A short story exploring one interesting thought I had a while back while sitting on the toilet. From one side is explores [DARVO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARVO), a common technique used by offenders of all kinds to re-frame their offense such that victim and offender is flipped. And on the other hand it explores certain loopholes in certain ideologies that might give the DARVO mindset people some credence. I specifically avoid to have my own conclusion. I want it to stir people's minds. Sorry I'm Jewish. That's how my brain works. INT. COURTROOM. DAY. SHELLY, 26, sitting in front of the audience, giving her testimony, crying. SHELLY ... and so he... She looks to the side, unable to utter the words. PROSECUTOR, 50s, comes towards her. PROSECUTOR He took advantage of you... SHELLY Yes. PROSECUTOR ( turns to the judge ) Your, honor... He turns around to the crowd. There is no defendant in the first row. Instead the defendant, MIKE, 30s, is located in a small cage, tied down with shackles. 2 police officers guarding him. PROSECUTOR ( pointing at Mike ) This was the man that assaulted you? SHELLY Yes. PROSECUTOR ( to the judge ) Your honor, it seems to me that the case is clear. JUDGE What does the defense have to say? The LAWYER, 40s, is sitting calmly at the front row. By his face we see that is has a plan. He is smiling with this cocky smile, which makes you suspect he has an ace up his sleeve. The lawyer gets up. LAWYER Your honor... He comes over to Shelly. LAWYER Shelly Winkward. I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind. PROSECUTOR What will that give you? The case is clear. JUDGE ( hitting his hammer ) Order! ( to the lawyer ) Proceed. LAWYER Thank you. LAWYER Shelly Winkward... brave... SHELLY What? LAWYER It is brave of you to show up here, in front of all these people, admitting to the stuff that you have admitted to. SHELLY Thank you. LAWYER Can I ask you, who did you vote for? PROSECUTOR Objection! JUDGE What does this have to do with anything? LAWYER ( to the Judge ) Excuse me, your honor, but I'm attempting to be persuasive, and for that I need to establish some rhetoric. I assure you, the question is absolutely necessary to completely uncover the chain of guilt in this situation of ours. Pause. Judge is thinking about it. JUDGE Fine, continue. LAWYER ( to Shelly ) So, Shelly Winkward, who did you vote for? Or more like, which position do you take on the current culture-wars? SHELLY Eh... LAWYER Based on what I heard, and be free to correct me, you are an active participant in the Feminist movement. SHELLY Yes. LAWYER Can you explain to me the ethos of the movement? Such that all people present in the court-room would understand what Feminism is. SHELLY Well, it's about... ah... stopping sexism. LAWYER Sexism. Mm... Would you say that the act committed against you violates the ethos of what Feminism stands for? SHELLY Absolutely! If a woman says "no", it mean "no"! LAWYER Very well. PROSECUTOR What are you trying to prove? JUDGE Order! LAWYER Okay... let me clarify a few things. So how should a man approach a woman? SHELLY Respectfully, I suppose. LAWYER And if she says "no", it means "no"? SHELLY Yes. LAWYER And how should a man then approach her the second time? SHELLY There is no second time. If I say "no" it means "no". LAWYER You never change your mind? Pause. SHELLY Why would I change my mind? LAWYER Well it is not hard to imagine a scenario where the first impression was not particularly flattering, but as you start to know the person better you may see that person in a different light, which might make you reconsider your initial rejection of that person. In which case, through some circumstance, the "no" turns into a "yes". SHELLY I suppose that could happen. LAWYER We agreed on that point? SHELLY Perhaps. LAWYER So, if a "no" can turn into a "yes" overtime, how does the male subject in this situation should know it is time for the second attempt? SHELLY Well I never really thought about it. I suppose I need to think about it. LAWYER Interesting. ( to the Judge ) Your honor, now I can make my argument. ( pointing a Mike in the cell ) My defendant, Mike, has told me an interesting story that might change your perspective on the situation. JUDGE Get on with it already. MIKE So it all started... LAWYER ( to Mike ) Shut up! Mike is standing there silent. LAWYER Do not say a word. Let me handle this professionally. ( to the Judge ) So... shall we... INT. SCHOOL. DAY. A young boy ( Mike at 10 ) sits at a lesson. LAWYER ( V.O. ) ... my client was a rather shy child. There was not much wrong, per say, with him, but he felt that other people didn't like him as much as they liked other boys in school. INT. SCHOOL. DAY - YEARS LATER A young teenager ( Mike at 16 ) sits at a lesson, looking over to a girl in class. LAWYER ( V.O. ) ... At a certain age, as we all are, my client, started to be extremely fascinated with the members of the opposite sex. He was still a shy kid, but he was open to the idea of giving it a try. INT. MIKE'S ROOM. NIGHT MIKE 16, siting in his bedroom with a phone in his hands. LAWYER ( V.O. ) ... One day he stumbled upon a video. INT. COURTROOM. DAY. LAWYER Are you familiar with the work of Sigmund Freud? JUDGE Heard of him. LAWYER You are familiar, then, with the idea of sexual hunger? JUDGE Explain. LAWYER Most people perceive sexual desire as just this. A desire. A simple urge, so to speak, that is more than realistically to control. And with most "healthy" individuals that might be the case. But there is an argument to be made that sexuality is more like food. Try not to eat. You can survive without food for quite a while. But at a certain point you might become desperate. And then violent and then outright dangerous, if you do not satisfy your hunger. JUDGE You are telling me that without sexual intercourse, the defendant could have died of hunger? LAWYER Not necessarily. While food is more of a physical thing, with some undeniable psychological aspect to it, it is still a largely physical thing, which might results in death, if lacking, sex on the other hand is largely a psychological phenomenon. It is has physical properties, but largely it is a psychological phenomenon. Though regardless of the nature of the phenomenon, the behavioral consequence of withdrawal are equally catastrophic. JUDGE What is your point? LAWYER I will return to my story... INT. MIKE'S ROOM. NIGHT MIKE 16, siting in his bedroom with a phone in his hands. LAWYER ( V.O. ) ... One day my client stumbled upon a video. A video describing Feminism. A video that he himself agreed with. INT. COURTROOM. DAY. Lawyer is walking over to the cage. LAWYER ( to Mike ) Do you consider yourself a feminist? MIKE You told me not to speak. LAWYER Answer the question. MIKE Yeah. LAWYER Do you agree with Miss Winkward, that when a woman says "no" it means "no"? MIKE Yes. SHELLY What?! JUDGE ( striking his hammer ) Order! LAWYER ( to Judge ) When he saw that video at age 16, he completely and utterly gave himself to this idea. In a way, this idea is still within him to this very day. But an unfortunate set of events still created a situation we are now in. See, believing that nobody liked him, being shy, my client automatically presupposed all women already answered "no". Which means he didn't not even attempted to approach any of them. JUDGE Which? LAWYER Which slowly deteriorated his mental state. The hunger. The sexual hunger ate away at his soul. Until one day, at a state of utter malnourishment, his psychological state snapped. And this courtroom hearing is the consequence. Pause. People murmur. LAWYER What I'm saying is... Mike, my client, is not just not guilty, but a victim. A victim of psychological oppression. ____ THE END