Going on at a high school near me...
How badly have we, as a society, failed in bringing up our children where this can be what they are talking about?
We ignore/excuse sexual assault, all the time. We "boys will be boys" our way to... this.
We establish a culture where the most heinous violations of individual freedoms and personal safety are turned into assaults on the victims... to the extent that a substantial percentage of sexual assaults are never even reported (the Department of Justice / RAINN estimate that upwards of 2/3s go unreported).
We ask what the victim was wearing, while never asking if a bank's advertising made money look too tempting to a bank robber.
We ask how many people the victim slept with in the past, while never asking a homeowner how many guests they entertained before their house was burglarized.
None of this excuses the individuals involved in these chats. But if our response begins and ends with “what is wrong with those kids?” we're missing a much bigger, and harder, question...
What have we, collectively, taught them about women, sex, power, consent and violence that makes this kind of conversation possible in the first place?
We've spoken, with our actions (and lack thereof). The kids were listening. This is what they learned.