| August 18, 2006 Rank and File by Nova Stubbs, insurgent49 A Smoker’s Safety
It’s 11 PM on a freezing January night. Through the darkness, white flakes race to the ground. The wind is fierce and feels like nails on bare skin. Joanne has had quite a few cocktails and decides to step out of the bar for a smoke. She stumbles into the dark parking lot and notices a car running, a man sitting in the drivers seat rolls down the window and with a cigarette dangling from his bottom lip kindly asks, “ Do you want to finish your smoke in here? It’s warm.” She sways back and forth for a moment then walks over to the passenger side and gets in. Joanne was raped and killed that night. She was drunk and her better judgement was lost. 75% of all rape cases involve alcohol use and this occasion was no exception. Yes, this story is fiction; however, it is not outside the realm of possibility. The smoking ordinance has finally passed … all for the sake of public health. There will be no smoking within bars, and smokers must now stand at least five feet from any entrance. The notion that the smoking ordinance will not contribute to the rape rate has been dispelled by many organizations, based on the fact that other cities with a smoking ban have not seen an increase in rape. Anchorage is different and we must always keep this in mind, not only because of our limited winter daylight hours, but also because the chances of getting raped by complete strangers are much higher than the national average. According to the Anchorage Police Department, between 2000-2001, approximately 44% of reported forcible rapes were committed by strangers, whereas the national average was 11%. In other words, Anchorage has a different type of predator and therefore, nothing should be discarded based on this abnormality of perpetrators. Another facet that we must keep in mind is that Downtown and Spenard are known for their bars, and many patrons in search of a good time head to these areas for a night out. These districts also have the highest percentages of forcible rape. The correlation is strong between alcohol and rape. And now that women are more apt to be alone, in instances where they are drunk and step out for a smoke, the risk of rape is ultimately higher. You might think I am full of crap, because no study in Anchorage has been done on this, and my argument may seem unsubstantiated … but doesn’t the saying go “better safe than sorry?” The smoking ban has passed. But should we wait for the first rape victim to surface due to this new ordinance in order to get angry and consider this a problem? The second? Or the third? In my mind, after the first incident of rape the whole notion of “for the sake of public health” goes completely out the window. If our city really cares about public health and safety, we should catch the problem before it happens, and I truly believe it will. The minority of smokers, especially women, should demand that the city pay for well-lit, heated, covered, and surveillanced smoking areas approximately ten feet from every bar in Anchorage. What? Do you think that’s too much money to protect a minority from rape? Oh, it doesn’t matter because they’re smokers? So it is okay for a smoker to be more susceptible to rape than a nonsmoker? A majority of smokers are from lower income brackets, and chances are that nothing will be done to protect this minority. Or maybe because our city really does care about public health they will take away our right to drink. Public health my ass… Nova Stubbs is a freelance writer and activist, and is co-founder of Insurgent49. Nova resides in an undisclosed location in downtown Anchorage and may be contacted at nova@insurgent49.com. |
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2005
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Reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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