A man came to our class once,
he claimed to be a fair judge
with daughters he loved.

He asked a question to the class:
“When should a minor be tried
as an adult?”
and students began raising their hand

“murder”
he wrote it up on the board.

“robbery”
he wrote it up on the board.

I said, “Rape”
and he paused, he asked
for clarification

“You mean violent rape?”

“no I mean rape.
It is all the same.”

he looked to a boy
who said “rape only if
he used a weapon and
hurt her.”

and I said, “rape is rape,
whether his weapon is a knife,
drugs, or guilt. She said no.”

he shook his head,
and wrote
“Violent rape” on the board
anyways.

I never understood,
because you can kill somebody
quietly and peacefully with drugs,
or with guns and knives or cars;
but nobody cares if the murder was “violent”

it was still murder.