George Will is a Jerk...

No, really. He is. 

His recent Washington Post column about how sexual assault victims on college campuses have a "coveted status that confers privileges" is - to say the least - mind-boggling. 

Will may indeed be a prolific columnist who is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer. 

But in this case, George - you're a jerk. 

So (if I had a daughter) if my daughter is raped on a college campus, she should consider herself PRIVILEGED. Really? 

Let's review. From a plain old dictionary:

Rape: The crime, typically committed by a man, of forcing another person to have sexual intercourse with the offender against their will.

From the FBI:

Rape: Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or the anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. 

Sooooooooooo - what part of EITHER of these definitions claims to be a "privilege" for the victim? Think on that for a moment.

And then, let's go to my favorite place: His example of a woman who reported a rape, but in George's eyes, SHE was at fault. Here's his exact sentence:

Then add the doctrine that the consent of a female who has been drinking might not protect a male from being found guilty of rape. 

Shall we go into the fact that perhaps the woman was drugged? Shall we go into the fact that we should be teaching young men that if a woman is drunk (no matter how she got that way), it's just better all the way around for him to walk away, and protect both of them? 

I mean really - I've raised boys. I hope that I have taught them to be respectful of women. And to understand that if a woman is drinking, his job is to make sure she gets home safely. That's it. Even if, under the influence of alcohol, she claims to be receptive to any advances, just walk away. 

Is that cowardly? No. It's also not a cop-out or calling the woman the victim or the instigator. I'm saying that we need to look at the facts.

College kids are stupid. Let's face it, perhaps it's their first time away from home without parental supervision. I work at a university. I see the stupid in otherwise smart kids. 

Parents need to educate their girls to take care of themselves and honor themselves. I don't drink, and I never have. I despise the prolific use of alcohol on campuses, but I'm also a realist. Kids will do stupid things. 

Parents also need to educate their boys that they need to (a) not blame the woman -- it's totally NOT about how she dressed or what she said. Use the brain you were given and don't be a jerk; and (b) recognize when you need to just make sure the person is in a safe situation and then go home. 

Sex isn't a "right." It's a decision best-made by a couple who aren't in the midst of alcohol fumes. 

George Will has done some significant writing on some meaty subjects, and perhaps his insights have merit. Obviously the Pulitzer people thought so.

But on this topic?

He's so far off-base that Neil deGrasse Tyson couldn't even find him in the Cosmos...