Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Chelle DB]

Just a few stats from the TAR (Truth About Rape) campaign.

- 1 in 4 women has experienced rape or attempted rape.
- 1 in 7 women has been coerced into sex. This rises to 1 in 3 amongst divorced women.
- 97% of callers to rape crisis lines knew their assailant prior to the attack.
- 91% of women tell no-one
- Less than 7% report their attack to the police

These statistics are shocking...and I know how disheartening it it when you report an assult only to be disuaded in taking it beyond reporting...I know because we've been in a situation where an assult had taken place...not rape but it was an assult of a sexual manner...we had been advised to think very carefully how far we wanted this to go...and take into consideration the law and the ages of those involved. We had been told that we had no rights to know how this was being dealt with within the school...we were told that the offending student had rights to roam about freely and we were not to discuss the events with anyone!
Only we already knew the student had a history of this kind of behaviour and had made threats after the event...I can't say too much obviously online but to this day it is still affects us....it's been 4 years.
We ignored the advise to not puruse the matter and reported it to a special task force...unfortunately due to the age of the offender we really couldn't do much but make the report. There's now a permanent record on file with the task force that deals with sexual assults.
Anyhoo...I'm of to bed...no...I'm gonna finish watching SG first then I'm off to bed!!
Good night everyone...take care, be safe, and hug your loved ones!!

(((Samanda)))

[Skydiver]

Sam has a massive chip on her shoulder when she first reaches the SGC. As a woman in the military, she was probably belittled and condescended to. It wouldn't surprise me though if her experience had included sexual harassment. It would happen on a more frequent basis the lower her rank. She's pretty and aloof; some men might interpret that as a challenge.

She's also very intelligent, as well as being very- not 'aloof' but you used that word I imagine because that's what she might seem like to others, and I agree- and also was an attractive young female. There would have been comments and jibes that go beyond general teasing and yes, possible sexual harrassment. It would help to explain early S1 Sam's behaviour- her need to assert herself, her half-hidden insecurities, etc.

yep. you mix 'ice queen' with her good looks, her daddy and she'd be a 'worthy prize' for some. I do agree, i think that's one reason sam was so prickly in the beginning, i think she was expecting to be put upon by jack and the boys. and i think she had her guard up. I think she spent a lot of her time with her guard perpetually up. And i think she only started to lower it aruond season 2 a little (the fact that she coudl be possessed by jols and not be kicked out had to help) adn by season 3-4 i think she finally realized that the other shoe is never gonna drop and that she's safe.

I also think that sam technobabbles as a defense mechanism. she uses men's egos against them. she'll babble, their ego won't allow them to admit that they have no idea what she's talking about, so she keeps them on the defensive with her intelligence

[NZNeep]

I think you've hit the nail on the head. I can’t think of another reason why the officers responsible for covering it up would risk their careers to protect those scums. The sentences being handed down for the soldiers that raped and killed that 14 year old Iraqi girl gives me hope that if this gets to the mainstream media the armed forces will come down hard on anyone associated with this. Not sure about the states but in my country military prison makes federal prison look like a resort. I hope that’s true in the US.

Well, that’s my two cents/venting. Now back to lurking.

It's disgusting, isn't it? The banding together to protect each other so they can get away with it. How does one woman stand a chance?

I don't know about in the military, but from talking to members of the NZ police, things have changed. It used to be about sticking up for your mates without asking questions. Now (with a more diverse force) they are ashamed of the reputation the police force got in the 80s. Now, they do not want to be associated with these men so it's getting more open... they want to get rid of them, rather than harbour them.

Hopefully with a more diverse military, something similar will happen. As long as women who come forward are taken seriously, that is.


*edit* I'm sorry, that was a completely nonsensical 3am rambling. Too excited to sleep

[jckfan55]

I know there's a fic out there that deals with this...sad as it is...but what goes through my head is that it kinda makes sense now why Amanda hasn't been given the same consideration as her fellow male thespians...we all know that RDA got his special award several years ago from the AF for his contribution to promoting the AF...but what about Amanda??? I would think she's done just as much as RDA...and what happened with her not going up in a jet??? Maybe they don't want to recognize her efforts as it only promotes the AF to women more and that's what they don't want...of course I'm just blowing off some steam here...I'm sure that not all AF members are like this...right??
It all makes me feel very uncomfortable about how women are still being treated in the armed forces...like when are we ever gonna grow up and learn FCOL??? Arghhhh...it's so sad and disappointing to think that this is happening!

As for the award, some of that could be b/c RDA is an American (USA) and AT is Canadian. But it doesn't explain the jet thing. Also on the Canadian thing, the US and Canada are allies, so surely there would be something they could do if they were so inclined. I think Sam is a poster girl for the AF.

It's infuriating to think that some of the prime dangers female service personnel face are from their supposed comrades. and then people say that's why women shouldn't be in the service. No, we need men in the services who aren't animals. These bad guys also give a bad name to all the guys who serve honorably.

[Tittamiire]

I'd like to offer more to the current discussion but it's getting to me too much...consider this an apology to everyone whose made (some no doubt fantastic) posts but I cannae read them atm.

On a bright note..

I bought my quarter! *dances*

[resurgamlaura]

I'd like to offer more to the current discussion but it's getting to me too much...consider this an apology to everyone whose made (some no doubt fantastic) posts but I cannae read them atm.

On a bright note..

I bought my quarter! *dances*

Have you hugged it yet?

[Tittamiire]

Have you hugged it yet?

I am not allowed to hug it until I've found my cheque book to make the donation that goes with it and the camera to take the picture of the evidence.....I need to be more organised...

*happy dance*

[Skydiver]

i'm gonna get my quarter this weekend. I'm hoping to find a blue cloth with maybe some little yellow sunflowers on it. Gotta rub in that kansas theme you know

[antoa]

On a bright note..

I bought my quarter! *dances*

I bought mine too! I plan on hugging it this weekend.

And since I have a strange aversion to blue (I don't *hate* it, I just avoid it), it was difficult to pick one out. I almost went with one that was a purply-blue, but I didn't want mine to clash. I like the pattern on the one I chose and it's a darker blue with black.

Surprisingly I am starting to not be so scared of blue anymore.

[Strix varia]

I bought my quarter! *dances*

I spent last night learning more about quilting and fat quarters than I ever thought possible. However, I did find two fat quarters for sale on ebay in patterns that I thought were fairly cool, so I went ahead and ordered both of them. (My favorite pattern, however, was only available by the yard, so I gave it a miss. )

[becky_preen]

I spent last night learning more about quilting and fat quarters than I ever thought possible. However, I did find two fat quarters for sale on ebay in patterns that I thought were fairly cool, so I went ahead and ordered both of them. (My favorite pattern, however, was only available by the yard, so I gave it a miss. )

mwwwahhhhh!!!

it is my eveil plan to educate you all in the ways of all things quilty.

And you are allowed to hug your fabric mor than once you know... It's okay to practice

Big quilty hugs
becks
G4

[ShimmeringStar]

I don’t know if any of you read the Doonesbury comic strip, but the discussion today about the Air Force woman who’s being charged reminded me of a recent series of strips that Gary Trudeau ran. (July 16-21 of this year) As background, one of the main characters in Doonesbury was in Iraq as a member of the National Guard, and lost a leg. He’s back in the states and has reluctantly been seeing a counselor to deal with his problems adjusting. At the counselor’s office (which is apparently for veterans only) he’s seen the obviously bitter young woman who you see in these panels, and this set of panels shows her talking to her own counselor.


Spoilers for size, etc.

Spoiler:

Now obviously, this is all fiction, but unfortunately, I think it’s fairly close to the truth for some women.

To keep it on topic, how do you think Sam would have reacted to a really blatant attempt at coercion by a superior officer when she was younger? Would she have reported it, or rebuffed the attempt and kept quiet, hoping that it wouldn’t have a negative impact on her career? Keep in mind that this would have been 15 or 20 years ago when things were probably even worse for women in the military.

NC

MOHO is that she would have rebuffed it and reported it. Don't think she wouldn't have made a fuss over it being Sam and it being the late 80's.

I suppose I'd say that because IMO (and there're a myriad of interpretations of what Sam's teen/young adult life was like - and it's a wonderful thing that's led to some great discussion here and great fanfic out there...) for all of her 'looks' -the looks she didn't feel she had - she was a person who could take care of herself before she even hit the AF Academy, especially being the only daughter of an AF general with an older brother.

And as goal-oriented as she was - she probably developed a rep very quickly at the Academy for not taking any s**t off of people who tried that. If she said no she meant it and damned if she was going to be coerced/threatened into something - fellow airman or superior. (Coerced meaning not being threatened at gunpoint.)

It'd be interesting to know how many of her superiors at the Academy stuck up for her behind the scenes, men who weren't threatened by her and appreciated what she was trying to do in the confines of the system and supported her in ways that she never knew. (Including things like this - where certain other men figured the newest on the food chain were open sport and thinking there'd be no repercussions to their actions due to status quo.)

But loose threats and threats to her career I could see her stubbornly refusing, and following protocols to report, for what they were worth in the late '80's.

That's not to say she wouldn't angst over the decision and its impact on her life - this is *Sam* we're talking about! - but I don't think she would've stood for it. In later years, especially at the SGC, woe to the person who'd even try it since she'd've had way more experience dealing with idiots like that on a personal and professional basis.

Just some two cents or three...

[the dancer of spaz]

yep. you mix 'ice queen' with her good looks, her daddy and she'd be a 'worthy prize' for some. I do agree, i think that's one reason sam was so prickly in the beginning, i think she was expecting to be put upon by jack and the boys. and i think she had her guard up. I think she spent a lot of her time with her guard perpetually up. And i think she only started to lower it aruond season 2 a little (the fact that she coudl be possessed by jols and not be kicked out had to help) adn by season 3-4 i think she finally realized that the other shoe is never gonna drop and that she's safe.

I also think that sam technobabbles as a defense mechanism. she uses men's egos against them. she'll babble, their ego won't allow them to admit that they have no idea what she's talking about, so she keeps them on the defensive with her intelligence

It's one of the reasons why I wasn't as flabbergasted by her outburst in CotG as some were. I mean, it was lame in some ways, but understandable. And when you look at the way Sam has developed over the years and track how her mentality changed, it's a totally logical progression of her character.

Sam came onto the scene with a chip on her shoulder for valid reasons, proved herself, came into her own, loosened up, was screwed out of a legitimate command position, but evidently let it go because of her loyalties. And now she commands an international exploration base. For me, Carter has really come full circle.

[Strix varia]

mwwwahhhhh!!!

it is my eveil plan to educate you all in the ways of all things quilty.

It looks like it could be a lot of fun. (If one could sew...)

[jckfan55]

Well just look at how Kowalsky acted toward Sam in the pilot ep.
Though she proved herself pretty quickly with those claymores. I'm sure Kowalsky was a toned down version of a lot of the crap she had to deal with up to that point. Ferretti was actually not bad--I love their exchange about the Major Matt Mason Astronaut dolls. "Did you have the cool little backpack that made him fly?"