#RapeJokes vs #FreeSpeech
Source: http://nekozneko.deviantart.com/
Just had a friend post this on her facebook and I swear to god it is the most #KoolAid-Guzzling thing I have seen all week. So I had to respond.
“GAH!!!!!
You just went full on Simmons with this one. Lvl 10 Simmons*.
I understand the seriousness of the subject matter here and I understand it deserves a level of respect.
But you are promoting the idea of being small minded and wanting restriction of speech especially one of the most powerful forms: Humor.
Humor and comedy has been one of the most powerful tools of humanity. It can be used to break down walls of hate and fear and this subject at the core of it is mostly fear, the fear of taking one of the most intimate things in humanity and violating it so completely.
Just in my limited lifetime, I have witnessed comedy used to break down racism, sexism and other Isms. Why? Because when a human is laughing and in a good mood, it can allow that person to look at something scary and process it in a new light. It can allow people to look at an issue from another point of view. It can help express fears of others without the need to directly experience the fears. It can build a respect for the fear without being crippled by it.
Humor like everything in life needs to be judged on an individual basis. There are going to be jokes that suck and are crass. There are going to be jokes that are going to be shocking and cringe-worthy. These may land deep enough to make people take more time process and in the end make them more sympathetic to the issue. There are going to be some jokes that are just simply hilarious.
There are going to be some comedians that need to be reminded of the seriousness of the subject. There are going to be some comedians that need to be commended when they help the subject.
Remember no two people are ever going to agree all the time, but the freedom of speech is at the core of importance. But when someone comes down to the point of using the word “All”, they are walking into a dangerous place. Terms likes “All” and “Never” are rarely ever true. There are always going to be exceptions to every supposed rule. Judge each situation individually. Consider the source of the ideas. Consider the source of the information.
One last thing to point out: in my rant here, I never used the term rape. Why? Because this ideal I am sharing here can be applied to anything that is based in fear or hate. Racism, Sexism, Arachnophobia, Terrorism, Coulrophobia, Geneticism or Traumatophobia.
Sometimes laughing at a fear is the only way you can win over the fear.”
I am so tired of the war on free speech. There is plenty in the nation that I hate hearing. I would love to hush up the likes of Kim K. and similar, but I don’t dare go to the point to attempt to remove their freedoms from them. Anytime you remove the freedoms from another unjustly, we are all in danger.
*Simmons is the name of a friend in common that tends to post bigoted single minded views on social media sites.