A victim looking for a place to become a tragedy

I almost made this post one of my "Doofus Of The Day" series, but out of respect for the dead I'll refrain. Nevertheless, the conduct of the deceased fits the definition of "doofus" to the Nth degree!

Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo was an Italian artist who decided to hitch-hike from Italy to the Middle East, dressed in a bridal gown, to "promote world peace". She and a similarly-dressed colleague called themselves "Brides On Tour".




What she hoped to achieve by that I'll never know . . . because she was murdered before she got there. She separated from her companion in Istanbul, planning to get together again in Beirut. After nothing had been heard from her for some time, her family tried to locate her. Turkish police traced a man who had used her cellular telephone, and he led them to her naked body.

I'm so furious about this that I could spit! Sure, I'm angry with her murderer, and I hope he gets the punishment he deserves: but most of all I'm angry with Ms. di Marineo. Just what the hell did she expect, hitch-hiking and walking in that fashion through a part of the world where "Women's Liberation" is a distant rumor and civilized standards are still decades (if not centuries) away? Where terrorism, family and clan feuds, and a male-dominated society are daily facts of life? Did she think she'd somehow be immune from those realities?

Her actions fall into the same category as those of women who choose to walk alone, at night, wearing revealing clothing, through dangerous areas of US cities. Ladies, you have the right to choose to behave like that: but you'd better be prepared to face the consequences. Whether you like it or not, there are people on our streets who regard you as nothing more or less than sex on the hoof. That's reality. They'll rape you as soon as look at you. I know. I've had to deal with many of them as a prison chaplain. I've heard them sneer about "bitches" and "ho's" and claim that their victims enjoyed what they did to them. Remorse? You must be joking!

By her actions Ms. di Marineo put herself in a position of danger and couldn't escape it. She bears as much responsibility for the consequences as does her murderer. If she'd shown even a tiny spark of common sense she wouldn't have come within hundreds of miles of him, and she'd still be alive. I don't seek to minimize the guilt of the criminal in the least: but she handed herself to him on a gift-wrapped platter. Bad, bad move - terminally bad, in her case.

Her sister Maria told reporters, "Her travels were for an artistic performance and to give a message of peace and of trust, but not everyone deserves trust."

No s***, Sherlock!!!

What is it with addle-brained touchy-feely warm-and-fuzzy whackjobs that makes them believe they can get away with nonsense like this? And why don't they learn from the tragic examples of so many of their kind who find out they're wrong - the hard way?

Sheesh!

OK, end of rant . . . and may Ms. di Marineo's soul rest in peace. I'm sorry she's dead, and I hope and pray that others of her ilk will learn from her fate and not make the same mistake.

Peter