Furore In Class Poem by Margaret Alice Second

Yesterday I demythologised the concepts of
victim and aggressor, claiming women must
accept responsibility for the reaction they elicit
from men, as my classmates still clamoured
about the poor innocent victims who wear mini-
skirts à la haute couture then endure the un-
wanted attentions of amorous men because
women must be free to express themselves
at the cost of everyone around them, wear
revealing or seductive clothing while men
are demonised for lack of decorum

I insisted women enjoy their power over men
and are accountable for the consequences if
they cannot stop their victims from turning on
them - all shocked in class - I added a lot of
people deserve to be killed, including myself,
we should accept responsibility for providing
provocation to the killer instinct, it is a mercy
we don't kill each other more often - there
rarely is such a thing as an innocent victim
once people are grown - what a furore in
class, everyone exclaiming in shock

If we continue to put the blame on the people
who are goaded beyond endurance, we shall
be stuck with a dysfunctional society forever -
oh wait, we ARE stuck with it, no reason to
fear anything will change, provocation will
always be called innocent victim and thus
we are assured of the status quo - what
a lovely prospect since society defends
the true culprits and punishes victims,
let us rejoice in nothing changing…