On the small South Pacific island of Piticairn there is currently a sexual assault case being contested that seems more at place in the larger global cities. A collection of women from the island, home to a few dozen people, has made claims that the ritual of women beginning to have sexual relations at the age of 12 represents sexual assault and that half of the population of men on the island, including the Chief, are guilty. The defendants in this case claim this has been the practice of the people since the Island was first settled in the 18th century.
Where as the common person may not pay much attention to an event occurring literally half way around the world, for those who do read about this case, there is generally a typical response. The initial sentiment for most would be that the men who are perpetuating this act are indeed criminals and should be punished accordingly. The idea of sleeping with 12-year-old women is barbaric, archaic and downright disgusting. 'These people are savages and mongrels' is probably the common refrain. And yes, in comparing our current societal structure, the acts of those who live on Piticairn are barbaric, the key factor in this is that they don’t live in our society and perhaps shouldn’t be expected to abide by our rules.
A common problem that serves as an incubator for racism and stereotyping is to declare anything that doesn’t fit your perceived notion of normalcy is in fact wrong and obscene. To be sure there are certain things that cross all cultural lines such as murder, the vast majority of cultural traditions are as different as night and day. Therefore, who are we, as Americans, to say what is right and wrong for the people of Piticairn to do?
I suppose the response to that question is that we are not solely Americans, or Canadians or anything else along those lines, we are all humans, and that there should be established rules of order that all of us must abide by. Furthermore, the idea that the custom of under age sexual activity predates to the original settling of the Island is a textbook example of honoring tradition versus reality. Within the United States, if that mindset was adopted, then slavery would still be around and anyone who was not a white, wealthy male would be lacking of the rights currently offered to all citizens, at least in terms of political doctrine if not actual social realism.
Having explored both sides of the equation in the most simple and plain terms there should be no definitive answer to the question. What was the question again? It is whether or not someone has a right to pass judgment on the actions of a foreign, almost alien culture? On one side everyone should have the right to express doubt or question popular thinking, however, in order to so, you must weigh your words and make sure the sentiments you are expressing have a minimal amount of validity attached to them, rather than making a blanket, often ignorant statement. The mission at hand is a difficult one, one that has been around forever and will continue to do so. The best hope to achieve this is for each individual person to follow one of life’s most simple pieces of advice, “Think before you speak.” Although you may not think so, it makes a world of difference.
