A recent blog post matched my mood, and covers a topic I feel very strongly about. Rape is not a joke. There is nothing funny about it. People who use it in a context to mean 'dominating' or 'oppressive' understand that it's a horrific thing, but not that survivors should be respected, no matter if the person you're 'joking' with is a survivor or not. Rape jokes contribute nothing intellectually stimulating/positive to conversation.
"Comedian" Daniel Tosh figured he'd get a lot of viewers if he brought an internet sensation on his show. Antoine Dodson, a brother to a near-rape victim was publicized after his unorthodox reprimanding of the rapist in a news interview. His response was autotuned and quickly became a YouTube and iTunes celebrity. Autotuned Youtube clip here.
I had never before watched Tosh's show, Tosh.0, but saw a commercial for it recently, advertising Dodson's upcoming appearance on the show. Dodson quoted from his famous clip that viewers would have to hide [their] kids, hide [their] wives, and hide [their] husbands because, as Tosh interjected, "we're rapin' errbody." I was devastated. I was sour. I was fuming. My angry-letter-writing hand itched. Then I found this blog post about the actual episode of Tosh.0 in which Dodson appeared and in which Tosh makes 30 - yes, thirty - 'jokes' about rape in 30 minutes.
Thankfully, the blog post provides a transcription of the happenings instead of a video clip so as not to give Tosh any more 'views.'
Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to write a letter.
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