If you’re familiar with the Bible, you probably know about the very first time a grown man attempted to get out of trouble by blaming his partner. Remember when Adam quickly pointed the finger at Eve for tempting him to eat the forbidden fruit when God quizzed the two of them in the Garden of Eden? As the story goes, God asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree they had been commanded not to eat, to which Adam replied: “It was the woman you gave me (remember Eve was created so Adam could have a companion) who gave me the fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Note that Adam didn’t say he resisted the urge to eat. He could have said no or kept the fruit so he could ask God’s permission later. But he ate, willingly, and for me, that right there shows that he wanted to have the fruit or else he would have run to God to ‘report’ Eve for trying to lead him astray. In case you’re wondering where I’m going with this, it’s those initial reports following last week’s attack at a Christmas Party in California, US, that suggested that it was the wife, who we now know to be Tashfeen Malik who radicalized her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook. As it turns out, both had the same goal all along. To carry out terrorist attacks. I’m so glad that has been cleared because I just didn’t want another woman to take the fall for something two people should share equal blame for. Disclaimer right here. I’m not defending female terrorists! Back to the point I was trying to make. I can buy the idea of children being coerced into doing certain things but when it comes to adults, especially men, it’s a different story. At the end of the day, each one of us can make up our own minds. I believe that grownups can only do something if they want to. This idea of women pushing men into doing things against their will is lame, especially in 2015. Husbands caught cheating on their wives say they were “tempted.” Some rape victims have been blamed for dressing provocatively as if men can’t exercise self control. It gets even more ridiculous when a woman only gives birth to girls. The man is then ‘urged’ by concerned relatives and friends to try elsewhere for an heir and he does exactly that. If I were God, I would “punish” such men with more girls! Speaking of which, I know a couple of women who shouldered the blame when their teenage daughters got pregnant and were expelled from school. No one talked about the boys who impregnated them. The mothers were criticized for not disciplining their girls. Of course dads take most of the credit when the children do well. We need to stop blaming women for everything and I say this knowing that sometimes, women are at fault and should be called out on their actions but we shouldn’t always jump to conclusions unless we know all the facts.
