The shaming of drunk drivers

With any holiday comes an inevitable spate of ‘don’t drink and drive’ advertisements.  Alarmingly, in our national newspapers and television are increasing cases of both men and women who are caught driving drunk day and night, especially on the weekends.

Now, the reports of the courtroom proceedings are almost invariably stern and overbearing, and seemingly designed to frighten people into not drinking and driving, instead of inducing them to use their good sense to take care of themselves.
 Questions about whether an offender has children or if he or she is married often seems out of line and a bit too personal. If there is any message to be put across through those questions, it is likely to fall flat with those people who are getting drunk or high as a kind of temporary ‘mini-rebellion’ against some of the confines of their lives … which is to say, it’s likely to fall flat with precisely those people who need it most.

The escalating numbers of drunk drivers are only a fraction of the indication of what is really happening in the country in terms of alcohol among young people especially. This article is not meant to criticise or shame young drinkers, but it is meant to realistically bring a picture of what is happening out there and how it can possibly be redeemed. It is easy to note that we have an epidemic of binge drinking among young people - including young women - in this country, some of these cases have resulted in death, in car accidents as well as killings, if anyone remembers the Simunye Fun Fair incident a few years ago?

Though a few have done it, there is not one female who thinks that drinking to the point of blacking out is necessarily a healthy or safe thing to do - for a variety of reasons. We could stumble into the street and get hit by a car, or trip and fall and be severely injured, or pass out in the cold and freeze to death, the worst case being finding oneself at a greater risk for sexual assault.

All of the aforementioned incidents have happened to various members of both genders in states of extreme intoxication. Although the latter reason, sexual assault, would find one’s feminist card revoked from the powers that be, it is true and cannot be ignored.
As much as we rebuke ‘victim shaming’, we cannot shy away from the truth and reality of certain situations.
A couple of years ago, a body of a woman was found behind the waiting room at the Mangwaneni Bus Stop. Reliable sources claimed that the woman had been seen at a drinking spot, shebeen, a couple of hours before the claimed time of death. Reports revealed that the woman had been raped before being stabbed to death by her murderer.

For obvious reasons, if those in authority warn females, “Be careful of how much you and your friends drink at any party. A glass or two is one thing, but drinking more than that and everyone’s judgment - both yours and any guys that may be there - is no longer what you want for it to be,” the person delivering the message is vilified as a rape apologist.

Those of you familiar with our writing know that we are no rape apologists, and have been vocal critics of the blame the victim first and the rapist second mentality that permeates our criminal justice system. But we will also not be apologists for political correctness to the detriment of a cause that we care about.

While some advertisement campaigns and laws may not have completely nailed it visually speaking, we’re all for advertisements and judgments that discourage young women and young men from drinking to the point of being unable to safely operate a vehicle or being unsafe for another person to be around.

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