Consumers Domain
'Raul' means anti-women
"The soul that is within me no man can degrade."
-Frederick Douglass
Raul \,Rah-'ul\ 1: n. an insensitive egotistical macho, as in "Hey, stop those macho antics! Stop being a Raul!", 2: n. an anti-woman individual (or any entity) who has the propensity to display hatred or blabber against women, as in "One who sees women as mere objects and even shows off his sexist sentiments are nothing but stinky Rauls."
3: v. to harass or intimidate particularly women, usually characterized with spiteful sneer, as in "The rape victim felt assaulted anew after being Rauled." 4. v. to unfairly badmouth women, usually illustrates absence of gender sensitivity, as in "Mr. Gonzales kept on Rauling and Rauling about how women should stay only in the household and serve their respective husbands blindly."
Related words: misogynist, jerk, machismo, narrow-mindedness, egotist, egoist, asshole, pea-brain, sexist, sexism, numb, dull, discriminate, discrimination, chauvinist, chauvinism, stereotype, stereotyping.
My sincere apologies to other people who are namesakes of the Secretary of (In)Justice. We have no one to blame for putting such a shameful connotation to such an otherwise beautiful name, but that sickening man himself.
Raul Gonzalez never seems to run out of ammunition against women. I can still remember his remark addressed to Cory when she called for the resignation of Gloria Arroyo, saying that Cory should look after her daughter instead of participating in political issues. And then it was followed by his remark pertaining to Susan Roces, saying "she is too beautiful to be jailed".
I'm not a fan of Cory Aquino or Susan Roces, but the impact of such statements coming from a public official is appalling. The first suggests that women should be confined to child rearing and the latter objectifies women.
Remember also Gonzalez's half-hearted effort (actually, it's not even an effort) to gain custody of the members of the US marines who are accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipina as if the crime committed and the trampling of our sovereignty is not a matter of national importance. Now, his recent action and remarks connected to the same issue showed once again the kind of egotistical macho that he is, the kind of Raul that he is.
Last week, Gonzalez was quoted by various media entities that his department is planning to drop the case against three of the four charged American soldiers because of weak evidence. As a response to an appeal for justice of the mother of the rape victim, here is the best the Secretary of (In)Justice could say: "Is she aspiring to be a movie star? ... I'm never influenced by the emotional outburst of people who don't know the law..."
I don't know what kind of human is one who cannot see the pains of a grieving mother upon hearing a statement of a high government official that is clearly prejudicial to the case of her raped daughter. Being a parent of a daughter who was abused is so painful enough, how much more when the state you expect to be on your side seem to abandon you on your quest for justice.
It is very evident that this government official already forgot the essence of being a public servant and is even indifferent to the fundamental nature of the office he represents. The country's Department of Justice now appears to be a branch under the Pentagon or the US Armed Forces.
Gonzalez's retraction of his statement saying what he meant was only to "downgrade" their culpability from "principal" to "accomplice" does not rectify his actions or make his earlier remarks acceptable. For one, by saying that the evidence is weak, he is in fact questioning the credibility of the victim. And how can we believe Gonzalez when he said that he is still evaluating the issues, when he already declared his prejudgment.
Further, just because one is emotional regarding an issue does not mean that one is blind of the facts and of the law. The facts are clear - the victim's testimonies are hard facts for who in her right mind would put herself in this ordeal of publicly declaring that you are a victim of rape. And who knows of those facts more than the mother of the very victim! Gonzalez's response is nothing but an insensitive, egotist reaction - another Raul-type retort.
And how funny for Gonzalez to claim that he knows the law. Lest we forget, it is according to this Raul, who knows the law, that walking in the park wearing a protest T-shirt with your friends is a crime. It is according to this Raul, who certainly knows the law, that somebody who exercises his or her right to assembly and speech has violated the law and deserves to be jailed.
It is according to this Raul, who knows the law, that the posting of the Hello Garci conversations (that was first made public by Malacañang) on a website constitute inciting to sedition. It is according to this Raul, who certainly knows the law, that a media entity that exposes corruption and is critical of the government is guilty of a crime against the state!
This column is calling for any first year law student, preferably female, to volunteer and provide a refresher course to the Secretary of (In)Justice on Constitutional Law. But before that, I guess a bigger portion of the government's GAD (Gender and Development) budget be channeled to the Department of Justice. Gonzalez should then be required to attend a series of extensive Gender Sensitivity Trainings.
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