Rape jokes, not made of comedy gold. The San Diego Reader – attempting, rather ineptly, to channel The Onion – recently ran a bit of “almost factual news” about the recent Slutwalks. The title: “Slut Walk Devolves into Rape Run.”
Here’s the lede (as they say in the biz):
It was supposed to be a triumph for women eager to reclaim their sexuality from the threat of sexual violence. But sadly, Slut Walk San Diego went horribly awry as some 50 men, many of whom claimed to be unable to control their animal urges when presented with such a plenitude of hot female flesh, plunged into the crowd of over 2000 sluts in a quest for sexual gratification, consensual or otherwise. Dozens of arrests have been made, and police say it may be weeks before all the snatched panties have been returned to their rightful owners.
See, it’s funny because they were being raped!
Amazingly, the one comment that this lovely article managed to inspire was even less hilarious than the article itself. According to someone calling himself a86d:
Its bs like this that is further going drive culture to FURTHER feminize men and go back to that process of thinking that a man needs to be controlled because hes just a beast. BS we’re not animals, We’ve evolved and people need consequences….in this case …. BURN em. The Dilbert comic writer seems to think that all men need to be castrated because we can’t control our urges, because society forces us men to be a round peg in a square hole…..if you want to live a certain life style….you can find it. Own up, be mature, respectful and if you cross the line EXPECT TO BURN!
I’m not quite sure if all that BURNing is supposed to be directed at rapists or sluts. I’m guessing the latter, but in either case I don’t think I’ll be inviting a86d to my next barbecue.
Actually, I think it does apply to murder, albeit in the sense that MEN are disproportionately murder victims. But of course, no one will ever think of it that way, because hell, they’re just men.
Also, that Onion video that Holly linked to was fucking hilarious.
The reason that I don’t like most rape jokes I come across is because they’re usually made at expense of the victim and the punchline generally involves dismissing their pain. Rape victims have enough trouble getting heard, they don’t need further mockery on top of that dismissal.
Rape jokes which mock the rapist are a-ok by me. I also didn’t think the dickwolves thing last year was that bad. Well, the actual joke itself – the response and all ensuing was fairly awful.
But, you know what… ‘it’s just my opinion’, right? I mean, I’m allowed to have an opinion on the tastefulness of rape jokes, right; if you are allowed to have an opinion on the proper way to refer to citizens of the United States and the funniest way to spell ‘feminist’?
Murder is not funny-even if a clown is killed.
MRAL, here’s an article which I think is relevant to the point you’re making about murder. Snip:
“My classmate was murdered while riding his bike down a peaceful road next to a river. Found by a jogger. He bled out pretty quick. The hospital didn’t know who he was – there was just a shoe with his name scrawled on it. When he went down, the shooters later testified, he said “ow.” And he lay there, saying, “Ow,” not really knowing what had happened, bleeding out on the pavement.
“These were the things that ran through my head, day after day. Couldn’t get them out. And suddenly, I was completely and uncomfortably aware of how I couldn’t escape from murder. I had to stop watching television, stop cracking open books, stop checking the news, stop watching movies, because there I’d be, trying to relax, trying to forget THEY SHOT HIM HE SAID OW ALL THEY HAD WAS A SHOE, escaping into some movie about who-knows-what, when suddenly the movie fills with blood and gore and there’s a gun and somebody has to die because the plot has to move along. And I’d just get so sick. I was trying so hard to “get over it,” to “move on,” to get back to my normal life. But murder was everywhere. Violence was everywhere. I hadn’t seen, hadn’t realized before just how pervasive it was, and as a joke, as a plot device, as an afterthought, as a vicarious experience. But now that every drop of blood, every flesh wound, every attack immediately made me think of my classmate, immediately made me imagine him experiencing his death, his pain – I couldn’t watch any of that shit anymore.”
The reason that I don’t like most rape jokes I come across is because they’re usually made at expense of the victim and the punchline generally involves dismissing their pain. Rape victims have enough trouble getting heard, they don’t need further mockery on top of that dismissal.
Rape jokes which mock the rapist are a-ok by me. I also didn’t think the dickwolves thing last year was that bad. Well, the actual joke itself – the response and all ensuing was fairly awful.
I didn’t think the dickwolves thing was bad either … but then the response yeah -__- all the ppl threatening Liss, etc w rape… ugh x_x
And also like you, yeah usually it’s at the expense of the victim or treating it like not a big deal… the dickwolves thing used rape (like murder) as being something that IS a big deal, and the humour didn’t hinge around “haha rape!” the humour was “how come games act liket his is not a big deal” :]
It’s like if a joke about racial stereotypes mocks the STEREOTYPES rather than uses the stereotypes to mock PoCs…
That’s also a good piece to point to Molly! 😀 *hugs her hippo partner*
Oh no! D: Yao Ming is about to retire apparently… D:
another career cut too short by injuries :
Molly Ren – Holy crap, I can relate to that quote.
About a year ago, we had a teenager die in the ER with about eight bullet holes in him. It was a huge mess and I got to feel his ribs break when I did the CPR and I had his blood all over my gown and his parents were on their knees crying and it was just unbelievably horrible.
For weeks afterward, I couldn’t watch TV, because every time there was a casual murder, every time a “bad guy” hit the deck instantly and bloodlessly and the “hero” moved on without looking back, I’d think about the blood and the broken bones. I’d think about that teenager’s death happening over and over, about dozens of sets of crying parents, every time someone died on TV and it was no big deal.
I got over it, but then again, it wasn’t terribly personal to me–I didn’t know the kid or anything. Still, it drove home how different the depiction of casual violence feels when you have experience of real violence.
The overwhelming emotion I’d have was not “nobody should talk about or show violence.” What I kept thinking was “nobody should act like violence is No Big Deal.”
@ Molly:
Thanks for posting that.
A boss of mine was shot and killed almost a year ago, and then the building was set on fire to try and cover it up. Ever since, I’ve stopped using the phrase ‘die in a fire’ or using ‘murder’ to describe things like the day’s traffic. When something like that happens in your life, it’s so difficult to process the horror of the reality. And suddenly, a lot of things that used to be funny just aren’t anymore.
I would just like to point out that *my*brane is in a jar on my desk, so Bee dosen’t need to be translated into electrochemical impulses. And I would be happy to donate it to hungry zombies in need. I’ve already downloaded all of the information on it onto a couple of different hard drives.
And thanks for the Wanda Sykes link! I really enjoyed it. =3
Well, my brain is a giant collection of densely scribbled-upon slips of paper*, so if zombies would like to eat that, I guess they’re welcome to.
*nursing in-joke
*gives hugs to Holly and Victoria* 🙁
Aw. Man. Now I kind of feel like an ass for my post coming on the heels of such serious stuff. Sorry guys. =[
The kinds of things that humans are willing to perpetuate on each other just horrify me so much. *group hug*
As promised: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47990454@N06/
It was cut short because 1. Turrible algae bloom. So excuse the ucky green water. Everything smelled and I would not and could not swim in it myself. And 2. He was a Bad Dog who Misbehaved. He took off down the lakebeach on me, chasing after god knows what. And he also would not stop crying at every dog passing on the nearby bike trail. He loves to play, but he plays quite rough, and I would hate to have him scare someone by bolting at them/their dog. He *is* a pit, people misunderstand, and really, how could they know all he wants is to play and be petted? The little shit has also bent the tongue of his collar buckle enough that he can get his collar unbuckled and off. The bugger.
Also, I want to chime in that I find those awful “What do you call a woman with two black eyes- a bad listener” jokes just awful, due the the abuse my mother received when I was wee, but also due to Dickbag McGee the ex, whom I’ve discussed. And I also find rape jokes awful, especially ones about screwing sleeping/passed out women. Dickbag McGee did that to me on a number of occasions when I had not been drinking, and was only asleep. Not Funny At All.
Reading your stories now Johnny :3 Your idea for the evopsychs and Pandagon inspires me for an expansion set xD It seems like it’s perfect for a magic style expansion where you introduce new tribes and etc to the game :3
Let’s say for the sake of argument rape is treated as an especially heinous crime. Is that wrong? If it is, I have no problem with that.
I think that if rape is treated that way–and I think it often is–it’s because many people are, you know, decent human beings. And the idea of having their autonomy taken away– in a brutal, cruel way– from them is horrifying. In other words, they empathize. I guess empathizing with a fellow human being is wrong.
But I can see where that would trip MRA’s up: they don’t think of women as human.
* hugs back *
Thanks, I appreciate it! The year-mark of the event is coming up later this month, so it’s been on my mind a lot recently.
For what it’s worth, I don’t insist that everyone around me also stop using phrases like ‘die in a fire,’ even though I might wince when I hear it.
He was a good guy, he didn’t deserve what happened. It was the trope of the angry, recently-fired who comes back for revenge. The guy who shot him probably thought he was doing the rest of us who worked there a favor by ‘protecting’ us from the boss – but all he did was create grief and suffering. It’s really hard to comprehend that kind of cruelty, especially when it’s committed by someone you have known and thought reasonably well of.
Very awesome :3 I <3 the Beetches :3 Go Beetches!
Oh, I also wanted to weigh in on the–I feel have no choice but to call it “rape”–scene in “Get Him to the Greek.” Extraordinarily uncool. I remember watching that part and thinking “This sure seems an awful lot like assault to me.” and “Wow. This isn’t funny at all.” Even though it was a MAN and as dirty feminist I HATE ALL MEN.
…I think NWO genuinely missed the memo on this being satire.
He did. He’s irretrievably stupid. If he weren’t such a fucking asshole, I’d feel sorry for him.
FoSF, I love the pictures of your puppers! He is absolutely the most adorable, and I want to go swimming with him! I’m sorry the rest of the day wasn’t so great.
And, you know what, I am inclined to say that rape is a particularly heinous crime. There is no way, under any circumstances it can be justified, and it is a particularly horrible form of violence.
Oh, and Johnny, I’m really behind on reading your stories! I’m so sorry! I will get to them! (And to writing more of my own, hopefully…) tonight!
I love the shot of the little puppzer and the giant log of a stick!
Dave- he about drowned himself when I chucked it into the water. But unless he has the biggest stick he can find, he isn’t happy.
@Sarah yay! I’ve been RLy looking forward to your part 2 for a while! i wanna know of the original 7 sins and Dworkin xD