Two Disturbing Statistics

Trey Smith

Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.
~ from Census shows 1 in 2 People Are Poor or Low-Income by Hope Yen ~

Nearly 20% of women in the US are raped or suffer attempted rape at some point in their lives, a US study says.

Even more women, estimated at 25%, have been attacked by a partner or husband, the Centers for Disease Control said.

The findings form part of the first set of results from a nationwide study surveying sexual violence by intimate partners against men and women.
~ from Rape Affects Almost 20% of US Women, Study Says via BBC News ~

What might these awful statistics indicate? For starters, we live in a very unequal society, one in which a small segment is valued and the rest are devalued. All national efforts must be focused on maintaining or creating mechanisms to aid those with more than enough at the expense, of course, of those who do not have enough. Just remember, your poverty makes someone else's wealth possible.

Speaking of being devalued, we still live in a culture the exults male machismo and violence. Put those two together and you have a recipe for rape! Men are valued as leaders, fathers, husbands and titans of industry. Women, by and large, are devalued.

Don't think so? Women still earn less than men for comparable work. Women continue to be viewed by too many men as little more than objectified sex toys. And, if the Christian fundamentalists had their way, all wives dutifully would submit to the dictates of their husbands.

There are a lot of things wrong in this country, but these two statistics are sadder than sad!