I’m in the middle of an overnight shift at the woman’s and children’s shelter and I’m really wired on some hippie energy drink I bought at Newfronz. And I’m catching up on the news. Normally I leave much of the mainstream media, let alone Glenn Beck, out of any critical discussion of the media. But seriously. Glenn Beck. I can’t F’ing stand him. He’s a fear monger. He prays on insecurities. He has an answer and works backwards, which is the opposite of what journalists do. His analysis is propaganda. His logic is loony tunes.

I just watched this:

So he took every protest that occurred throughout the world from the last two years and put together this cookoo crazy pants story about how there is a coordinated conspiracy. Anyone paying attention to international news during the last two years knows that each of these instances throughout the world has little if anything to do with one another. France protested because of labor issues, others because of student tuition increases, inadequate wages…Irish citizens demonstrated in reaction to a massive bailout. Yet according to Beck it’s all a coordinated Islamo-fascist take over. He gives his audience no credit. Maybe they don’t deserve it. I’m so sick of this shit.

This guy is on television with his own show! There is zero accountability for his lies, accusations, and conspiracies.

And they’ll tell you the media is liberal. That tea-party favorite, Christine O’Donnell from Delaware, just launched a political action group aimed at fighting back against the liberal media. We hear it all the time.

Lets be honest. Today the Democrats in our country sound more and more like republicans and republicans sound more and more like crazy over-medicated, insecure creepy weirdo racists that are increasingly out of touch with physical reality.

Back to the media. First of all, we live in society with an election process that is for sale. As long as any corporation, even international and multi-national corporations, are free to contribute as much money to elections as they want, the integrity of the whole voting process is shot. Same thing with the media. We can’t expect any media to be objective if they have to answer to sponsors. How are we to react when we see an “investigative story” into big oil, then see an ad for Shell or BP? How are we supposed to react to news pieces about government bailouts just after an advertisement for Fannie Mae? It’s a joke. It’s news and information that is displayed through a particular lens – one that is sure not to be too critical of the many hands that feed it. Journalism needs to be above these interests.

Second of all, lets look at the major figures in popular media. Think of the most far-right conservative talking heads in media today. Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Pat Robertson… If these folks don’t have their own show, they have their own friggin’ network. These folks can often spout the most racist, sexist, close-minded conservatism our country can muster. For the most part, all this goes unchecked.

Now, think of their counterparts in the media. If these folks represent the far right, who in the media represents the far left?

Yeah, I can’t think of any either. Gross, Olbermann, Maddow? Give me a break! The far left is not represented in the media at all. Where are the critical and meaningful debates on environmental racism? The anti-war movement (I know, what anti-war movement)? Critical discussions on loss of species, peak oil, forced sterilization, preventable diseases, or acquaintance rape? When have you seen any critical discussions on the cultural and physical health of emerging technologies, biotechnologies, or pharmaceuticals? Of course there are not these discussions when the next commercial is from Monsanto or Dow Chemical. When have you ever seen the media speak with an indigenous person? When was the last time you’ve ever heard a critique of consumerism in the media? That’s right, there can’t be a critique of consumerism if the media is predicated on industrial capitalism. Again, journalism needs to be above all these interests.

Folks often point to the fact that most journalists happen to vote democratically, therefore the media is liberal. This predication assumes that individual journalists have any say or power in deciding exactly what will be reported, and perhaps more importantly, how it will be reported – how the news agency, loyal to it’s advertisers, will frame the issue.

There is an old propaganda tool at work here too. “Tell it like it ain’t.” The more folks say the media is liberal, the less we really know what liberal means and the more far-left views are marginalized. This works to the advantage of the far-right media in legitimizing their crazy cookoo pants ideologies.

It is no great secret that I am in love with Democracy Now!. Their recent coverage of the on-going protests in Egypt have been unparalleled. It has been the most honest, personal, and professional display of journalism I think I’ve ever seen. And of course, they have no advertisers. While the mainstream media often argues back and forth between two view points, DN!’s coverage reveals multiple perspectives that is completely beyond anything the mainstream media is even structurally capable of.

While students understand the events that mark Tequila Sunrise as the most widespread college drinking weekend of the year, where participating bars open their doors at 6AM, to coincide with Homecoming events at Northern Arizona University, less realized is that this weekend is also commonly characterized by an increase in sexual assaults.

This year was different because the spike never quite subsided. People, mostly women, were being drugged and sexually assaulted throughout the month of November. Stories about what Myra Ferell-Womochil, director of community education at Northland Family Help Center, refers to as “non-alcohol drug facilitated sexual assaults” continue to be circulated across town.

“We are basing the increase in non-alcohol drug facilitated sexual assaults purely from word of mouth and informal disclosures …Women are simply coming forward and telling us or telling someone who is close to them, who then shares with us, that they have been drugged while being at a bar.”

Flagstaff DJ Emmett White, who spins regularly in many bars downtown, comments on how widespread sexual assault is. “A majority of the people I know in this town, including myself, have been drugged and/or targeted for sexual assault, and that’s not confined to the bar scene. It happens at house parties, it happens on campus, it happens at restaurants.”
While Mr. White regards the recent increase in sexual assaults stemming from downtown bars as cause for concern, he believes it is also a good opportunity to engage bar owners and bar staff, as well as patrons, in these issues.

Northland Family Help Center, Northern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault and the Flagstaff Police Department have been working together for the last three years to assist the bars in making sure they have the tools they need to meaningfully address a few realities.

1) Alcohol is the most commonly used substance to facilitate date rapes and sexual assault.
2) Sexual assaults can and often do happen at any bar in town, all year round.
3) As bystanders to the potential for violence, bar staff who have been trained in prevention strategies can play a critical role.

This past Tequila Sunrise marked the third year in a row where NFHC offered sexual assault prevention training to local bar staff, and through their partnership with NACASA and the Flagstaff Police Department, also delivered posters to bars for the event with sober messages about watching your drink, looking out for your friends, and the popular “in your hands, you hold the power to stop rape,” which is intended to be placed above urinals in the men’s bathroom.

The Green Room was the only bar in town that had these posters hung up in the bar on the morning of Tequila Sunrise. Community educators for NFHC, Ms. Ferell-Womochil and the author of this article surveyed patrons on their reactions to the posters. We wanted to get a sense for how these messages were being received.

Despite one very intoxicated guy who was upset by the messages, slurring, “I don’t come to bars to have to hear about this kind of sh*t, I come to get my rape on,” most people appreciated the messages. Women shared stories of being drugged, harassed, and assaulted. Many men were appalled it happened it all. “If people feel the need to hang these posters” said one guy, “it is clear there is a problem, and that is really sad.”

When owner Rand Jenkins heard word his bar was being victimized, his response was “Shock and dismay, the typical ‘I never thought this could happen to me’ response. Then anger and frustration with the world, followed quickly by problem solving and crime fighting.”

Ms. Ferell-Womochil praised the bar for what it already does and his commitment to have his staff trained by NFHC’s community education staff. “Rand is really trying hard to create a climate within his bar that is not conducive to sexual assault. He is re-educating his staff.”

Says Mr. White: “There seems to be a sort of silent inaction on the part of most bar staff and owners when it comes to this, I think because they are afraid that addressing it will affect their business, and also because it requires a sea change in the mentality of people that work in the bar.”

At 1PM on February 28, The Green Room is hosting the first of three sexual violence education and prevention trainings given by community educators from NFHC. The trainings are specifically geared toward bar staff to meaningfully and appropriately combat sexual assault, highlights the important role bars can play in creating a safe space for their patrons, and are open to the public.

“I think that this education will hopefully start some conversations, raise awareness, and dramatically reduce the chance of this happening,” says Mr. Jenkins. “One of the biggest reasons why I decided to go into business for myself was the belief that I could help the community.”

As a DJ, Mr. White understands the role he plays in setting the mood, and recognizes the responsibility he has as a bystander with a microphone. “Some guys in particular think it’s cool to stand in groups at the edge of the dance floor and ogle the girls as if it’s a show or something, or to continue to pursue a dance or conversation after someone has said ‘no.’ All of these things contribute to an atmosphere I don’t want to be a part of, so … I’ll change the music, play something you can vogue to, that can do the trick.”

“If the creep factor in the room gets too high, you can feel it, something shifts in the air. I’ve been known to stop the music and point ‘em out, and remind people that they don’t have to be sleazed upon, that if someone is being creepy or predatory, to let me or the bouncers know, and we’ll get them out of the bar, no questions asked.”

It is important that men become active bystanders to the potential of sexual assault. Says Mr. White: “I’ve witnessed people trying to take advantage of the most clearly wasted woman in the bar. In this situation I’ll intervene and ask the woman if she wants this person around and if her friends are nearby, or if I can get her a cab.

“In cases where the person is too drunk or maybe even drugged to be coherent, I’ll try to get the perpetrator 86’ed or at the very least make sure the bouncers know not to let them leave together. These situations are tough because sometimes they are too out of it to even remember their address. For this reason and more, I hope people adopt and stick with the buddy system.”

Mr. White continues: “Men, join The MARS Project* (men against rape and sexism) on campus. Talk to other men about consent. Don’t be afraid to take things seriously and stand up for what’s right. Know that these problems are not going to disappear anytime soon, but if we don’t continue to talk and implement effective and creative ways of dealing with them, they will stay the same or get worse. To affect cultural change takes decades, and knowing what is right, educating yourself and others, and sticking to your guns can make it happen.”

• Someone cannot legally give consent if that person is intoxicated. Legal consent can only be given if it is: Verbal, Sober, and enthusiastic.
• If someone is intoxicated and “accidentally” rapes someone, that person is still accountable for the rape. It is not an excuse.
• Most drug-facilitated rapes involve alcohol, despite what is happening in the bars now.
• Most sexual assault victims personally know the perpetrator; most sexual assaults do not involve strangers.
• It is never a victim’s fault for being raped.
• Friends don’t let friends sexually assault someone. There is an important place for the bystander.

Resources:
Northland Family Help Center (24-hour crisis hotline): 928/527-1900 or
877/634-2723
Northern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault (NACASA): 928/213-6112
Flagstaff Police Department: 928/774-1414
NAU campus Police: 928/523-3611

*women can join the MARS Project too!