Backlash after WC rape jokes flood Twitter

[Scarlett Dracarys]

Okay so let's just pretend that using the word rape becomes an accepted metaphor. Your kids lost a football ball game and the coach describes it as 8 year olds getting raped on the field. Another example, your elderly mother loses at a game of whatever activity elderly people partake in these days. A friend of yours make the comment " yo bro your mother just got raped"
If you all think it's an acceptable terminology, I dare you all to try using it on a more regular basis and share the outcome in this thread. Your neighbor was just involved in an accident and the culprit didn't have insurance. Your comment "you just got raped big time lol"
It just doesn't sound right if used out of context to describe a situation that is nowhere near what being raped actually is. The minute you utter the word the first image that comes to mind isn't even pretty. Why would anyone want that kind of image in their head or be reminded of such a vile act ?
It's already achieved triviality if it's being used so loosely on Twitter. It's already getting to the point where society sees no harm in using 'rape' to describe a situation.

 

[fishfingers15]

Rape is pretty serious, so is murder, and other evil acts. If children use swear words like shit, feck, it's a pretty big deal, why should it not be for rape? I think it should, it'll create awareness. However, using this topic or even suggesting using this topic as a ban filter for people posting on the forum is callous and completely stupid. Oh no, it's a trap. Well feck you redcafe, rape is a lot more serious issue than getting banned in redcafe.

 

[Costanza]

3. There isn't one. Rape always has and always will be seen as a dastardly, cowardly, evil act, by anyone with a semblance of morals. Needs to be much stronger definitions on what constitutes rape though. We've all had the drunken sex is rape argument.

FFS You are seriously of the opinion that there isn't a patriarchal culture that normalises rape? Unfortunately not everyone has your "semblance of morals". That's why there are still countries in which marital rape is not a crime and there are people and media outlets whose first reaction to a rape is to blame the victim and ask what they were wearing. A woman is sexually assaulted in the US every 6 minutes! Of course there's a problem!

On the broader discussion, I don't think language is or should be flexible enough to allow derogatory terms to become so far removed from their original meanings that people can say 'oh stop being so politically correct' as a defence for using them. And that's because I doubt those words and their meanings are so abstract for the people truly affected by them. I doubt a rape victim finds the idea of Germany raping Brazil hilarious and I doubt a gay person finds you using 'gay' as a substitute for 'stupid' funny either. In much the same way, saying Moyes is retarded wouldn't be very funny for someone with a mentally ill relative. Saying that we don't show the same moral outrage for suicide jokes isn't an argument to support rape jokes, it's just an argument that we should also treat suicide very seriously. I'd argue the impact of rape jokes is even greater because the victim is often still alive and because rape has historically not been taken anywhere near seriously enough and has often been blamed on the victim. The harm rape jokes cause victims and their families isn't worth the guys on the Caf having a chuckle

 

[DOTA]

FFS You are seriously of the opinion that there isn't a patriarchal culture that normalises rape? Unfortunately not everyone has your "semblance of morals". That's why there are still countries in which marital rape is not a crime and there are people and media outlets whose first reaction to a rape is to blame the victim and ask what they were wearing. A woman is sexually assaulted in the US every 6 minutes! Of course there's a problem!

On the broader discussion, I don't think language is or should be flexible enough to allow derogatory terms to become so far removed from their original meanings that people can say 'oh stop being so politically correct' as a defence for using them. And that's because I doubt those words and their meanings are so abstract for the people truly affected by them. I doubt a rape victim finds the idea of Germany raping Brazil hilarious and I doubt a gay person finds you using 'gay' as a substitute for 'stupid' funny either. In much the same way, saying Moyes is retarded wouldn't be very funny for someone with a mentally ill relative. Saying that we don't show the same moral outrage for suicide jokes isn't an argument to support rape jokes, it's just an argument that we should also treat suicide very seriously. I'd argue the impact of rape jokes is even greater because the victim is often still alive and because rape has historically not been taken anywhere near seriously enough and has often been blamed on the victim. The harm rape jokes cause victims and their families isn't worth the guys on the Caf having a chuckle

Get promoted, please. x

 

[amolbhatia50k]

FFS You are seriously of the opinion that there isn't a patriarchal culture that normalises rape? Unfortunately not everyone has your "semblance of morals". That's why there are still countries in which marital rape is not a crime and there are people and media outlets whose first reaction to a rape is to blame the victim and ask what they were wearing. A woman is sexually assaulted in the US every 6 minutes! Of course there's a problem!

On the broader discussion, I don't think language is or should be flexible enough to allow derogatory terms to become so far removed from their original meanings that people can say 'oh stop being so politically correct' as a defence for using them. And that's because I doubt those words and their meanings are so abstract for the people truly affected by them. I doubt a rape victim finds the idea of Germany raping Brazil hilarious and I doubt a gay person finds you using 'gay' as a substitute for 'stupid' funny either. In much the same way, saying Moyes is retarded wouldn't be very funny for someone with a mentally ill relative. Saying that we don't show the same moral outrage for suicide jokes isn't an argument to support rape jokes, it's just an argument that we should also treat suicide very seriously. I'd argue the impact of rape jokes is even greater because the victim is often still alive and because rape has historically not been taken anywhere near seriously enough and has often been blamed on the victim. The harm rape jokes cause victims and their families isn't worth the guys on the Caf having a chuckle

Great post by..... Redtube?

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Seriously, let's not pretend that there isn't a issue regarding the taking of rape seriously. Everyone living in india should definitely know that sensitising people to women's rights and the issues they face is a huge task. Their issues are constantly trivialised and shrouded in suspicion. Using words like this, so casually, for things so far removed from the actual meaning of the word, where the word actually has stigma attached to it (unlike murder, destroy, annihilate etc) should be avoided.

 

[DOTA]

Great post by..... Redtube?

I enjoyed the contrast there, too.

 

[ATXRedDevil]

The PC crowd is out of control these days...

 

[fishfingers15]

Seriously, let's not pretend that there isn't a issue regarding the taking of rape seriously. Everyone living in india should definitely know that sensitising people to women's rights and the issues they face is a huge task. Their issues are constantly trivialised and shrouded in suspicion. Using words like this, so casually, for things so far removed from the actual meaning of the word, where the word actually has stigma attached to it (unlike murder, destroy, annihilate etc) should be avoided.

Very true about India. Rape is no laughing matter, I'd like to see my country men giving it their absolute best not to trivialize that. But on the other hand, if someone objects to murder, retard etc, it's best to drop it.

 

[Costanza]

Great post by..... Redtube?

I'm going to try and defend this by arguing people (theoretically, at least) have the agency to get involved in porn, whereas rape is obviously against your will

The truth is that two and a half years ago I somehow convinced myself this would be a great username

 

[NoLogo]

Gotta love the ignorance on the internet whenever someone dares to mention that joking about a certain thing is really tasteless and very hurtful to some people. "I'm not offended by it so how dare you be offended by it."

 

[rimaldo]

A woman is sexually assaulted in the US every 6 minutes! Of course there's a problem!

poor woman are the police doing anything?

 

[duffer]

Gotta love the ignorance on the internet whenever someone dares to mention that joking about a certain thing is really tasteless and very hurtful to some people. "I'm not offended by it so how dare you be offended by it."

There's more of a "you're offended, so what"? attitude as opposed to "how dare you be offended".

Personally I don't like the casual use of some words but at the same time I am certain will be people who don't like certain thing I say.

This is a privately owned site so if the use of "raped" is not wanted then I won't use it. I'd personally prefer the casual homophobia n here be wiped out but as I said, different people get offended by different things and it's not my house so it's not my rules.

 

[Matador8]

Redtube nailed it.

 

[SalfordRed18]

FFS You are seriously of the opinion that there isn't a patriarchal culture that normalises rape? Unfortunately not everyone has your "semblance of morals". That's why there are still countries in which marital rape is not a crime and there are people and media outlets whose first reaction to a rape is to blame the victim and ask what they were wearing. A woman is sexually assaulted in the US every 6 minutes! Of course there's a problem!

On the broader discussion, I don't think language is or should be flexible enough to allow derogatory terms to become so far removed from their original meanings that people can say 'oh stop being so politically correct' as a defence for using them. And that's because I doubt those words and their meanings are so abstract for the people truly affected by them. I doubt a rape victim finds the idea of Germany raping Brazil hilarious and I doubt a gay person finds you using 'gay' as a substitute for 'stupid' funny either. In much the same way, saying Moyes is retarded wouldn't be very funny for someone with a mentally ill relative. Saying that we don't show the same moral outrage for suicide jokes isn't an argument to support rape jokes, it's just an argument that we should also treat suicide very seriously. I'd argue the impact of rape jokes is even greater because the victim is often still alive and because rape has historically not been taken anywhere near seriously enough and has often been blamed on the victim. The harm rape jokes cause victims and their families isn't worth the guys on the Caf having a chuckle

I know a gay guy who openly calls overly camp gays faggots. I say things are "gay" all the time and he doesnt bat an eyelid. Just to throw a spanner in the works.

 

[Rudie]

Brazil got bummed, I think that would be more acceptable.

 

[knack]

.. For whatever reason, annihilated doesn't carry the same connotations are raped does. That's all there is to it.

I personally dont find using rape in such context distasteful tbh but I know people do so I refrain from using it.' , but as others have pointed out its clearly a result of increasing feminism throughout the world , and sensationalism of men crimes against women and an extension of the narrative that men are insensitive pigs and most of them misogynysts .

No ones is justifying usage of rape in casual sense but if is distasteful so should be murder , annhilation , disembowelment etc.

And you cant just duck the issue and say two wrongs dont make a right, because if forums like caf ban words like rape because rape is offensive then I am equally offended by the other words too and they should be banned too. Where does it stop then .... ?

Fwiw I never use any of above words in a casual way including rape , but over sensitiveness to the word rape and yet using murder is okay thing definately gets to me.

 

[Lagger]

If children use swear words like shit, feck, it's a pretty big deal

Discussion aside, that is not a big deal in my book. As long as adults can't control themselves enough to not swear every second sentence, why should kids?

 

[Pagh Wraith]

It's annoying how much fuss the simple use of words create in the world.

But it shows the problems that we still have as humans. But, for a moment, let's imagine a completely equal and fair world without any prejudice or discrimination. If noone on earth were racist, it would actually be okay to use racist terms to have some banter, because nobody would get offended anymore as racism wasn't a problem of society anymore. Same as it's okay today to make fun of gingers or someone's haircut. Shouldn't that be our goal instead of creating outrage over everything that's being said?

 

[Swaters16]

"Gay" is a bad example as well. "Gay" has undergone a complete meaning shift among youths today. It no longer refers negatively to homosexuality for a lot of people - in my books if you're still offended by the word 'gay' that's your problem and not the users. If anything it's positive as it shows there's very little stigma attached to homosexuality in modern times and the word that was formerly derogatory can be used with such freedom.
In this case rape is just being broadened as a term. I can understand some people don't like its use but it isn't trivializing anything. Meaning changes happen all the time and language is always changing it could be that rape no longer just refers to rape in the criminal sense it also has a second meaning that is used in contexts such as sport. Rape as a word only has the power it's given - if you avoid using the word and dance around the issue entirely then isn't that going to be a problem?
This is a classic case of people choosing to be offended by something because they feel like that's what they should do. Moral high ground and all that.

 

[NoLogo]

There's more of a "you're offended, so what"? attitude as opposed to "how dare you be offended".

Personally I don't like the casual use of some words but at the same time I am certain will be people who don't like certain thing I say.

This is a privately owned site so if the use of "raped" is not wanted then I won't use it. I'd personally prefer the casual homophobia n here be wiped out but as I said, different people get offended by different things and it's not my house so it's not my rules.

In my eyes it's pretty much the same thing as you don't give a shit about other peoples feelings, at least on the internet.

Let's be honest if your sister, good friend or someone you care about would have been raped and you set on a table with her/him and the rest of the family would you crack one rape joke after the other? I have a feeling you wouldn't out of respect for the feelings of a person that is dear to you.

I know it's hard to make a personal connection over the internet when every person is just symbolized by a few letters on a screen it's hard to be emphatic towards people and it's very easy to let your "dark side" out.

Hell I have made tasteless or hurtful jokes as well in my life but if someone tells me "dude that is really not okay and it's hurtful to me due to x, y, z reasons I will apologize for it and I have a feeling that's how a lot of people would react in real life too but because it's the internet a lot of people feel like acting tough, showing that they don't give a feck is the right or cool thing to do.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Great post by..... Redtube?

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I'm going to try and defend this by arguing people (theoretically, at least) have the agency to get involved in porn, whereas rape is obviously against your will

The truth is that two and a half years ago I somehow convinced myself this would be a great username

No need to defend yourself fella. It is indeed a great username.

Now we just need a poster called youwazz.

 

[Cereal Killer]

Offense is taken, not given.

That sums it up quite nicely in my opinion.

 

[DOTA]

Offense is taken, not given.

That sums it up quite nicely in my opinion.

You're an idiot.

No offense.

 

[Cereal Killer]

You're an idiot.

No offense.

None taken.

 

[DOTA]

None taken.

 

[duffer]

Let's be honest if your sister, good friend or someone you care about would have been raped and you set on a table with her/him and the rest of the family would you crack one rape joke after the other? I have a feeling you wouldn't out of respect for the feelings of a person that is dear to you.

Well of course that goes without saying but the same thing would apply to about a 1000 other subjects. I probably would't make a comment about Anderon's weight if I was sat next to a fat person. I probably wouldn't make a short joke about Valbuena if I was sat next to Tyrion Lannister.

If we all acted and spoke on here as though we were sat at a dinner table with "the rest of the family" it would be probably be a very polite and a very, very dull place.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Well of course that goes without saying but the same thing would apply to about a 1000 other subjects. I probably would't make a comment about Anderon's weight if I was sat next to a fat person. I probably wouldn't make a short joke about Valbuena if I was sat next to Tyrion Lannister.

If we all acted and spoke on here as though we were sat at a dinner table with "the rest of the family" it would be probably be a very polite and a very, very dull place.

To be fair, there are seemingly a lot of short jokes at the Lannister family dinner table...

 

[brewlio]

I personally dont find using rape in such context distasteful tbh

Well I do. Same with the use of cancer as a metaphor or analogy. I'll send posters warnings for it every time. Serial offenders get the boot.

*Feel free to report such inappropriate posts. Ta.

 

[duffer]

Well I do. Same with the use of cancer as a metaphor or analogy. I'll send posters warnings for it every time. Serial offenders get the boot.

*Feel free to report such inappropriate posts. Ta.

Do you do the same for the homophobic stuff? I'm not saying you don't but just want to know if I'd be wasting my time reporting people.

 

[Randall Flagg]

Offense is taken, not given.

That sums it up quite nicely in my opinion.

its all about the situation

Would you talk about the Germans raping Brazil in front of your mother? no

But with your mates in the pub? Probably

 

[Cereal Killer]

If only everyone could do the same there'd be no harm in words.

 

[brewlio]

Do you do the same for the homophobic stuff?

No, because I'm not homophobic and I don't mind gays. Calling someone/something gay is different from gay bashing. Anyway duffs, stop being obstinate

 

[Randall Flagg]

Do you do the same for the homophobic stuff? I'm not saying you don't but just want to know if I'd be wasting my time reporting people.

a couple of years ago my user name was changed to Randall Fag for a few months. It was a gay old time and nobody cared

Now it would be frowned upon

 

[Cereal Killer]

its all about the situation

Would you talk about the Germans raping Brazil in front of your mother? no

But with your mates in the pub? Probably

That's a different matter entirely. My mother is old fashioned and would probably gawk at the sound of me saying "rape". We harbor different ideologies.

 

[Randall Flagg]

That's a different matter entirely. My mother is old fashioned and would probably gawk at the sound of me saying "rape". We harbor different ideologies.

the moral of it all is beware of your audience

 

[duffer]

No, because I'm not homophobic and I don't mind gays. Calling someone/something gay is different from gay bashing. Anyway duffs, stop being obstinate

Calling someone a "fag" as an insult is homophobic in my eyes but whatever, I'll shut up.

 

[Rudie]

a couple of years ago my user name was changed to Randall Fag for a few months.

 

[brewlio]

Calling someone a "fag" as an insult is homophobic in my eyes but whatever, I'll shut up.

Well I suppose it's a little bit subjective. Anyway, rape and cancer are both personal to me and have affected my life at times, due to this I'll probably come down harder on posters that use rape and cancer as analogies or gags. Every mod is different I suppose. I get what you're saying though. Aye, shut up