Just playing Devil's advocate here, I agree with what you guys are saying, but I'm probably going down a rabbit hole nonetheless...
Losty brings up something that I find interesting.
Is it not true we are for the most part simply a product of our environments? That our behaviours are learned from exterior influences? If so, say you have a rapist who has been brought up in a terrible environment, an environment of rape, maybe even killing. They didn't choose to be born into such an environment but for whatever reason that's all they know. In such a circumstance, how much self control can this person really have, if they do not even know what self control is? Is it their fault that they are the way they are? Do they have a choice or is that choice removed from them due to their environment?
In reality I doubt it's possible to be brought up in such extreme circumstances and never be exposed to any positive influence, so I doubt such a person would ever exist. But, the question still intrigues me, is it not fair to also call the person in this instance a victim? A victim of their environment maybe?
On a similar note, what about people with mental health problems? People who again, just don't even know what control is? Perhaps they have an entirely different perception of reality.
I can see an argument for calling people in these circumstances victims too, and I don't think it necessarily diminishes the person who's been raped by them, nor do I think it means you have to condone a rapist's actions, just because you could see them as a victim in a different kind of way.
Losty brings up something that I find interesting.
Is it not true we are for the most part simply a product of our environments? That our behaviours are learned from exterior influences? If so, say you have a rapist who has been brought up in a terrible environment, an environment of rape, maybe even killing. They didn't choose to be born into such an environment but for whatever reason that's all they know. In such a circumstance, how much self control can this person really have, if they do not even know what self control is? Is it their fault that they are the way they are? Do they have a choice or is that choice removed from them due to their environment?
In reality I doubt it's possible to be brought up in such extreme circumstances and never be exposed to any positive influence, so I doubt such a person would ever exist. But, the question still intrigues me, is it not fair to also call the person in this instance a victim? A victim of their environment maybe?
On a similar note, what about people with mental health problems? People who again, just don't even know what control is? Perhaps they have an entirely different perception of reality.
I can see an argument for calling people in these circumstances victims too, and I don't think it necessarily diminishes the person who's been raped by them, nor do I think it means you have to condone a rapist's actions, just because you could see them as a victim in a different kind of way.
