First and foremost: WTF? This is totally and completely, unequivocally, without a shadow of a doubt the most disgusting display of human I have seen in quite some time. This flyer was found inside the dudes’ bathroom of a co-ed freshman dorm at Ohio’s Miami University, and the person who wrote this is CLEARLY missing a “sensitivity chip” (as Jennifer Aniston once said about Brad Pitt in a completely different context).
My initial reaction to the flyer was, “I hope this is a joke.” My subsequent, and admittedly more appropriate reaction was, “Even if this is a joke, no one’s going to find this funny except the a-hole that wrote it.” Now, my sense of humor leans more towards CB Radio trucker-talk than ladylike knock-knocks, but to me, the only thing that’s laughable about this flyer is the horrific misuse of grammar and punctuation.
So what do we take this for? Some stupid kid gunning for a Tosh-type comedic reputation? To that I say, get on a stage. If you want to make rape jokes (which I don’t condone), at least do it in a public forum where people can throw shoes at you (Jeffrey Campbell-sized clunkers, hopefully). Don’t hide behind your Comic Sans, under-punctuated, over-aggro, sorry excuse for a Letterman-list of malarkey. That’s a bunch of stuff.
But if this isn’t a joke, I hope the university supplies every single female student with a key-chain compatible pepper spray and brass knuckles. Maybe throw in some self-defense classes and start barring-up windows, New York-style until they find this demon-child. Because this is not a flyer expressing freedom of speech, my friends. This isn’t even a declaration of male dominance or “macho pig-ism,” as Jessie Spano might say. This is straight up crazytalk. Super-violent, super-inexcusable, super-scary crazytalk. And even crazy gets into college sometimes, we’ve come to learn.
And I don’t envy the position of university officials, who have responded by calling a mandatory (finger-wagging) meeting of that particular dorm’s male residents, as they believe it was “confined strictly” to one place. Offhand, this seems like an under-reaction to a gross display of potentially harmful activity. But how do you effectively stress the seriousness of this to a building full of high school-sprung, slowly maturing man-boys? And what about the girls in the dorm? How can the university assure them that it isn’t an “immediate threat?” (Or for that matter a threat, period?).
A good way to start would be to harness the involvement of the campus’ sexual assault prevention coordinator. But apparently, that position at Miami University has been vacant for more than year. Not a great look for a school that’s had 27 cases of sexual assault reported to the police since 2009.
In all honesty, the trucker in me would really like to write a response to this terrible human in the form of my own Letterman-list (of the Top Ten Places Where Whoever Wrote This Flyer Can Shove It), but the lady in me chose a haiku instead. Please enjoy:
Rape is not funny
Stupid people make me pukey
You used the wrong “your”
Featured image via Tumblr
Totally agree. Rape is not funny.
However, rape can be gotten away with. That is the awfull truth. Maybe it helps a bit to laugh at people who think that rape should be gotten away with.
The rapist do usually not think of his or hers crime as being a rape; “her skirt was too short” “she was smiling wihout a clear reason” are exuses I have both heard and read. The rapist is clearly also a victim of sexual abuse. It is a repetition of what has happened.
Most human beings want affirmation as to what they are doing, to find out if it is right or wrong. This is also so how most criminals are caught – they speak of their lifes and of what they are doing. The same as everyone else.
Misogyny is still prevalent in 2012. Just goes to show that evolution does take breaks.
I am horrified after seeing this and reading the article that is linked above. I was a victim of date rape in high school with not one but two rapists that came into my home. I didn’t tell and THEY ended up BRAGGING about it in the lockerroom so I was considered a SLUT. I had slept with two guys at once. I was on the cheerleading squad. The rapists dated girls on the squad who of course now HATED ME for “sleeping” with their boyfriends. I was
bullyied, shoved into a locker (I am 6’1 and have been since the age of 13) my whole world turned upside down. I lived with my mother (broken home) and eventually asked to move back to live with my father, I couldnt stand the verbal abuse, attacks etc. Rape is not a joke. No victim asks for it. And even if the word NO doesn’t leave her lips for some reason, if she is fighting back and crying and screaming, its not consentual . Praising God for the ability to write this now at the age of 42. I have never seen my words on the attack in print. I am a survivor and I will ALWAYS speak up for my girls!
Any normal human being would probably find this document to be offensive and disgusting. I definitely do not condone any of these statements, seeing as they are ill-composed, vile, and immoral (at least by most standards). That being said, can we really control other’s humor? With every joke there is going to be someone who gets offended. I personally feel it is within the nature of a joke to, well, poke fun at a particular subject. I can see where there may have been an aspect of humor in the document, and where it kind of went wrong. I can also see how specific people may find this funny. There are some people in the world who posses a more crude sense of humor than others. That doesn’t really give them the right to post this in front of the world, but people are entitled to their opinions, however malicious, as long as they don’t hurt other people. As for relating this back to Daniel Tosh, the problem I have with the way his situation was portrayed was that many told it as if it was the first time he ever made a rape joke. I’m fairly certain all of the people in attendance were aware of what variety of humor he aimed towards prior to going to see his show. He has made countless other rape jokes. Why was one particular one so much more offensive? If rape jokes are NEVER funny then why didn’t people speak out before hand?
I’m not sure when the list was made, but if it was within the last day or two it might have to do with an article that’s quickly becoming a national story about the experience of a rape victim at Amherst College: http://amherststudent.amherst.edu/?q=article/2012/10/17/account-sexual-assault-amherst-college
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I can’t even imagine the sick mind who typed this up. Just reading it made me want to vomit.
Even if it is a joke, there is always the possibility that the guys who see it take it seriously. What the hell, world? Why is the university not doing more to find out who did this? Why are they not taking extra measures to ensure the safety of the female students? There are a lot of people who should be held accountable for this who unfortunately probably won’t.
This is an insult to rape victims, there needs to be a serious investigation into who would make such a list and post it for everyone (at least every guy anyway) to see. It’s scary to think someone this twisted is walking freely on campus without people knowing.
While I am thoroughly appalled by this list (and only partly because I am a teacher of college students and may have male students who think like this), I’m not surprised by it. When we have elected officials making comments like “some girls rape easy” (State Rep. Richard Rivard R-WI), how are we going to be able to convince people that this kind of rhetoric (I refuse to call it humor) isn’t okay? Speak up at the polls, friends!
As someone who was *once* a rape victim, and as a registered Republican, I think it is more than a little unfair to suggest that all Republicans are pro-rape culture, or that showing your frustration “at the polls” is even remotely the answer. This isn’t a political issue. It’s a social issue… a societal issue. It’s what is being taught to our children by people who call themselves parents, but certainly aren’t worthy of such a noble title. It’s the fact that industries like porn, strip clubs, and prostitution are becoming less and less taboo, and therefor more and more acceptable… and these industries reinforce the idea that women are meat… women are sexual objects, and it’s ok to use them as such. My father is a Republican, and when he learned about what happened to me, he was devasted and protective and furious. Not for one second did he think it was my fault somehow. I’m sure many of the Republican leaders out there feel the same way. Don’t be so quick to judge an entire group of people based on the idiotic speech of one man. The best way to combat rape culture is to EDUCATE our kids, and to instill love, compassion, and respect for ALL human beings within them. And to punish those (like the monster who wrote this — no matter his intention, this was the LEAST funny thing I’ve ever seen in my life) who don’t understand just how deep, lasting, and damaging even a joke on this matter can be.
Totally agree, Manda. I’m sorry for what happened to you. Thank you for sharing with us and speaking out. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I feel like Donald Duck when he gets so angry that they crack an egg on his head and it fries on the spot.
There are no words to describe how sickened I am by this. If I’d seen this in my dorm, I would have lost all semblance of sanity, tracked down the a-hole, and shoved it down his throat. Then I would have….well…
I get that violence isn’t the answer. But sometimes I just don’t care.
Well I’m so happy to see what thousands of dollars of tuition pays for. Also the position has been VACANT and 27 CASES?! Wow. “How to rape”. I can’t believe I just read that. How about “How to Castrate” ?
“How to Castrate” – yes. Just yes.
Almost crying. Not because I’m triggered, though putting a warning is a good idea. I don’t have words for how much I don’t understand rape culture. I don’t care how young or privileged you are, how in the world does a human being decide this is his comedic best? And yes, I absolutely am making the assumption the writer was male.
UGH YES. I had an argument with someone about rape being funny/not funny about a year ago. I couldn’t believe he was literally making a case for rape being funny. NEVER FUNNY.
While I agree this is terrible, I don’t think the author’s intent was humor. I believe he (or she) was attempting to make a point through sarcasm.
Number 4 (if the window’s unlocked, rape her to teach her not to do it again), seems to be sarcastically addressing the idea that it’s the “woman’s fault” for keeping her door unlocked, dressing a certain way, etc.
Similarly, number 8, about “slitting her throat”, seems to be making a sarcastic point that, if you’re going to rape someone, why not slit her throat as well?
Again, I think this is terrible, and clearly missed the mark. But I do believe that the flier was meant to be an anti-rape sarcastic missive.
If that’s what it was supposed to be, which I highly doubt, they failed spectacularly.
This is just awful! And I go to school at Miami, with this person, I might be in class with this person. It makes me nauseous.
We have to remember that there are many people out there who were born without souls. The best thing we can do, as women, is take self defense courses and carry around pepper spray.
I’d like to meet the person who wrote this.
It was obviously supposed to be a joke, but being ironic is never really funny.It’s a stupid thing to make, but it’s not like rapists don’t already know how it’s done so I wouldn’t say that this is aiding anyone who might rape.I would call this bad taste and move on.
It’s more than a stupid joke. There are certain things normal people with a conscience don’t joke about. Like killing babies.
I am sure a bunch of college boys got trashed and thought it would be fucking hilarious to post that. Who jokes about that? Someone who doesn’t take rape seriously.
I think it’s important to make a big deal about this. For all of the women who have been raped or will be. We have to make it a big deal. It’s not okay.
The person that made that top ten list makes Attila the Hun look like a gentleman! This makes me sad and angry. This person, whether meant as a joke or not, should be expelled from the human race!