There's a story in today's New York Times about the regular practice at NY Jets football games in which crowds of men gather by a certain stadium gate and create a ruckus demanding that women in the area take their shirts off and show their breasts to the crowd. Women who don't happen to comply with this "request" often get things thrown at the them, such as beer bottles. They're also sworn and spit at.
According to the story, one woman who recently did comply was taken aside by security officers and warned about indecent exposure laws.
In other words, she was threatened with arrest for flashing hundreds of jeering, threatening men who were demanding that she do precisely that.
In Saudi Arabia last week, a woman was sentenced to prison and 200 lashes for being gang-raped by seven men.
Different, yes. But actually? I'm not sure how different. I am not saying these are the same countries or the same crimes (though yes, unlike the New Jersey authorities I would consider this sexual harassment a crime). But the difference seems largely to be one of scale, not values.
Scary, huh?
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