Today is Thanksgiving–a day for giving thanks, eating food, and bonding with family. But after the incredibly contentious and divisive 2016 election, a lot of people are worried they may get into fights with their family members over their presidential preferences. Worried you’ll get sucked in? Check out a roundup of some of the  best tweets about avoiding politics this Thanksgiving, and good luck!

Me: Don’t talk about politics at Thanksgiving
Inner Me: *scream I’m With Her & flip the table* pic.twitter.com/ZgfNs3Gror

— Tyler Philolius (@tylerphilolius) November 22, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post For All the People Who Don’t Want to Talk Politics With Their Relatives on Thanksgiving appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Don’t Shoot The Messenger?

Yesterday, CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin interviewed author Charles Kaiser, who is a Trump critic. But when he used the n-word when quoting Steve Bannon, Trump’s pick for White House strategist, she cut him off. “The fact that somebody used the N-word on this show–it is not OK. It is not OK, Charles Kaiser,” she said. She seemed to be close to tears when she interrupted the show and called for a break. Kaiser later wrote to CNN apologizing and also saying he mistook Bannon for Jeff Sessions. Yes, the n-word shouldn’t be normalized, but Kaiser quoted someone else, so didn’t Baldwin miss the point when she cut short the interview?

@BrookeBCNN by being scared of that word you give it power. The context was completely appropriate, esp. in regards to a cabinet member.

— Skyler Acord (@Skyduck64) November 22, 2016

You’re more upset over someone quoting a bigot than you are over that bigot. Don’t act holier than thou. YOU’RE the problem! @BrookeBCNN

— Nnenna..aaaaa (@Live_Beautiful) November 22, 2016

Rant Crush

RantCrush collects the top trending topics in the law and policy world each day just for you.

The post RantCrush Top 5: November 23, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

Every Thanksgiving, you might put down your fork for few seconds to ponder some puzzling mysteries. How did I eat this much? Why can’t I stop thinking about pie? Why should I bother laboring with fresh cranberries when cranberry sauce comes in an easy-to-open can?

We know you’d rather keep eating than answer these questions, so we’ve answered them for you. Here are some of Thanksgiving’s greatest mysteries explained by science.

 What makes turkey skin turn that luscious golden brown?

Home chefs across the nation aim to achieve that perfect golden turkey. They may not realize the same reaction that makes turkey’s skin golden also makes your skin golden when you apply self tanner: the Maillard reaction.

The Maillard reaction describes the interaction of sugars and amino acids that makes meat turn brown and tasty. When cooking a turkey, the heat catalyzes a reaction between simple sugars and amino acids and produces melanoidins. These chemical compounds give the turkey that beautiful golden skin. When applying a self tanner, the dihydroxyacetone (DHA) replaces the heat to catalyze the process. DHA reacts with the amino acids found in your dead skills cells to create a glowing (and sunless) tan.

This infographic from Compound Interest explains the chemistry of a fake tan:

Why does anyone bother making cranberry sauce from scratch?

It turns out that fresh cranberries are incredibly good for you. Keep these points in mind the next time you’re tempted to turn to a can.

But before we make the other Thanksgiving dishes jealous by praising cranberries too much,  let me ask just one question:

Have you ever eaten an unsweetened cranberry?

If not, suffice to say they rely on sugar as much as your neighborhood donut shop. But they have a wealth of other remarkable qualities that make their bitterness easy to forgive and explain why many people take the time to make cranberry sauce from scratch.

• They have antibacterial properties: A study from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute found that a compound in cranberries can render E.coli’s infectious powers useless. Tannins in cranberries were shown to interact with the bacteria cells molecularly and stop them from clinging to healthy cells. For example, cranberry juice compressed E.coli’s fimbriae (kind of like fingers) so they couldn’t get a grip on cells. Furthermore, E.coli grown in cranberry juice couldn’t form the biofilms (groups of concentrated bacteria) that lead to infection.
• They protect your brain: A Chinese study observed that the ursolic acid in cranberries could protect brain cells. First they injected mice with domoic acid, a toxin in shellfish that causes learning and memory problems. Then, the same mice were given ursolic acid and it helped reverse the cognitive damage.
• They might fight cancer: In addition to reversing cognitive damage, the ursolic acid in cranberries might also help fight cancer. One study found that ursolic acid has both preventative and therapeutic potential for cancer.

How did you eat so much?

You thought you were taking just a little bit of everything, but when you look at your plate, you realize the sum of its parts equals far more than a typical dinner. There’s no way you’ll eat it all.

Less than an hour later you’re staring at an empty plate. How did this happen?

It happened because of sensory specific satiety, the idea that your stomach (or really your brain) makes selective room for new flavors.

Humans evolved to eat a variety of foods, ensuring a full range of nutrients. You think you’re stuffed after eating a bowl full of spaghetti but when someone plops a piece of chocolate cake on your plate, you tuck in without hesitation. Your fullness caves to cravings for something new.

The Guardian quotes Laurent Brondel from the European Centre for Taste Sciences, asserting that even something as simple as a condiment can create the flavor variety that keeps you eating.

“I gave subjects some french fries and when they didn’t want them any more, I put some ketchup near the french fries and then the subjects started eating them again.”

The more variety, the more you can eat. And the typical abundance of choices on a Thanksgiving table exemplifies dining variety at its finest. That’s how you miraculously manage to clean your plate.

Did somebody say pie?

On that note, why do you always want more pie?

Pie. The grand finale of Thanksgiving dinner that you inevitably always have room for (thanks sensory specific satiety!). How many times have you heard or said, “I’ll just take a sliver…?” But that sliver tastes so good, why don’t you have just one more sliver? Half a pie later, you can’t believe you could have been so weak. Don’t worry, it’s not your fault.

No matter what type of pie you prefer, you can bet it has sugar in it. Maybe more than you thought. And this sugar content plays a huge role in why eating just a sliver of pie makes you crave even more.

Here’s the per-slice sugar content of America’s favorite pies, based on the highest rated Allrecipes.com iterations:

• Apple Pie: 40.3 grams of sugar (about 10 teaspoons)
• Strawberry Pie: 50.6 grams of sugar (about 12 1/2 teaspoons)
• Pumpkin Pie: 25.8 grams of sugar (about 6 teaspoons)
• Cherry Pie: 32 grams of sugar (about 8 teaspoons)
• Blueberry Pie: 14 grams of sugar (about 3 1/2 teaspoons)
• Pecan Pie: 37.8 grams of sugar (about 9 1/2 teaspoons)
• Lemon Meringue: 35.2 grams of sugar (about 9 teaspoons)
• Chocolate Pie: 25.5 grams of sugar (about 6 teaspoons)
• Chess Pie: 38 grams of sugar (about 9 teaspoons)

Current United States dietary guidelines don’t weigh in on recommended sugar intake. To give you some perspective, the World Health Organization recommends that adults consume no more than 25 grams of sugar a day. That’s about 6 teaspoons. Most of these pies cover that, and then some.

Even if you’re not particularly worried about your weight, this sugar surplus could have some interesting effects on your brain. Sugar activates your brain’s reward system in similar ways to alcohol, drugs, and hanging out with friends. The chemical dopamine underlies this elated feeling. If you’ve never eaten sugar before, an ice cream cone will cause a spike in dopamine and you will feel amazing. The more you eat ice cream, the more you need to get that amazing feeling back. It’s the same process that makes people addicted to alcohol and drugs, except far less extreme. Trying to eat just a sliver of pie? You better have some amazing willpower.

What happens in your body when you overeat?

According to Dr. Sasha Stiles, a physician at Tufts Medical Center, icy beverages cause your stomach to contract. The contractions massage the food in your stomach and push it along the gastrointestinal tract more quickly than usual. With an empty stomach, your body will think it’s hungry again. And that’s just the tip of the overeating iceberg.

Don’t get too scared. Thanksgiving only comes once a year. If you had Thanksgiving dinner every day though, it could wreak havoc on your body. NPR has the full story:

Overeating can easily spiral out of control until your body can’t adjust. For example, when you eat too much sugar, your pancreas produces extra insulin to get it out of the blood stream. When the brain senses a return to safe blood sugar levels, insulin production stops. Often too much sugar was taken away however, and cravings for even more sugar return with a vengeance.

Chronic overeating can even stop the receptors in your stomach from recognizing it’s full. Tissue at the top of the stomach sends a signal to the brain when the stomach fills up. Overeating frequently disrupts the messaging system and your brain doesn’t get the full stomach red flag.

 Why are you so sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner?

We thought we had this one figured out with tryptophan in turkey. It turns out that’s a myth. What makes you sleepy is actually the tryptophan in carbohydrates.

The tryptophan in turkey doesn’t actually get to your brain

It turns out, talking MORE about tryptophan in turkey might make you more sleepy than the actual tryptophan in turkey.

When you consume the amino acid tryptophan, your body metabolizes it to make niacin and serotonin. Serotonin produces a lovely relaxed feeling and helps create melatonin, a hormone that controls sleep cycles. Thus where the sleepy-turkey myth probably comes from.

Eating turkey is not equivalent to taking an IV of concentrated tryptophan. Turkey contains many other amino acids that compete with it to get into the bloodstream. So when you eat turkey, you don’t absorb enough tryptophan to even produce serotonin.

WebMD quotes Elizabeth Somer, MA, RD:

“Tryptophan, which is a bulky amino acid, would have to stand in line to get through the blood-brain barrier with a whole bunch of amino acids. It would be like standing in line when the Harry Potter movie comes out and you didn’t get in line early enough. The chances of getting in [to see the movie] are pretty slim. That’s what happens when you eat a protein-rich food. Tryptophan has to compete with all these other amino acids. It waits in line to get through the blood-brain barrier and very little of it makes it across.”

Furthermore, many other foods like chicken, pork, cheese, eggs, fish, and tofu pack the same tryptophan punch as turkey. Soybeans actually contain twice the tryptophan as turkey. So you can’t blame the turkey for your Thanksgiving sluggishness.

You do absorb tryptophan from carbohydrate-laden sides

Mashed potatoes, multiple stuffings, crescent rolls…

An assortment of delectable carbohydrates usually round out our Thanksgiving plates. It turns out they don’t just taste good, they make us feel good too.

Remember how we don’t really absorb the tryptophan in turkey? Well, you can absorb it from carbohydrates–absorb it and use it to make serotonin. A study by Richard Wurtman confirmed that consuming carbohydrates stimulates serotonin production. This happens thanks to the hormone insulin.

Carbohydrates convert to glucose in the intestines and then glucose enters the bloodstream, triggering the release of insulin. Insulin decreases the blood plasma levels of other amino acids–AKA tryptophan’s competitors. Without the competition of other aminos, tryptophan can cross the blood brain barrier and convert to serotonin. Serotonin has been linked to relaxed moods and sleep, among other things.

So it’s your stuffing, and not the turkey itself, that causes that elated, post-dinner sleepiness.

Bon Appetit!

That should be enough conversation starters to keep everyone from falling asleep in their mashed potatoes. Don’t forget to steer clear of icy beverages and double up on the cranberries. If you’re getting bored of turkey leftovers, just buy more condiments. But mostly, enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner!

Resources

Primary

NIH: Tryptophan

NIH: Ursolic Acid in Cancer Prevention and Treatment: Molecular Targets, Pharmacokinetics and Clinical Studies

Additional

About: Does Eating Turkey Make You Sleepy

WebMD: The Truth About Tryptophan

CompoundChem: How Do Tanning Lotions Work? The Chemistry of a Fake Tan

Guardian: The Science Behind Stuffing Your Face at Christmas

Psychology Today: Cranberries are a Smart Choice for Your Brain

Psychology Today: Serotonin: What It is and Why It’s Important for Weight Loss

LSUAG Center: Nutraceutical Compounds and Antioxidant Content of Sweet Potatoes

Rodale News: Your Recommended Sugar Intake: Less Than a Soda Per Day

Medical Daily: How Does Sugar Affect Your Brain? Turns Out in a Very Similar Way to Drugs and Alcohol

NPR: Gut Reaction: Overeating Can Impair Body Function

Ashley Bell

Ashley Bell communicates about health and wellness every day as a non-profit Program Manager. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from the College of William and Mary, and loves to investigate what changes in healthy policy and research might mean for the future. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post This is Why You’re Sleepy at Thanksgiving (Hint: It’s Not the Turkey) appeared first on Law Street.

Thanksgiving is the time of year when you sit back and think about all the things for which you are thankful. I made up my list. Of course my family, friends, shelter, yada yada yada, is all there. But let me move away from that boring stuff and tell you what I am really thankful for this year: that I don’t have neighbors with an annoying propensity to make noise all night.

Dog-Tired

Don’t we all hate when our neighbors cannot control their pets? Of course, it is a lot worse when they could control their pets but choose not to do so. However, worst of all is when they do not even have a dog, but still insist on blasting dog barking sounds over speakers pointed straight at our houses. Right?

So have you always wondered what it is like to be one of the rich and famous? Apparently it is a world full of annoying fake dog noises. At least it is in the case of former “Baywatch” star David Charvet and his wife Brooke Burke-Charvet, a former host of “Dancing with the Stars.”

The Charvets are in an interesting situation. Their neighbor, “The Bachelor” creator and Texas Chainsaw Masaacre producer Mike Fleiss, has decided to harass them in an unusual way. He set up speakers, pointed them toward their house, and played a new CD–“The Sounds of Dogs Barking” (at least I assume that is where he got his dog noises. It’s where I get all of mine.)–at all hours of the night. The Charvets are one of those unique couples who like to sleep at night, so they actually did not appreciate all this racket. And neither did the cops. They charged Fleiss with disturbing the peace.

This could possibly be good news for his neighbors who have tried and failed to get a restraining order against Fleiss in the past because what better way to prove you need one than to show the criminal record he got from the things he did to you?

One last note about this: where did Fleiss come up with this idea? Maybe it just popped into his very creative head; however, an alternate theory is that it came upon him in a dream … that was interrupted by the real barking dogs over at the Charvets’ house.

It’s Like (Not) Watching the Grass Grow

When I am asleep in the wee hours of the morning–meaning, of course, any time before noon–I do not want to be disturbed by my neighbors mowing the lawn. Wait until normal hours to do that, please–like 4:30 in the morning because I am still out partying at that hour.

Philip Ray Gage wanted to give his neighbors a nice surprise, but he chose an odd hour to do it. This is what I imagine led up to the crazy event: Gage was lying in bed and could not sleep. There was something weighing on his mind. The grass was growing right outside his window and there was nothing he could do about it. Wait! There was one thing he could do! Go out and mow the lawn. So he did. But he was not a selfish man. He did not want to be the only one to benefit from his stroke of genius. So when he was done with his own yard, he moved on to the neighbor’s.

Courtesy of Giphy.

One of his other neighbors was clearly jealous that he did not get special treatment, though, because when Gage was almost done with the lawns, the cops showed up and told him it was illegal to mow lawns at 4:30 in the morning. Then, they wrote him a ticket for the same thing that caused Fleiss to get one–disturbing the peace.

So, yeah, that is definitely what I am thankful for this year; kind neighbors who don’t disturb my peace. I need my sleep, after all.

Ashley Shaw

Ashley Shaw is an Alabama native and current New Jersey resident. A graduate of both Kennesaw State University and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, she spends her free time reading, writing, boxing, horseback riding, playing trivia, flying helicopters, playing sports, and a whole lot else. So maybe she has too much spare time. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post This Thanksgiving Be Grateful That These People Aren’t Your Neighbors appeared first on Law Street.

As both a holiday shopper and retail-worker veteran, I’ve experienced Black Friday from inside and out. Despite the fact that I’m not really an active bargain-hunter (I prefer to be surprised by deals as I’m randomly browsing), it’s a tradition for me to visit my local mall every year, whether I’m working in a store or shopping myself. This year I’ll be running around the Banana Republic store at The Mall at Short Hills, one of the most sophisticated malls in the country (but trust me, even there people can behave a little primitively for a good deal, especially on Black Friday). So with the big day just a week away, I’d like to share some tips on surviving the holiday without running into any legal troubles. Happy shopping!

1. Don’t Trample and/or Kill Retail Workers

Remember back in 2008 when a Walmart employee died upon opening the doors for anxious shoppers? There have apparently been seven Black Friday-related deaths and 90 injuries since 2006. While Walmart should be held somewhat accountable, given the unfair ways it treats its employees, shoppers also need to calm down. I know heavy advertising and tempting deals can certainly feed into the hype and excitement of getting to be the first one in the store, but come on guys, you’re supposed to show gratitude on Thanksgiving. Don’t be so greedy.

2. Don’t Show Up Until Thanksgiving is Officially Over

With more and more stores opening on Thanksgiving Day to accommodate shoppers who choose to spend their holiday waiting in line instead of being with their families, retail workers end up missing out on spending the holiday with their families too. Lucky magazine compiled a list of its favorite stores that will not be open on Thanksgiving. Support them! I know being around family can be stressful, but some people actually like their families. So out of respect for retail workers, spend the day enjoying your family’s company at home–and then maybe peace out early saying you have to rest up for the next day. (Kidding! Okay, well, kind of.)

3. Please, For the Love of God, Try to Keep the Stores Neat

As a visual specialist, nothing angers me more than setting up a display only for a customer to dismantle it the second I turn around. You know what’s part of a sales associate’s job description? Finding the right size for customers. So when in doubt just ask, because it’s a lot easier for the person who folded the pile to begin with to pull a size, than for a customer who may already have their hands full of other items. That said…

4. …Please Be Patient with Sales Associates and Any Other Store/Mall Employees

Believe it or not we actually want to help you. It makes us happy and will make you happy. Trust me. Personally I am a very independent shopper. I don’t really like talking to people when I shop; I rarely even bring friends with me. But sometimes a manager or associate whose job it is to know all about the product may be able to offer something that you never would have known if you hadn’t given them your time of day. Did you know those shirts are non-iron? Those jeans come in three other washes. That dress would look great with these shoes. If you spend over $100 dollars today you get a free gift with purchase. I swear we’re not JUST trying to make a sale (most stores don’t even pay commission anymore), we just really like to help and offer our opinions, like we would for a friend.

But at the same time, try not to be too demanding of employees. Sometimes an associate, or even a manager may not know something about a product, because they are not the ones who produce the item. If you have any questions that store employees are not sure about, check out the store’s website or call its corporate headquarters. Customer service extends well beyond a company’s brick-and-morter locations.

5. Don’t Forget to Give!

Part of the reason I’ve loved working for Gap Inc. over the last three years is that they always give back. Every holiday season, stores “Adopt a Family” so employees can buy gifts for a family in need. And with around 100 employees per store, that’s a lot of potential to give. My store collects non-perishable foods from employees, as well. But there are still opportunities for customers to give too. Saks Fifth Avenue has had a partnership with St. Jude’s since 2006 and they host a lot of auctions and benefits, especially around the holidays. And of course there’s Macy’s famous Believe campaign with Make A Wish Foundation where for every letter to Santa put in their mailbox, they’ll donate one dollar. Also, don’t just ignore that Santa standing out in the cold collecting money for the Salvation Army. I usually just drop my change from Starbucks in there because it’s already in my hand anyway.

Have fun and happy holidays!

Katherine Fabian

Katherine Fabian is a recent graduate of Fordham University’s College at Lincoln Center. She is a freelance writer and yoga teacher who hopes to one day practice fashion law and defend the intellectual property rights of designers. Contact Katherine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Your Foolproof Black Friday Guide, Fashion Law Edition appeared first on Law Street.

In a lot of places Black Friday and the hours leading up to it has become as commonplace as Thanksgiving itself. After stuffing themselves on turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing, whole families crowd into the car to go wait out in the freezing cold (if you live anywhere in the North) and then fight over discounted TVs until the sun comes up. Black Friday has been starting earlier and earlier, but finally, some retailers are putting their feet down. There is an increasing number of companies that say they’re not going to open Thanksgiving night, or at the very least, late on Thanksgiving night.

The growing list of stores that aren’t going to open Thanksgiving night include Costco, Nordstrom, Patagonia, Dillard’s, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond, DSW, Gamestop, Hobby Lobby, and TJ Maxx. Other stores are using a different approach–Best Buy is going to open at 5:00pm, as opposed to 6:00pm last year, but then will close earlier so that employees can go home and get some sleep.

Others big retailers are planning on opening Thanksgiving night, or even earlier. Radio Shack, for example, has explained that three thousand of its stores will open at 8:00am on Thanksgiving Day.

The idea that some may close has thrown shopping centers into near-panic. Walden Gallaria, near Buffalo, New York, announced that any stores that don’t open when the mall does at 6:00pm will be fined. There’s no indication how much the fine will be, but apparently it’s enough that some smaller retailers have changed their plans and will be operating on Thanksgiving. Shaun Deutsch, who manages the small Tee Shirt University store, said:

We’re just stuck following the rules, because if we didn’t, we’d be fined by the mall and being a small company, that’s substantial to us. We can’t just pay that. We have to stay open. It’s been a lot different this year trying to find people to work. It’s not been easy. I’ve been forced to schedule myself because I can’t find anyone else, really, to help me out.

The idea that stores would be forced to open on Thanksgiving doesn’t sit very well with me, whether it be a small mom-and-pop shop, or big-box retailers. I applaud the stores that are taking steps to make sure that their employees don’t have to come in too early or at all.

What’s important to remember is that being open on Thanksgiving disproportionately affects certain parts of the population–minimum wage workers, young people, the lower class. Here’s an infographic from Demos that shows the demographics of the retail work force, with a particular focus on the low-wage earning segment.

Courtesy of Demos.

Many of the people who work retail could very much use a vacation–especially near the holiday season. As hours get longer and customers angrier, many of these workers may not see a day off until Christmas; and it’s almost certain that they don’t have the advantage of paid time off. For some, going in on Thanksgiving may be the difference between keeping and losing their job. All because some of us can’t wait to go get that gigantic flat screen.

Certain things–hospitals, police stations, gas stations–obviously need to be open on Thanksgiving. Retail stores simply don’t.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Don’t Be Jerks: Let Retail Stores Close on Thanksgiving appeared first on Law Street.

Good morning, loves! Happy turkey week!

Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday. I am a Thanksgiving super-fan. So, unsurprisingly, I’m having a super fabulous week because I’m just so EXCITED!

But the impending day of butter-soaked tryptophan isn’t the only reason I’m pumped this morning. I’m also pumped because Texas did something right.

Shocking, right? Rick Perry runs the Lone Star state. That’s never promising, especially not for women.  But! Apparently we’ve got some super-awesome Texans who are not fans of abusing and oppressing vagina-laden people.

YAY.

Here’s what happened: Over the weekend, a 19 year old woman accused 40-year-old police officer Jackie Len Neal of handcuffing and raping her while he was on duty.

According to her account of the events, Officer Neal pulled her over on the grounds that the car she was driving had been reported stolen. She produced a sales slip, proving ownership of the car, but Officer Neal wasn’t satisfied. He asked her to get out of the car so that he could pat her down.

The woman protested, asking for a female officer to perform the pat down, but Officer Neal ignored her. Instead, he groped her, put her in handcuffs, and then took her to the backseat of his patrol car and raped her. Then, he told her to keep the whole encounter a secret. Conveniently, the police car’s security cameras were not working properly.

What happened to this 19-year-old woman is terrible. This is the kind of shit I worry about when I think about getting pulled over. (Luckily, I’ve never been pulled over before—all-star driver over here.)

So, obviously, the actual rape is not why I’m pumped about Texas this morning. I’m excited because the San Antonio Police Department is handling it really well.

Cue gasps all around.

When the victim reported this crime, do you know what the SAPD did?

They ARRESTED Officer Neal.

There was no victim blaming or slut shaming. There was no ridiculing. There was no sweeping this incident under the rug.

Nope. Instead, Police Chief William McManus went on record to praise the victim for coming forward, to urge other victims to do the same, and to denounce Officer Neal’s awful behavior.

“There is no such thing as consensual sex on duty,” said McManus. “I feel silly even saying that we won’t tolerate it. Of course we won’t tolerate it. There is no gray area. This is a criminal offense.”

TEXAS FOR THE WIN!

Loves, here’s why this whole case is so exciting. Texas is a blood-red state, run by a far Right, uber-religious, Tea Party governor, who’s famous for enacting draconian legislation that screws everyone who’s not rich, white, straight, and male.

But actually.

This is the same state that, in 2011, tried to rewrite K-12 history textbooks to refer to slavery as the “Atlantic triangular trade,” demonize Social Security, valorize witch hunter Sen. Joseph McCarthy, and omit Pres. Thomas Jefferson and Pres. Obama from the record entirely.

Just a few days ago, the Guardian reported that the Texas Board of Education was trying to amend biology books to teach creationism and deny climate change. They’ve also, apparently, started referring to slaves as “unpaid interns” who were compensated not with money, but with “valuable career experience…and ample networking opportunities.”

Not to mention, just last week, Texas got the go ahead to start enforcing a law that would seriously restrict women’s access to safe abortions in the state. Its passage has caused abortion clinics to close left and right, and will deny 20,000 women access to abortion altogether, with many more facing delays and increased risks.

All things considered, Texas has a bad reputation when it comes to women. Really, really bad. That’s certainly not to say that all Texans are woman haters, or that Texas itself is an awful place to be.

But it is to say that, when it comes to the Texans who make the rules, they overwhelmingly support legislation that’s radically Right-wing and anti-feminist.

So this week, when a 19 year old woman accused a police officer of raping her, I had low expectations.

I assumed the police department would laugh in her face. They’d protect their own. They’d sweep the whole thing under the rug, telling her she must have wanted it, she must have enjoyed it, she doesn’t have any proof anyway, she shouldn’t have been driving alone.

Similar things have happened in states with less conservative reputations. Hell, it’s happened in the bluest of blue states. It happens fucking everywhere. This is why rape is so under reported.

But then, I got a pleasant surprise. The SAPD didn’t do any of those things.

Instead, they held the rapist responsible, while treating the victim (publicly, at least) with compassion and respect.

This is how rape cases should be handled.

So, you see, this isn’t just an awesome week for turkey. It’s also an awesome week for women, for rape victims, and (weirdly), for Texas.

Congratulatory back slaps all around! Let’s keep this up, law enforcement, mmkay?

—

Featured image courtesy of [Jack via Flickr]

Hannah R. Winsten

Hannah R. Winsten is a freelance copywriter, marketing consultant, and blogger living in New York’s sixth borough. She hates tweeting but does it anyway. She aspires to be the next Rachel Maddow. Contact Hannah at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Texas Handles Rape Case Without Slut Shaming, Cue Applause appeared first on Law Street.