Rape Jokes

[B'Elanna]

"I raped that game earli–" No.

"That Spire got raped by the Galleon!" Stop.

"The other team totally raped us tod–" Shut the fuck up.

Do you see what you're doing?

YOU ARE MAKING RAPE SOUND LIKE A POSITIVE ACTION.

YOU ARE EQUATING SEXUAL VIOLENCE WITH ACHIEVEMENTS.

STOP.

kinda sad that i actually have to post this

[Captain Smollett]

People just need to think a bit more before they speak.

One of my former roommates was a rape victim who would never even find the lightest comment about rape amusing since it would cause her to relive a moment she'd rather not have to.

That aside rape isn't funny or something to make light of.

So back to rule #1 of GOI - Don't be a dick.

[HamsterIV]

I used to do this when I was younger, until I was informed of how much of a dick I was being. It is a sign of immaturity and will pass as the speaker grows up.

We should still get on the case of anyone who uses the term inappropriately. It is better for the community as a whole to either loose our immature members or have them grow up a little.

[DMaximus]

This. So much this. It's so damn common and it just pisses me off. Statistically, if you know ten women odds are at least one of them has been sexually assaulted. Does using the word rape like in the examples B'Elanna posted make you more likely to sexually assault someone? Probably not. But making a conscious choice not to after educating yourself about just how awfully rape survivors are often treated and just how screwed up our whole legal system and societal norms can be with respect to sexual violence sure as hell will.

Hopefully someday using "rape" in this manner will be just as taboo as casually using the word "nigger." Since we can feel enough empathy in this country about slavery to make using that word enough to end careers, the fact that people can still casually make rape jokes and receive no censure is a pretty clear sign that there's something wrong. So please: do some reading. And some thinking. Have some empathy. And stop.

Note: I'm not trying to trivialize slavery or compare it in awfulness to rape. Both are terrible and should never happen.

[Gryphos]

Here here. Why people feel the need to use this term when describing what they are is completely inexcusable. There are plenty of alternatives available. Owned, pwned, dominated, destroyed, crushed, the list is endless. Don't use a word that describes something that's completely inappropriate and distressing.

[Imagine]

Well... I wouldn't really call those "jokes" per se, but I agree with everything else.

Stop it.

[Squash]

Rap jokes are still okay, right?

[Captain Smollett]

This seems like a good opportunity as a member of our GOI community to remind Eli that Rape isn't funny. 

It's really not appreciated that you put a rape joke in the forum post about the insensitivity of certain portions of our community and their flippant attitude towards rape jokes.

Guess we still have a ways to go.

[Salous]

Rap jokes are still okay, right?

Squash, I think you should stop making fun of this thread and actually take it seriously. Everything said so far has been spot on.

[Piemanlives]

Alright everyone, I'm going to have to point this out NOW rather then later, can we please avoid fighting with each other and talk about the issue at hand? I'd rather have this be a rather serious and focused discussion rather then a grudge match.

Back to the issue at hand however I'm going to have agree wholeheartedly, it's probably something everyone needs to think about and their choice of words, both in game and in real life. People need to be aware of things like this (No examples from me) or other offensive material like racial slurs, insulting people for their beliefs and such and such. They aren't good things to joke about, they should never be joked about, please avoid doing so in the future.

[Squidslinger Gilder]

Its more fun to say you've been Zuka'd!

Being Zuka'd implies numerous meanings but ultimately it's definition lies in the mind of the listener and the speaker. Also the term can vary depending on how drunk Zuka is at the time he Zuka's someone. There is only one time when there is a 100% definition associated with being Zuka'd. That is, being rammed from behind by Zuka's Pyra followed by cries of "Filthy Peasant! You Made Me Spill My Beer!!"

[Byron Cavendish]

Rap jokes are still okay, right?

Squash, I think you should stop making fun of this thread and actually take it seriously. Everything said so far has been spot on.

I think you should stop making fun of Squash and actually take Squash seriously. Quack.

[Byron Cavendish]

Its more fun to say you've been Zuka'd!

Being Zuka'd implies numerous meanings but ultimately it's definition lies in the mind of the listener and the speaker. Also the term can vary depending on how drunk Zuka is at the time he Zuka's someone. There is only one time when there is a 100% definition associated with being Zuka'd. That is, being rammed from behind by Zuka's Pyra followed by cries of "Filthy Peasant! You Made Me Spill My Beer!!"

"That rock came out of nowhere!"

[Omniraptor]

I've noticed this problem a few times, once even from a duck What are we supposed to do about it? Just call people out verbally? Report them?

Simply calling these rape jokes out seems to be the best option, better to be called a 'killjoy' or 'humorless' than potentially remind someone of a really horrible experience when they just want to blow up airships and have fun.

If the person agrees to stop dropping r-word, everything is peachy, but if they say something like 'it's just a joke' or 'grow a thicker skin', do we report them or what? Frankly, I feel that a game lobby might not be the best place to educate someone about rape culture and why it's bad...

[Morblitz]

I've noticed this problem a few times, once even from a duck What are we supposed to do about it? Just call people out verbally? Report them?

If you know the person, and you take issue with what they said, I would try talking to them (perhaps privately), and if it's clan related, talk to someone higher up that will be listened to, and ask them to have a word with that person, especially if they got defensive about you taking issue with their behaviour. You can also mute and/or report. You don't have to allow them to subject you to that kind of stuff.

A lot of the problem is to do with how casual that word is in the context of gaming, it's become such a strong part of the common lingo used when describing a game. I have even heard it used during streams by Icarus casters. Now, I'm sure it wasn't on purpose, and there wouldn't have been anything malicious behind it, but at this point in gaming culture the word is the equivalent to saying that one side really soundly defeated the other. That's bad. We need to separate words like this from their casually used nature. This also applies to other words that involve hate and bigotry. The gaming community uses them so casually and dismiss anyone offended by it as 'butthurt'.

I supposed this is as good a time as any to introduce this. But I recently became aware of this site.

http://gamersagainstbigotry.org/

It has a kind of petition in it where you vow to be aware of the language you use and how the connotations behind them can really hurt people, regardless of YOUR intended use of the word. It also has a section in there about the casual use of the word 'rape'. Found here: http://gamersagainstbigotry.org/2012/07/why-you-should-stop-saying-rape-casually-in-games/

Now I'm not demanding that people actually sign it. but it might be a good thing to keep in mind when trying to be aware about the gravity of this kind of speech. We can make this a really good community.