OT - What the ^&*%? Warning, rant - need prayers

#1

I don’t get why ANYONE would think rape is topic for humor - have y’all heard about the “satiric” article written in the Connecticut Central State University newspaper The Recorder, titled: Rape Only Hurts If You Fight It. Here’s a link to a site with the text:

Women’s space article

And another w/statements f/the paper’s staff:

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-nebccsu0209.artfeb09,0,4411698.story?coll=hc-big-headlines-breaking
What the??? The editor states they are satirizing the media’s rabid appetite for sensationalistic journalism, but to write this is to have no compassion or empathy for those who’ve been victims/survivors of this horrific assault. I have not been raped, but I had a friend in college jumped and gang-raped, plus I’ve cared for a number of raped children, and let me tell you, there is NOTHING, absolutely NO ANGLE that would be up for humorizing it.

Winston-Salem has had 4 (FOUR!!) rapes and 1 physical assault in the past 3 weekends, in a 5 block radius less than 2 miles f/my house. This is a relatively chill town, so what the??? - and there seem to be no leads, other than the WSPD FINALLY saying today they believe there seem to be more than one suspect involved in the assaults. Latest attack (rape) was today, in broad daylight.

What the ??? In less than one month, our little city has gone f/feeling safe to feeling like we are hunkered down with our hands over our heads. And this clueless (yes, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt, may he never need it again) writer has the balls to make fun of it!!! $^#%, #$%^, #$%^!!!

Ok, deep breath, sigh Thanks for letting me rant, and for everyone out there who loves their moms, sisters, daughters, aunts, friends, cousins, and male loved ones too (the kids I cared for were 50/50 male/female) you name it, help keep this world safer by never ever tolerating this behavior…

#2

A very ill-thought out and tasteless article. While they may have well been going for some sort of satirical humor they missed by 1,000 miles and wound up producing a very offensive and disgusting pile of garbage.

I can understand why you would feel offended by it. I’m a guy and I found it offensive.

#3

Wow. I read the whole page with excerpts from several of their articles. There are about a million things I could say to them, but I think I won’t this time because I’m sure everyone on this board is already smart enough to see everything that is wrong here. And there’s a lot.

#4

I agree, and I disagree. I may say some controversial things here…booo.

I agree mostly, and I’ll tell you why. It’s a horrible thing to be raped, and I hope that that misfortune never happens to me. I’ve had several friends, including my mother who have been raped before. Not fun.

The reason I disagree is only because I believe that we need laughter. I don’t think that rape should be made fun of, or set aside like it is nothing, but I do believe that we shouldn’t take everything seriously all the time. Everything can be laughed at with the right frame of mind, IMHO - take it or leave it. If a topic as harsh as this is going to be poked at and made fun of with the thought that it’s not important enough to be newsworthy or taken seriously, that is ridiculous. This is one of the most heinous crimes someone can commit.

#5

Angela; I actually agree with you with regard to laughter in life. I tend to take very few things seriously.

Sadly, this article doesn’t even come close to humor.

#6

Agreed, I read it and I don’t see the satire. At first it’s so ridiculous that it made me laugh, but maybe that is the satire. Beyond that, I rolled my eyes and couldn’t believe what i was reading. It actually read like it was true, not satirical.

#7

:grrr:

#8

#9

All I see on that commentary about the article is that the writers are white and heterosexual - they’re being judged by that - yet the commentators rail against discrimination…
And to you guys who seem to feel it shouldn’t be permitted because it doesn’t look like satire to you, that’s not a necessary criterion… I’m genuinely confused, the impression I get from you guys is not that you disagree with it or dislike it (feel free), but that it shouldn’t be permitted because you don’t like it or think it to be funny. But Americans talk about the ‘freedom of speech’ thing, well, I’ll be polite and say ‘a lot’ (and as if it didn’t exist anywhere else). Isn’t the whole point that freedom of speech applies EVEN WHEN you hate and are offended by the opinion being put forward? In fact especially, and most necessarily, then?
Doesn’t this writer have the right to create debate/publicity in whatever way he deems appropriate (not however others deem appropriate)? There should be no exceptions to freedom of speech, right?

Imagine a situation where you write a piece of satire, you think you have made it very clear that it’s satire, and you’re making a strong point about something that moves you… and someone else blasts you because they think it’s clearly not satirical, and also they think it’s not funny. Blast away… but saying someone should be suspended or otherwise punished breaks the rule, in my opinion.
Sarah

#10

WOW! That’s real tongue-in-cheek, but still tasteless. I think what’s really terrible is that there are people out there that actually think like that, they just don’t say it out loud.

A study was done a few years ago at Berkley and Stanford. Male students of various racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds were 1st asked if they thought rape was always wrong. A large majority said yes, it is always wrong. Then they were asked if forcing a woman to have sex was wrong, the same young men said no they did not believe that forcing a woman to have sex with them was wrong. These were young men going to Berkley and Stanford who didn’t know the meaning of the word RAPE.

:muah: :hug:

Nadja xxx

#11

This is a hot topic. Really. I think I could conceivably read some things and it would turn my attitude sour to others on this board because this is more than just a little difference of opinion to me.

This is the kind of free speech that has real world negative consequences that are much more important than abstract theorizing. We can all do what we want, but there are always consequences to our actions, including the things we say. Just because the consequences came about from what we said as opposed to some other physical action we took doesn’t make them any less real.

As a matter of fact, in none of the posts here did people say those guys don’t have a right to say what they did. But we have just as much right to be outraged, tell everyone else to be outraged, and march the streets demanding their resignation if we choose. We even have the right to tell people to shut up, though of course we can’t make them do so.

There is a lot more to say, and I’m really restraining myself here. I’m sure this is not the right forum for this.

#12

Sarah; I don’t actually see anyone here saying that it shouldn’t be allowed. I do see people, such as myself, saying that it is tasteless, offensive, and unfunny. I happen to support free speech regardless of whether I agree with it or not.

It’s still a crap piece of writing in my opinion.

#13

Well, I will always defend their right to say anything they want…because by defending their rights to be asinine, I am also guaranteeing my rights to free speech.

Do I think this was an intelligent piece of satire? Do I believe that they chose an appropriate target to demonstrate sensationalistic journalism? Obviously not. One in four women will be sexually assaulted at some point in her life. The numbers are too high. This really isn’t an appropriate topic for this particular objective.

But they have the right to say it, and they shouldn’t be punished for being idiots. Even if they are highly educated ones.

Just my .02.

Misty

#14

wow. This text is so not funny. People who came up with that have a pretty bad jugement, no doubt about that. I don’t think anybody implied they should go to prison for this. Should they be suspended? It depends. A lot of people are fired when they are incompetent. And I think they are incompetent. But of course it’s to their employer to decide. :shrug:

It’s hard, because of course it’s important to protect free speech. But I find people wrap themselves in “free speech” every time they do a stupid move and don’t want to face the consequenes. It’s just too easy!

#15

i take “rape” really seriously…it not funny cos it a crime and inhumane to do such act … a few years ago i read article about Indonesia there is a city that is in chaos and there is a gang of people wreck homes and go around raping girls/mother/grandma infront of their family members … and internet talks about it too !

my heart really go out to those who really do not deserve this kind of torture …it will stay in their mind for their rest of their lives …

sometime life is tough if you think of it … we cannot control alot of stuff in our daily life… the world seem to be upside down now …

#16

if someone wrote a satire about pedophilia, and your child had been molested, would that be funny? what about poking fun at murder victims, or those who struggle and eventually die from cancer, AIDS, and other debilitating diseases? what about racial humor? is it okay then, so long as you’re not of the culture being criticized or satired?

i guess it all depends on that person’s experiences.

i find rape humor to be disgusting at best. i was rape 12 years ago, and i’m so incredibly offended by the blase manner in which this article has been discussed by the media that i shake with rage every time i think about it.

for many, it takes a lifetime to get over the trauma of such an act. and even when one does, all it takes is an article such as this one to bring it all up again. why do that to someone? is today’s violent world not enough to give us pause? why is humor necessary on this topic?

please note: while i’ll champion free speech regardless of the forum or subject, i still find it aborrhent that someone would poke fun at something as violent as rape.

#17

i am sorry that had happened to you… i really hope that all this will stop… it really unforgiving when someone do something like that …it really destroy one soul and mind ! and worse how could one find humour on things like that ???

#18

I’m so sorry this happened to you and I agree 100% with you. While we should be entitled to free speech, that doesn’t make what they said any less wrong. Rape is such a serious subject, and by publishing this aritcle, the author truly made light of what a rape victim goes through. Many people don’t even realize how often rape happens. I never knew anyone who had been raped until last year I went to take back the night at my college where young women get up and speak infront of a crowd about their experiences with rape or sexual assualt. I was shocked that many girls I knew got up to share their stories. One girl I went on spring break with to Mexico told how she was raped when she was on spring break…imagine my shock hearing about this a year later. So many of the victims had kept their stories private until this night when they shared them to empower other rape and sexual assualt victims not to let this horrible experience take over their lives. I think that the author and editors at the paper should be ashamed to publish something like this that makes rape a joke. This guy is clearly very ignorant if you read some of the other things he’s written that are posted on that page.

#19

The right to free speech does not relieve us of responsibility of that speech. I always defend free speech, so when someone speaks irresponsibly I don’t believe they should not be silenced, instead they should be called to account for what they have said.

mrs desert rain I’m sorry for your terrible experience, I can’t imagine the pain you must have endured. :grphug:

:muah: :hug:

Nadja xxx

#20

exactly.

and thank you all for your kind words. it wasn’t my intention to make this thread about my experience (though in a forum of such compassionate people, i guess it’s hard not to…); rather, i shared only to make a point on the matter. :hug: