#date-rape

There’s lots of people that feel it went too far with the addiction storyline and feel that Willow is OOC for it but for me it made perfect sense and I’m glad they went there because internal problems can and do manifest externally when they’re that that concealed. Emotional addiction can turn into physical addiction. The metaphor can become literal. For me it was a very brave choice to go there. And you really gotta love the way Willow’s magic-addicted mind works. Her way of “fixing” the destructive and violating shit she does is to do something even more destructive and violating.

I mean observe the last three episodes: ‘All The Way’, ‘Once More, With Feeling’ and ‘Tabula Rasa’ for example:

Willow has constant fights with her girlfriend about her abuse of magic. Her way of “fixing” their relationship breaking down because of their constant fighting is to erase her girlfriend’s memories of their fighting about her abuse of magic with magic and then have sex with her while she can’t remember the memories about the recent fight they had that would immediately negate her consent to have sex or any physical intimacy with her at all. Then when that whole incident gets involuntarily exposed, Willow then decides it’s a good idea to erase Tara’s memories about that whole incident and now Tara can’t even remember who the fuck she even is at all. I don’t know about you guys but I would say that’s grounds for a restraining order, never mind just a break up. I mean fuck me, if she carried on any further with that mindset of “magic will fix everything” she’ll probably end up killing the woman out of just being incredibly reckless and careless with her.

Oh, Willow…

Like sweetie, this method to sweep your addiction under the rug never worked the first time. What makes you think it’ll work this time? Keep crossing this never-ending dangerous road and you’ll get either yourself or someone else seriously fucking hurt. Honestly, every time something difficult or traumatic happens to you or even just something you don’t like, you pull out those magic books. Magic is not gonna fix yours or anyone else’s overwhelmingly hard life darling. It’s gonna be the reason why somebody you love and that loves you loses theirs! Likely your girlfriend. You know the woman you claim to love and care for but can’t seem to stop abusing. She’s literally begging you to sort your extremely toxic shit out or she’ll leave you! I mean she really kinda has to considering you doing the insane immoral shit you’re doing with your beloved magic puts her life in danger! And yours! And everyone’s else’s! Girl, stop or you’re gonna end up the thing you desperately do not want to be. Alone and uncared about! You’re gonna end up wrecking your love life, your friendships and your mental health in one fell swoop m’dear. You really need to quit now ‘cause this addiction is going to ruin your life.

(Image from goodreads.com)

Whitney, D. (2010). The Mockingbirds. Hachette Book Group. ISBN: 978-0-316-09053-7; Hardcover $16.99 USD

Alex attends Themis Academy, a quiet school with a prestigious student body. But that comes to a crashing halt when Alex finds herself date-raped, she is alone, not able to remember what happened, and not able to report the incident to the school administration. To her rescue, the Mockingbirds are there to bring the perpetrator to justice. As an underground justice group for the students by the students, the Mockingbirds work to battle crimes at the school when the school administration acts as though nothing is wrong. As Alex talks to the members of the Mockingbirds and her friends, she starts to remember more of what happened to her and discovers a lot about herself.

In today’s world with the “Me Too” movement and women having their voices heard, The Mockingbirds would encourage teens and young women to speak up about inexcusable behavior bestowed upon them. Due to the mature subject matter of the book, the best age for The Mockingbirds is 14 years old and up.

Scientists and technological developers are constantly inventing new devices that help prevent date-rape. Not long ago, a group of students invented a nail polish that changes colors when dipped in a drugged drink. Before that, others developed various strips and objects that will detect an unwanted drug in a drink. The newest invention of this sort is an electronic device and mobile app, under development by a company in Toronto.

The product, which is 3.5 inches long and looks like a USB drive, is called Personal Drink ID (pd.id). It can be dipped in a drink, and if it detects a date rape drug like GHB, will send an alert to a person's cell phone with the mobile app. The device is small enough to fit in a pocket, wallet, or purse.

Gamma Hydroxybutyrate, GHB, is a popular date rape drug that suppresses the central nervous system. When taken, people tend to fall asleep and lose consciousness. GHB comes in all forms, including a clear liquid, powder, capsule or tablet. It is frequently used as a date-rape drug because of its odorless and tasteless nature. People do not smell or taste it in their drink, which makes it undetectable and dangerous.