User:Dragonclaws/GSI

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Warning: the following contains disturbing content inappropriate for all audiences.

Narrator:

The Gabrielle Stanek incident, also known as the Stanek-Quirk incident, was a controversial affair occurring in the summer of 2562 that threatened the timid peace between the Sangheili people and humanity, stemming from the rape and murder of human feminist and social rights activist Gabrielle Stanek at the hands of Sangheili politician Kaidon Traiht ‘Kanep. The Sangheili believed the assault to be just and it was legal in their society, while the United Earth Government demanded that the perpetrator be punished according to UEG laws. The Sanghelios Ministry forced ‘Kanep to retire and to pay a fine of 900 monetary units (worth approximately 5,023 credits), a percentage of which was given to Stanek’s surviving relatives. The incident sparked intense debate about humanity’s place in the governing of alien cultures, a topic with continued relevance today.

We see a somewhat poor-quality recording of Stanek giving a speech. A caption reads “Gabrielle Stanek, Lunar Association for Women’s Welfare convention of 2557”.

Stanek:

We value the rights of humans not because they have four limbs, a bipedal stance, a concentration of hair in the scalp and facial region, sexual dimorphism, ten fingers, single knees, or other physical qualities. We value human rights because humans have the ability of self-awareness, of reasoning, and so possess personhood. Therefore, what we truly promote is not human rights, but rather the rights of thinking individuals, and we cannot stop merely at human rights. The stars are out there, nonhuman civilizations among them, and we cannot stay idle. We must go to these alien worlds, and we must liberate our nonhuman kindred from the kyriarchal systems that oppress them.

A human expert on the Sangheili people gives some background in an interview:

Sangheili culture is rigidly patriarchal, the men occupying every position of power and the women treated essentially as slaves. Even as there is a nominal difference between free Sangheili women and slaves, there are few benefits awarded to the free women. A Sangheili woman who has bonded to a man in a mating ritual may be traded to another man or rented out to men on the whims of the husband.

Narrator:

On July 7th, 2562, Luna native Gabrielle Stanek, along with her spouse Daniel Baker, travelled to the Sangheili home planet of Sanghelios to promote fourteenth-wave feminist ideology to the Sangheili people. Their trip was sponsored by the not-for-profit Interstellar Organization to End Rape, which provided them with the yacht Allucquere as well as Sangheili language expert Kylli Quirk, formerly of the Office of Naval Intelligence, to accompany them as a translator.

Narrator:

On July 26th, 2562, Kaidon ‘Kanep assaulted Stanek and Quirk in an alley behind the Oileain Keep, an attack which took Stanek’s life. ‘Kanep initially claimed that the attack was provoked by Stanek, who allegedly mocked him and threatened to force him into engaging in homosexual relations with his peers, but after pressures from the UEG he recanted and admitted to acting without provocation.

The assault is dramatized while a recording of Quirk’s testimony plays:

After our demonstration in the keep, ‘Kanep came to us alone. He said that he was curious about how women’s liberation worked on Earth. He was polite and seemed truly interested. We answered his questions as best as we could. He said goodbye, and we thought that was that.

Twenty minutes later, he shows up as we’re leaving the keep and makes us go into the alley behind it so he could tell us something important. He started yelling at us, calling us Ital—that’s like a witch—and then he attacked us. Gabe had her M6K, but it didn’t matter. He drew his sword and made her give up the gun. He raped her, and then he raped me. He killed her in cold blood and made me watch. And he told me that if “Ital” ever came back, the same thing would happen.

Narrator:

The UEG displayed initial resistance in pursuing the case, motivated by reluctance to endanger the peace treaty between the two species that was put in place only four years ago in 2558. UEG Minister of Justice Jerred Wallace went so far as to make the controversial statement that what occurred was not rape, likening the attack to an act made by an animal.

Jarred Wallace broadcasts a statement:

Frankly, I don’t see rape here. Rape is when a man forces a woman to have sexual intercourse with him. This here’s a case of a randy Elite humping a couple of women. I can’t imagine it was pleasant for them, but it was definitely not rape. Not anymore than when my dog humps my leg.

Narrator:

The media response was highly negative, the minister criticized for failing to recognize Sangheili personhood, and Wallace made a statement a few days later asserting that the Sangheili were people.

Following Wallace’s statement, the UEG began putting pressure on the Sanghelios Ministry to have ‘Kanep punished accordingly. Sangheili Minister ‘Kuyo reacted aggressively, declaring it an insult for it to even be suggested that ‘Kanep’s actions were criminal, and he threatened to resume hostilities with the human people if they did not let the Sangheili govern their planet under their laws. In response to becoming aware of this, Sangheili bureaucrat Thel ‘Vadam made a statement encouraging the Ministry to keep diplomatic relations with the UEG. Ultimately deciding that the treaty was more important than keeping ‘Kanep as a Kaidon, Minister ‘Kuyo ordered ‘Kanep to retire and pay a monetary fine.

Narrator:

Responses to the handling of the incident were varied. Some, like Minister Wallace, declared it a wonderful success.

Wallace:

Peace has been defended! Thanks to the efforts of the valiant United Nations, justice has been done and the Elite people will remain our allies for many years to come!

Narrator:

Others, however, were not so satisfied. Despite being given monetary compensation for trauma that would keep her bills paid for the next two years, Ms. Quirk regarded the whole handling of the event as an “outrage”.

Quirk, in an interview:

How do you think I [bleep]-ing feel? The Sangheili murdered my client and he raped the both of us, and now our glorious leader wants us to accept the perpetrator walking free? That [bleep]-er still keeps his wealth, his influence, and his aristocrat status, meaning that [bleep] can rape any Sangheili woman with the Ministry’s blessing. The only permissible outcome is to stick him in the freezer and forget about him.

Narrator:

Of course, there are some who say that feminists and other activists shouldn’t try to change alien cultures at all. For instance, Akio Turnbull, founder of the Interplanetary Association for the Protection of Men, declared the incident itself ridiculous.

Turnbull, in an interview:

What were these women thinking? Elites are not humans, duh! They can’t be treated like humans. Feminism is completely ineffective in human culture, so it’s not like they’re going to mean a whole lot to the Elites. The Elites got into space, terraformed worlds, and fought the Great War with their men as leaders, scientists, craftsmen, and footsoldiers. What the [bleep] are a couple of preachy human women to them?

(jump cut)

The Elites slaughtered billions. They’re master killers. They hated humanity with a burning passion for years. We were the scum on their boots. That kind of bad blood doesn’t just go away in a decade. With the possible exception of the ex-Arbiter, the Elites hate us. We know that! Everyone knows that! As far as I’m concerned, these two idiots got what they were asking for.

Narrator:

Likewise, xenomorphologist Mikkel Groß described rape as part of the natural behavior of Sangheili males.

Groß, in an interview:

What we modern humans call “rape” is nothing more than the forced act of sexual intercourse. In the primitive animal, of which these Sangheili are undeniably, forced intercourse occurs as a part of natural selection. The toughest male claims his prize, thereby ensuring the best genes are used to create the next generation. It’s survival of the fittest.

Narrator:

The Institute for Facilitating Interspecies Relations’ president Iakopa Orosz described the incident as representing a failure in the UEG’s management.

Orosz, in an interview:

We can’t meddle in the affairs of alien cultures. The recent mentality of the UE Government – in particular, its prime minister – is to manage other cultures as though they originated from Earth and are under its jurisdiction. This is a faulty mentality that frankly should not exist. Other cultures have their own ways of doing things for their own reasons. Look, I’m sorry those gals were hurt, but they shouldn’t have tried to meddle in alien affairs. It’s as simple as that.

Narrator:

There are many issues relevant to the incident. What place should human activism have in alien societies? Can we even treat aliens the same as humans? Is it right to judge a member of a completely different species the same way we would judge a member of our own? We may never have truly satisfactory answers to these questions.