Lecturer discusses rape issues

Steve Thompson hates zebras. \nHe doesn't really have a problem with the striped African mammals, but he can't stand the lax attitude they have when another zebra gets attacked. Thompson sent many people home Thursday night with a similar anti-zebra feeling.\nThompson spoke to nearly 200 people, men and women, about the origins of our current ideas of sexual assault, and how to stop the cycle.\n"As a man, I am sick and tired of rape being a women's issue," Thompson said, "As long as we think it is a women's issue (rape) will not stop."\nThompson got his start in the field by teaching women self defense. After one of his students got attacked and suffered serious injuries, Thompson reevaluated his approach.\n"I had betrayed her trust, she trusted me to teach her to do something with her that would make her safe, and I let her down … I just taught what was traditionally taught," he said.\nThompson's first discovery came from the reading he had done on the subject. He discovered that most of the information he was reading was about the victims, and not about the rapist. \nSubsequently, Thompson decided to take an active approach.\n"I realized that what people thought was the reality of the street was in fact not true," Thompson said.\nEven today, Thompson works with local police and the FBI to create profiles of rapists and to learn from victims.\nHe also researched where the common conceptions of a rape victim and rapist originated. Thompson referred to Lord Hale, an English chief justice in the 1600's who recognized the difficulty of convicting a rapist. He also mentioned psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, who said women were confused about sex, and a man named Amir who cultivated the phrase "victim precipitated" in the 1960s.\n"Now our job here is to overcome this myth, this attitude that is not founded on fact," he said.\nThompson separated men into three separate categories. The good men, the spectators and the predators. The good men respect themselves and others, the spectators or "Zebras" simply "don't have the guts to stop it," and the predators take from other people.\n"We have to eliminate this spectator mentality … it's men who rape, it's men who can stop rape … we have to place the burden where it should be," Thompson said.\nThompson also said the majority of rapes are premeditated, and whether it is an acquaintance rape or stranger rape, the rapist always has his goal in mind.\nBecause rape is the ultimate goal of a rapist, a certain strategy must be employed. Thompson warned the audience that oftentimes, the rapist will use conventional tools such as alcohol and drugs, particularly Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate or GHB. This drug is easily made from household materials and is tasteless when mixed with a citrus based liquid. In addition to drugs and alcohol, Thompson said the rapist will make an effort to separate the victim from the pack.\nThompson said one of the reasons a rapist might be difficult to identify is because he most often sticks with a pack. This type most likely plays a team sport, is very egocentric and thrives on being in control, he said.\n"He is not like good men, not at all, but he appears to be," Thompson said. "This guy doesn't respect himself, he doesn't respect women."\nJust as there is a distinct type of man who rapes, there is a distinct type of victim that he looks for, Thompson said. Two of the top three victim groups can be found on college campuses. Statistically, the most vulnerable group are freshmen females pledging sororities, followed by freshmen females in general. The third group includes freshmen and sophomores in high school. Thompson suggests exuding an image of confidence as a deterrent to rapists.\nNonetheless, Thompson stressed that the responsibility still lies in the hands of males.\n"We have to separate responsibility from judgement," he said.\nThompson then opened the floor to questions. The crowd pressed Thompson from many angles, from confrontation of the predator to the duties of a bartender in the prevention of sexual assault.\nDebbie Melloan-Ruiz, co-chair of education for the Commission on Personal Safety, introduced Thompson at the beginning of the speech. She said she hoped those who attended walked away with more than they expected.\n"Our culture is permeated with myths about this issue, I hope that some of those myths that people came in with got broken down," she said.\nFreshman Mark McGarrah said he was pleased with Thompson's speech.\n"He is a really great speaker, I feel like he really informed the people, if they asked questions he gave great answers or he just told them point blank he couldn't give them answers," McGarrah said.\n McGarrah said he came away with a new sense of what could be done to stop the problem and plans on volunteering at the Middle Way House.\n"I really didn't know about rape before now, because I come from a really small town," said freshman Kelly Burton. "It really made me think about how I maybe need to pay a little more attention to my surroundings."\nThompson sent out a message to the students, faculty and Bloomington residents who attended the lecture.\n"I want you to talk to other people. Simply talk," he said. "When you are in a residence hall and you hear someone make an ignorant comment, take that time to educate"