that a woman

[Catrina]

has been raped, would react with horror and disgust and anger at the perpetrator, which I think the poster in question would do, if that had been the only subject under discussion.

Parents, hearing of such horrors, naturally think of how to protect their own children from being the victims of such heinous crimes. In some instances, there is simply nothing the victim could have done that would have changed the circumstances that led to the crime. But in others, it is quite rational to point out how there might have something that could have been done that in the future, can be applied to minimize the possibility of others becoming victims. Not only do I see nothing wrong with this, I think it is helpful, and in many cases, using the experiences of others, has helped to avoid tragedy.

I don't think you are giving enough credit to people to be able to separate the actions of a criminal from the efforts to understand how such a monster can be avoided. I, eg, will be forever grateful that someone took the trouble to explain tactics that might work should a woman ever find herself in a dangerous situation, alone with a rapist. I'm glad they were not afraid that their analysis of other crimes might appear to be excusing the criminal. The result was that I and most likely other women, were empowered with knowledge that was probably life-saving.

To put it briefly, it is the recognition of the horror of the crime that causes the attempt to find ways to avoid it. If the poster were excusing the crime, he would not be attempting to find ways to avoid it.