Another showing of Racism at Johns Hopkins University

I have already shown you that some white students continue to act their racism out in the form of entertainment (See Texas Law article below). Again, thanks to a classmate, I have been informed AP News is reporting that Johns Hopkins University has suspended the Sigma Chi fraternity because of a “Halloween in the Hood” party that drew protests by black students.

The AP writes that “The invitation to the party, posted on the Web site Facebook, encouraged guests to wear “regional clothing from our locale” with jewelry including “bling bling ice ice, grills” and “hoochie hoops.”The party, held Saturday night at the fraternity house, featured a skeleton pirate hanging on a noose.”

 The frat’s website post a quote saying,

“Character without action has little meaning in this world. But leadership—acting in accordance with your character—can change the world.”

– Bill George
Georgia Tech 1964
What character are they displaying? What leadership are they showing? With Halloween today, it is not suprising that some whites will dress in black face in an attempt to mask their racist views in the form of this celebration. The key is to recognize it, call it for what it is, and continue to educate whites, as well as blacks, that this behavior will not be tolerated.

The GOP tried the Bigger Thomas technique!

Normally, I will not post twice in a day. But, I had been swamped studying and had not made my rounds to my friends blogs. When I did, I was outraged to read of Skeptical Brotha’s blog (see link to the right) that the Republican Party of Tennessee has tried to use the ‘Bigger Thomas technique’ on Herald Ford, Jr.

For those unfamiliar with the ‘Bigger Thomas’, let me explain. Bigger Thomas is a ficticional (but all to real) character in Richard Wright’s novel Native Son. In the novel, Wright accurately captures the fear of a black male attempting to do the right thing, only to bein a situation with a white woman which he knew would arouse white racist fears concerning black men and white women.  (If you don’t know what these are, then I suggest you read anything by Richard Wright). Unfortunately for Bigger, his actions only lead to making his situation worse, and begins his spiral down.

In regards to Ford, Jr, the Republican Party (Grand Old Party) played an add which linked Ford, Jr, a young, handsome, educated black male with a white Playboy Bunny.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15418962/ 

The add was taken down when the NAACP and others called the add for what it was, an attempt to prey on the racist sentiments of white voters in Tennessee to insure Ford, Jr  is not elected. This shows how low the Replublicans there will go.  It is sad and is a shame.  I am not saying all Republicans are like this, I am talking about the ones who chose to campaign racism over issues.  

For an analysis of the entire ad, see the video below.

Are you Suprised Snoop Dogg was Arrested?

I have to admit, I like Snoop Dogg’s music. When Snoop was in his prime in the early to mid 90s I was in middle and high school. I was a part of the syndrome I spoke of in the below post “Act Like the Middle Class Negro You Are.” I also admit that Snoop Dogg influenced many of my peers. I would even go as far as to say that he was one of the most influential people to my generation of African Americans. Why?

Snoop make it common place to call girls “hoes” and he started the pattern of  “I don’t love them hoes.” He took passion out of relationships, and made young African American affection seem soft and corny.  Snoop was responsible for eliminating courtship from our generation and replacing it with casual sex and telling young black men that, “Real niggas don’t give a fu**!” That pattern continues even stronger today.

Snoop was also infuential to the spread of gangs into surburan culture. After all, Snoop was the loveable gang member.  His videos, for the most part,  showed parties, girls, and liquor. For young men (white or black) who could argue with that? Thus, Snoop might be the most influential person to African American culture.  

With all of that out of the way, MTV is reporting that Snoop was arrested outside of an airport for possession of marajuana and a gun. Now, from the person who told us over ten years ago that he would “stay high ’till the day that [he] die” and that fact that he is an open gang member, I ask, are you suprised?

Snoop’s arrest is the result of what happenned to many black men who embraced his music. He was arrested for doing the very things he brags about. The only problem is, that because so many of his followers suffer the same fate, his arrest is not a negative.  Instead, his followers will like him more because they feel he goes through the same things they do.  Worse yet, while the local street negro continues to get arrested and suffer financial strain, Snoop’s arrest is profitable because it makes him more marketable to his genre of followers. Therefore, it is a positive for him to get arrested.  No, he doesn’t want jail, because he can’t make money there.  But,  Snoop is not trying to get a job where you need a clean record.  Snoop makes money off of being a thug.

I am not saying don’t listen to the music. I am just saying look at the example. When you proclaim to be a pimp, a drug user, and a gang member, and you act on those things, the odds of you going to jail are increased.  Snoop doesn’t care because he has enough money not to. Plus, you buying his records justifies the behavior. But, for the local street thug, what’s your insentive? Who is paying you to go to jail?  

I know from experience in the District Attorney’s Office, that the majority of local thugs don’t even have the money to hire an attorney. Instead, after all the talk of “getting [your] lawyer to make sure the cop is transferred of Alaska,” you have to hire a public defender. In real life, you are not Scarface or Snoop Dogg. You are an uneducated, broke, hopeless negro destined to continue to cycle through the penal system. It is a sad fate. Look at the lessons of Snoop, but take in account you don’t have a million dollars. Is the behavior worth it. What do you think Snoop really tells his wife and kids when he gets out of jail? I don’t know for sure, but I can imagine it doesn’t sound like anything he has ever said on an album.

Another thought for you. MTV reports that “After being booked into the Burbank Police Department jail, Snoop was released at 7:50 p.m. on $35,000 bond.” Who out there can afford $35,000 secured bond? Don’t lie, don’t claim have it like that, don’t claim to be ballin’? Seriously, how many people can afford that? Not many, so for the local thug, think twice. Snoop got out the same day. You may be in jail until trial.

In sum, I was smart enough not to follow the examples of the rap music to which I listen. I hope you do the same.  

Black Greeks, Stop the Hazing! You are not Helping Anyone!

Recently, black male fraternity at Florida A&M were not punished for allegedly hazing potentials. There was a hung jury in the case.  In a sense, I am sure they feel they won! Everyone, and anyone, who is in an African American Greek organization knows they are guilty. We all know hazing exist. Most of us were hazed ourselves.  But, as we get older, we realize that hazing is not cool. It does not earn respect, and that such behavior only hurts the organizations.

 

Many will argue that hazing is a way of earning respect, and proving yourself. I ask, who is trying to gain respect from?  Hazing doesn’t prove anything.  Most people in these organizations will tell you that people who love to haze are also the same people who are not financial, do not pay dues, thus do not pay insurance for the reckless behavior they love to embrace. They are not active members.  They will attend parties, they will hang out, but they will not attend anything that requires the service these organizations demand.  In short, people who love to haze are parasites to our organizations.  They add nothing and act in a way that could take everything.

 

African American Greek Letter organizations are a way to uplift our culture and aid in our success.  It is not paying for friends. Instead, it is joining a network system. Most blacks who are in high ranking positions are Greek. These organizations serve many benefits to members and the community. However, if they are used for the purpose of beating on one another, they are pointless.  Certain chapters in each organization allover the nation run counter to the objectives they claim to live by.

 

Some final questions about hazing. Did the founders haze each other? Did they say, “before we start this, we need to make sure we are all good. So, let us beat on each other for a semester to a year to make sure I can trust you.” Remember most of the organizations were founder in or before 1913. Thus, many of the founders had parents and grandparents who were slaves (which ended in 1863).  Being so close to the brutalities of slavery, do you think the founders of our organizations meant to create a group in which blacks would inflict pain on each other.

 

 Do you think the founders would condone hazing today? Likely not. Truthfully, any founder of any of these organizations (in which the founders were doctors, lawyers, teachers, PhD students, and in esteemed professions) would think the process of beating each other to prove worth is juvenile and brutal.  When these organizations were founded, being an intelligent person in college was worthy of respect.  These groups were meant to uplift, not to beat down.  We need to get back to those ideals.

 

To the men at FAMU and fraternity/sorority members nationwide: get it together. You did not win. You are not more a Brother/Sister of your organization because you haze. You do not do them a favor. The potentials are not more employable now than they were before you allegedly beat them.  However cool they might be after the incident, the white man in the business world could care less about the brutalities you suffered. They don’t care how much wood you took. So, help your potentials. Get their grades together.  Help them become men. Don’t beat them like children.       

Texas Law Students WERE “Chastised” Over Racial Party! But, Which Ones?

The news is that the Dean of University of Texas at Austin School of Law “chastised’ students because they threw a racial party. The Western Star, on their website, reported about the photos that were posted online by the first year law students.

“The photos showed the students holding 40-ounce bottles in brown paper bags and wearing Afro wigs, gold teeth and such gang-related attire as bandanas, according to students who saw the images. Some of the party-goers wore name tags with names such as “Tanika” or “Jesus” to play on a black or Hispanic stereotype, the students said. The photos are no longer online.” 

So, according to the news reports, it is the white students that are being ‘chastised’ over the party.  I believe the reports are wrong. The ‘chastised’ are the African Americans and Latinos who were purposefully disrespected by their classmates. The minority law students are going to be consistantly chastised. How can they seriously look at their fellow white classmates and believe they see them as anything more than a joke, a prop, someone to dress up as to mock. True, school and life will go own and apologies will be made, but the inner scars of disrespect and ridicule will remain. Everytime the blacks and hispanics see the white classmates who dressed up to mock them will be a reminder of this event. Can they remain in study groups with those people. Can they trust them?

The media should realize that it is the minorities that were chasitised. Is the media upset because whites are being told they went too far? Well, the truth is that they did go too far.  How are the minorities to feel now that the media is making it seem as if the Dean is harrassing the white students over the party? It seems like the media is attempting to invalidate the emtions of the minorities. The media is taking this as just kids being kids and not a big deal. But people were offended. Law students, at a minimum, are college graduates. UT is a good school where many of the students are among the brightest to attend any law school.  Is this the way we want our future advocates to act?    

It is hard to comprehend that in this modern day of our society, whites still insist on mocking and disrespecting the hard working minorities which they (we) are supposed to be beside as colleagues. Regardless of apologies and retractions, this was a clear display that the racial divide is still alive and well in Texas.  

Further, UT Law has an important place in our societies racial development. In 1950, the U.S. Supreme Court, for the first time, ordered a white school to admit a black student. U. Texas Law had to admit the black male instead or forcing him to attend Prairie View University (the Negro) School of Law.  The court said, who would choose the other if given the choice. Also in 1950, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that once a black was admitted, they could not be segregated from other students.

 

The case citation is Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629, 70 S.Ct. 848 (1950). 

Pertinent language quoted from the case includes: 

It appears that the University has been restricted to white students, in accordance with the State law. See Tex.Const. Art. VII, ss 7, 14; Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat. Arts. 2643b, 2719, 2900 (Vernon, 1925 and Supp.) The University of Texas Law School, from which petitioner was excluded, was staffed by a faculty of sixteen full-time and three part-time professors, some of whom are nationally recognized authorities in their field. Its student body numbered 850. The library contained over 65,000 volumes. Among the other facilities available to the students were a law review, moot court facilities, scholarship funds, and Order of the Coif affiliation. The school’s alumni occupy the most distinguished positions in the private practice of the law and in the public life of the State. It may properly be considered one of the nation’s ranking law schools.
The law school for Negroes which was to have opened in February, 1947, would have had no independent faculty or library. The teaching was to be carried on by four members of the University of Texas Law School faculty, who were to maintain their offices at the University of Texas while teaching at both institutions. Few of the 10,000 volumes ordered for the library had arrived; nor was there any full-time librarian. The school lacked accreditation.Students of the interim School of Law of the Texas State University for Negroes (located in Austin, whereas the permanent School was to be located at Houston) shall have use of the State Law Library in the Capitol Building * * *.’ Tex.Laws 1947, c. 29, s 11, Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat. (Vernon, Supp.), note to Art. 2643b. It is not clear that this privilege was anything more than was extended to all citizens of the State. 

Whether the University of Texas Law School is compared with the original or the new law school for Negroes, we cannot find substantial equality in the educational opportunities offered white and Negro law students by the State. In terms of number of the faculty, variety of courses and opportunity for specialization, size of the student body, scope of the library, availability of law review and similar activities, the University of Texas Law School is superior. What is more important, the University of Texas Law School possesses to a far greater degree those qualities which are incapable of objective measurement but which make for greatness in a law school. Such qualities, to name but a few, include reputation of the faculty, experience of the administration, position and influence of the alumni, standing in the community, traditions and prestige. It is difficult to believe that one who had a free choice between these law schools would consider the question close.

From the actions of the students at UT Law, it is hard to tell that the ideological views in Texas has changed since 1950.

Act like the Middle Class Negro You Are

It must be understood as a premise, that in my opinion, African American culture is rooted in the projects. Meaning, most African Americans identify the race by struggle, inequity, and hardship. Thus, to struggle is to be black. Conversely, many believe that those who do not struggle are sell-outs. There seems to be a problem in our culture claiming the middle class. African Americans who do not struggle like others still want to identify with the culture. They (we) want to belong. But, how we identify and attempt to assimilate is the problem.

 

This concept is particularly difficult for students to understand. African American students go to universties, many of them good ones, to find they are one of few African Americans there. What happens when they get to the prestigious university? They begin to act as if they themselves are from the “streets.”  Black women become loud and black men become overly aggressive. Indeed, this is mostly a freshman phenom, as older college students with career tracks attempt to assimilate back to their middle class roots. 

 

 In most cases, the African Americans who go selective colleges are from middle class backgrounds, and did not act the way they do before they got to college. So, why do they do it?  It is a vain attempt to hold on to a culture which they never neatly fit in to begin.  It is theatrics. They “act” black to let others know they are not yet ready to assimilate into white culture.

 

The problem with this act is that it is just that. Truthfully, the actor can only act that way around their small group of friends.  Inherently, they will be within a small circle because the numbers of African Americans at selective universities are small (I am saving a discussion for HBCUs for later).  The thespian can go to the club, act ghetto, shake her ass, look hard, drink, do drugs, or whatever.

 

When that happens, the whole purpose of getting good grades in high school, a high SAT score, and accepting that scholarship, or financial aid check, to that major university is fruitless. You have moved up only to act more like the people you attempted to escape.  The humorous part, if any, is that if you went back home, the people from “the streets” would not accept you because you were the person who never had to worry about anything.  They never knew you to struggle.  You had good grades.  Teachers liked you. You had nice cloths. You had a car.  They do not believe you are creditable.  And so the thespian, while trying to act like the people from the “streets,” always despises the fact that the “streets” do not respect the show.

 

Young college bound African Americans should realize that they don’t need to act. The projects, which media allows to define African Americans, is not what conclusively will define you. In the end, education, hard work, and success define people. Why cater to a group of people who you truthfully will want to deal with as an adult?  Acting ghetto, looking ghetto, and talking ghetto will leave you unemployed. After college, you do not want to work at a place that would hire people with those qualities. Those jobs don’t pay well. You did not go to college to make what you could have if you stayed at home.  

 

The ‘hood’ may not respect it, but you struggle; but, your struggle is different. You struggle in a society where you are truly the minority. There are not many African Americans in college. You struggle to compete for good jobs. You struggle to earn enough money to pay back your loans. You struggle with knowing you are in a better position than most African Americans, but still are not where you want to be. Be proud of that struggle. Be proud of progress. You are not definable by what MTV characterizes blacks to be. You are not an actor. You are a person trying to make it in our society.

 

 

Our culture has made it difficult to be able to admit that as a black person, they didn’t struggle. For instance, I grew up in the suburbs. Everyone who knows me knows that. Both of my parents, who are still married, have good jobs. My family is educated. I am not a first generation college graduate. You don’t hear, or read, rants like mine that much. It’s almost a secret of African Americans in college.

 

My point is simple. Be proud to be middle class. Say it proud. And act in a like manner. You are not a sell-out because you are smart, educated, and might have more money in your pocket than the average.  Quit acting “ghetto.” It’s not you.

Domestic Violence = Relationship Violence

Having interned in three district attorney’s offices in North Carolina, I’ve recognized one problem which unifies them all. The question is, what can be done to convict perpetrators of domestic violence?

The problem is two-pronged; I believe the main problem is that there is not a sense of awareness of them.

To begin, the term “domestic violence” seems rigid, technical and out of focus to many of the youth in our community. The truth is, domestic violence is “relationship violence.”

Meaning, if your boyfriend, girlfriend or acquaintance harms you, it falls within the realm of this crime.

I have seen women in court who wait until the extreme –––– when they are hospitalized, seriously injured or permanently disfigured — before they appear in court.

I believe much can be avoided if they bring the man to court when the first slap, punch or grab occurs.

The second and most troubling part of this act is when brave women do bring charges, appear in court, only to ask for a dismissal.

Undoubtedly, after people in a relationship fight, the make-up process is faster than the judicial process.

Women often do not want to get their men in trouble. In a sense, I understand. After all, many share apartments, cars and some sort of bond. However, abuse is a pattern.

Often, many of the men brought in on female assault charges have multiple charges of the same crime.

Unfortunately, many of those are dismissed because of uncooperative female witnesses.

This uncooperative behavior results in repeated physical abuse and the woman’s eventual return to the justice system. Yet she often will ask the district attorney to dismiss the new charge

Thus, when women are unwilling to aid in prosecuting violent men, the violence will likely continue.

So many times during my internships in the various counties I would think, “Why do you continue to go through this?”

Indeed, many women will say, “I don’t know why I go though this.”

Yet they pick up the perpetrator from jail the same day. Something has to give.

I want women to be strong and send a message to the men with whom they deal–– that violence will not be tolerated.

This is not some campaign to get excited about while you read, but to hide behind the guise of “it’s not me” when you get home.

If you are in a relationship with someone who is abusive, don’t be afraid to press charges.

And, after you do so, show up at court and allow the assistant district attorney to prosecute your partner.

No woman deserves to be hurt physically or emotionally. Do not let your partner get away with abuse.

You are not doing him a favor. You are only adding to your future heartache and strife. Be the strong woman you know you can be.

Go Ahead, Get Low, and Consent to the Touch

Lil John told females to ” bend over to the front, touch your toes, bounce that ass up and down and get low.”  They responded in droves.  In young African American society, it is common place for clubs and parties to mirror strip clubs.  Dancing has involved from a seductive form of affection to outright simulated sex.  Yet, I consistently hear the argument from females that “I don’t understand why guys touch all over me and ask me for sex in the club.” The basis for my argument is twofold. First, I will explore the legality of touching women and if it amounts to an assault or common law battery. Second, I will address the degradation of our African American youth by acting in such overly sexual ways in public.  

In the legal word, a common law battery occurs when a person, for purposes of this discussion a male,  acts intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the person of another or a third person, and a harmful or offensive contact with the person of the other directly or indirectly results.

There is no question that the unwanted touching of a woman justifies a battery, and in most jurisdictions, the statutory crime of assault on a female. However, a defense to battery is “consent.” There are two types of consent, express and implied.  Express intent is when one overtly states that is acceptable to perform the touch that would otherwise,  in the context of this discussion,  be offensive.  Implied consent exist when the consent is formed from one’s conduct. This implied consent is what is at issue. Does the conduct of some women in club settings give implied consent to touching? I believe the answer is in the affirmative. 

For the conduct to rise to the level of implied consent I believe four factors must exist. Many women claim that these factors are a matter of right, and that they do not deserve certain treatment because they allow themselves to fit in these categories. However, it should be noted that for implied consent the test is an objective one. That is, would a “reasonable person” believe that they are consenting to the activity based on the conduct.  It is not a subjective standard of “what I personally intended to consent to by my actions.” Thus, for women who say it is my right to participate in the factors, I respond by saying simply that it is not about what you personally intended by engaging in the factors. Instead, it is what a reasonable person would intend and expect based on the conduct. If a woman brought a legal claim, would she be successful?  

At the outset of my listing of factors, it should be known I believe any factor, standing alone, does not give rise to consent. Instead, at least two or more need to be present for the implied consent to be attached to the act.

With that said, the factors I believe rise to the level of implied consent for women to be touched in a club include: (1) clothing which overly exposes the body; (2) dancing with anyone (male or female) in a style which simulates a sex act; (3) dancing in the manner described in (2) to music with highly suggestive sexual lyrics and ; (4) touching of the dance partners body parts. Each factor will receive an individual analysis.

Factor 1 – Clothing which overly exposes the body 

There is no doubt that men love to see scantly clad women. It is also known that local stores sell women’s’ cloths where skirts get shorter by the summer, and tops seem to reveal more of girls’ breast. Such is a matter of taste, and does not normally reveal anything that would amount to indecent exposure.

 

I believe such attire standing alone, is appropriate to wear in a club. There is a truth that in clubs, where intoxicating substances and consumed, that wearing such revealing cloths can have the dual effect of: (1) giving men an impression that you are loose and; (2) exposing more of yourself to strangers than you would normally do. This over exposure has the effect of saying, “Hey! Look at my ass!” Or, “Hey, look, my breast are out!” Surely enough, men get that message.

 

Even if that is not the message a woman is not trying to send, that is the message that is being received. Woman often take the position of, “It’s not my fault men look, I’m just here to chill with my girls.” This may be true, but a woman’s image and dignity is in her control. Don’t get mad if men take away the wrong message from the type of cloths you wear. Women have the right to wear what they want. Men have the right to interpret what ever signals they believe appropriate from what the woman wears.

Factor 2 – Dancing With Anyone (male or female) in a Style Which Simulates a Sex Act 

In an era of MTV, BET Uncut, and rap music from the southern regions tailored to strip clubs, there has been a vast movement in which dancing has become simulated sex. This is not suggestive, intimate, or sensual dancing. This form of dance includes females hands and/or  backs on the floor, mens pelvic regions firmly pressed against a females corresponding region or buttocks, and movement which essentially simulates sex acts. (See YouTube video below for an example) Often, a person can observe a man pick up a woman and bounce her on his pelvic region. In fact, men standing on walls, the traditional ‘wall flower,’ can now be found at his usual spot with a girl in front of him gyrating her buttocks on him. 

 

Again, this can lead to unintended consequences. First, if a woman simulates sex with one person, most other guys are going to want to simulate the sex act with you too.  This is because in a young teenage logical analysis, simulated sex leads to actual sex. In other words,  a teenage boy will think, “if she will grind her ass on me in front of these two hundred people in the club, imagine what she will do with me in private!”

 

Second, such loose behavior with strangers opens you up to contact with people whom you would not ordinarily include in your personal circle.  For example, clubs which are 18 and up do not just include college students.  Many of the men in these clubs are old, grown men. Why are they there? Because the ten dollars to get in the club is cheaper than getting in a strip club.  And, the benefits are greater. Women grind on men for free.  A guy may even get a phone number out of the deal.  If he’s lucky, the girl is as slutty as she dances.  So in essence,  while the girl may think she is just dancing and having a good time,  she is being set up by pedophiles all under the guise of a good time in the club.

 

Third, when a woman has her butt gyrating on a man’s penis, simulating a sex act, it is natural for the man to believe that it is appropriate to touch the woman. After all, the man’s sex organ is being purposefully stimulated.  If women do not wish to do this, then don’t grind on the male.  Once upon a time, men and women danced without being joined at the hips.  Going back to the implied consent theory, the woman’s act of stimulating the man’s penis leads the man to believe, objectively, that she consents to be touched. Therefore, he may touch the girls buttocks, her breast, and at a minimum, her hips to grind harder.  If women to not want to be touched, then the obvious remedy is to not dance so suggestively with men.  

Factor 3 – Dancing To Music with Highly Suggestive Sexual Lyrics 

Today’s music, rap specifically, has gotten to the point where there is no simile or metaphor. Marvin Gay sang of “love” and R&B singers of the 60’s and 70’s sang of “groovin.” Today, rappers sing songs with hooks like “Girl gimme dat pu***,” “back that ass up,” and “fu**in’ you tonight.” Also, in videos, rappers are seen with women who, in real life are strippers, dance like strippers and make it seem like it is the status quo to do so.  The result, women in clubs dance to songs which imply that they are easy.

 

Would a black person ride in their car blasting old speeches of David Duke, or the Grand Wizard of the KKK? Obviously not, and the reason is simply they do not adopt their views, and do not want others to think they agree with their ideology.  So, what is different when a rapper says “girl gimme that pussy” and women rush to the dance floor. Are women sending the message that they do not condone men making comments which are similar to the words of a rapist?  No, they are essentially signaling that they agree with the message.  Thus, they agree with the hard tone rappers take toward women, they agree that they should be giving it up (sex), and they are implying that they want to be touched.  The argument that “I just like the beat” is not enough. In fact, it is a weak argument.  Women should be more conscious than that.  Look beyond the beat.  What is the song saying? Do you adopt those views?  If you want to dance to such songs, know that others will believe that you condone what is said.  Again, would an African American go to a Klan meeting?  Similarly, if you do not adopt the views of certain rappers,  do not go to their concerts and clubs that play their music.

Factor 4: The Touching of the Dance Partners’ Body Parts 

This is obvious and will not receive much attention. Some women dance in such awkward positions and in such a way, that it is necessary to grab a man’s thigh, waste, on grab his back. Sometimes, this touching is just intentional without the need for assistance. Regardless, this only further leads to the act simulating sex, giving the male the idea that it is reasonable to touch the corresponding body part of the female.

Putting It All Together 

In sum, the four factors, in any cobination, would lead an objective person to believe that a woman consents to being touched in the club. Not all four need to exist, but at least two of them do. The question then becomes, how long does this consent last?  Women may concede that there is an implied consent when dancing, and thus, this blog is a waste of time!  However, many women will say that the consent does not extend past the dance.  I believe that this could be true but is not usually the case.  If a woman dances suggestively and then goes and sits down,  I believe they does not want to be touched again.  However, if a woman leaves one man for another, song after song, with the factors as described above, then I believe she is essentially consenting to be touched by anyone while she is on the dance floor.  Thus, a woman should not get mad if she has been grindin’ on men all night long and then gets her buttocks grabbed when she is walking though a crowd.  I believe the consent ends when the woman attempts to leave the dance floor, when the women expressly says do not touch me, or when the music stops and the club is over.

I believe that when women adhere to any combination of the above mentioned four factors, they in fact consent to being touched in a club and could not successfully win a legal claim for battery based on a touch in a club or club like setting.

For an example of the factors in action, minus the dancing with a partner, please watch the video below.