Trigger warning- common sense, cogent arguments, and all around awesomeness.
There is a lot of talk on the Internet these days about “rape culture” and whether certain things are off limits for inclusion in humor or other forms of entertainment. Some recent examples I can think of are the Penny Arcade Dickwolves controversy, The Daniel Tosh heckler comeback, and now a problem with a comment someone made when introducing a screening of the Evil Dead remake.
I am a strong believer in the right to express yourself verbally in any way you see fit. If your speech has consequences, so be it. Suck it up and take them- don’t apologize for your opinions just because they’re unpopular. When you express an unpopular opinion, there will likely be some backlash. Hell, that’s what’s given me 150+ posts on mattwalkersucks.com.
I don’t mind when I’m told I’m wrong, that I’m an idiot, that I should be burned at the stake, etc., because it’s just some other asshole’s opinion. They don’t mean anything to me, and as such, I don’t care what they think about, well, anything. But it seems that some persons are incapable of accepting that others don’t agree with them.
The reason I bring this up is that in the examples I listed above, certain Internet users chose to express their outrage by saying that the guys behind Penny Arcade, Daniel Tosh, and now Nick Nunziata are PRO RAPE. That kind of ridiculous statement is what makes someone like me want to reject their entire argument about whether “rape culture” even exists. None of these people are PRO RAPE. None of them are advocating that actual rapes take place. In the examples listed, the “rapes” that occurred were a) in a comic strip, b) purely fictional in a heckler comeback, and c) done by a tree in a movie.
Saying these persons are a fan of rape, or that they’re pro rape, or that they like rape is flat out lying about them, and is certainly libelous. Louis C.K. got accused of being a “Rape Apologist” just for sending Daniel Tosh a tweet saying that he liked his TV show.
If you want anyone to take you seriously when discussing these issues, deal with what was actually said in context, or you’re just going to make your own case look bad. Rape is awful- we all agree about that. There are some legitimate points to be made about how we can prevent more rapes from occurring, but if you are someone that insists on saying that the word can’t be mentioned without a trigger warning, or that jokes about it are NEVER funny, or that anyone who does use the term is encouraging/approving of/contributing to future rapes, then you’re just hurting your own cause.
P.S. If you’re disturbed not just by the concept of rape, but by hearing the word “rape” expressed in a flippant manner, then here’s a hint- don’t watch a movie that’s a remake of a movie where a tree rapes a woman. It’s not going to end well.