I actually read that whole article and (honestly not trying to be dense here) I have no idea what he is going on about aside from the self-evident point that actual rape is really, really bad and seriously harms actual victims. This whole "rape culture" nonsense doesn't wash with me. It sounds like more fabricated thought-policing.

Rape is only one type of violent crime. Given that beatings and murder are far FAR more common themes in American entertainment, shouldn't we be saying that there exists a "murder culture"? Yet we don't, because there is no potential white-knight crusade that faux noble hypersensitive people can jump on since murder is just as likely to happen to men as women (who cares, right?) while in the majority of rapes women are the victims. Now THERE is a good "minority" group that (like all do in the minds of these nuts) needs defending - TO THE INTERNET!!

I continue to push back on this subject not because my life revolves around rape jokes but because the politically-correct white-knighter's, despite meaning well, have infected to much of American psyche with their wrong-headed attempts at thought and speech control and made too much discourse in everyday life toxic and potentially harmful to too many innocent people, like this poor PR guy who did absolutely NOTHING wrong yet is getting called out all over the web by hypersensitive, misguided wackos when he meant no harm at all. So I push back on this whenever I can, because your crusade is ruining people's lives and making it harder and harder for people in the public eye to make a living while still be able to say what they want when it is clear that they intended no harm. Regardless of how the hypersensitive white-knights interpret everything through their perverted prism, people shouldn't be crucified because one group or another hears words or sees action in the absolute most malignant light possible.

It's gotten so ridiculous that Brent Mussberger and even Barrack Obama get crucified by people infected with this hypersensitivity disease for saying something nice about a beautiful woman. It is absolutely out of control, and I am tired of the hypersensitive white-knighters getting to dictate what is culturally allowed and what isn't. Sorry, but a random wolf whistle from some random guy at E3 is just not a big deal (in fact it's no deal at all) and is perfectly acceptable. I'm way more offended by all of the nutty over-reaction by self-appointed speech police who somehow got the notion in their heads that they have the power to declare what is and what isn't socially acceptable in a given environment or instance. And everyone else is just supposed to conform because you said so? Sorry, but no.

This comment was edited on Jun 15, 2013, 22:01.

Beamer wrote on Jun 14, 2013, 19:09:
Patton Oswald discusses rape jokes and why people can't deny rape culture exists.

I agree with him that you can't deny that a rape culture exists.
But I don't agree with him on this point:

First off: no one is trying to make rape, as a subject, off-limits. No one is talking about censorship. In this past week of re-reading the blogs, going through the comment threads, and re-scrolling the Twitter arguments, I haven’t once found a single statement, feminist or otherwise, saying that rape shouldn’t be joked under any circumstance, regardless of context. Not one example of this.

There are people in this very thread saying that and they're wrong.

Patton Oswald discusses rape jokes and why people can't deny rape culture exists.

Verno wrote on Jun 14, 2013, 09:00:

Prez wrote on Jun 14, 2013, 07:01:
Who makes these rules exactly? Sounds like BS to me.

There is a rowdy group of female climbers at the indoor climbing gym I go to in the winter and they do shit like that all the time. Amazingly us guys do not burst into tears or start lecturing them about being polite.

Yeah, because it's a group at your gym.
Imagine it was pretty much a group every single place you went.

eRe4s3r wrote on Jun 14, 2013, 11:26:
If you don't know what is culturally acceptable or not, I can't help you. Sure some people are ok with it, but far more are not.

What is culturally acceptable depends on social and geographical context, not some imaginary set of rules that must be adhered to.

* REMOVED *
This comment was deleted on Jun 14, 2013, 12:23.

If you don't know what is culturally acceptable or not, I can't help you. Sure some people are ok with it, but far more are not.

Prez wrote on Jun 14, 2013, 07:01:
Who makes these rules exactly? Sounds like BS to me.

There is a rowdy group of female climbers at the indoor climbing gym I go to in the winter and they do shit like that all the time. Amazingly us guys do not burst into tears or start lecturing them about being polite.

Wolf whistling was always sexist, be it men or women doing it. It is inappropriate in public nowadays, especially when you whistle at strangers or work related people. And it is far more inappropriate on a public stage like the E3.

Who makes these rules exactly? Sounds like BS to me.

William Usher wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 16:53:
Whoa, wow...so wolf whistling is now sexist and the result of bad parenting? Wow.

Wolf whistling was always sexist, be it men or women doing it. It is inappropriate in public nowadays, especially when you whistle at strangers or work related people. And it is far more inappropriate on a public stage like the E3.

Does this also apply as being rude and inappropriate if a guy does it to another guy?

Think very hard about that sentence... and what whistling at a dude implies That can be extremely rude/inappropriate, or extremely dangerous....

I always thought that's common sense. ^^

Prez wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 23:16:

Redmask wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 22:12:
This has nothing to do with government, stop trying to derail everything with your idiotic liberal rants. As if people being over sensitive was somehow limited to liberals, bloody moron.

He is a self-admitted troll (See Speharo's or nin's sig) but it seems that people are learning not to fall for his bait. The thing is that I occassionally agree with him on some basic level about some things, but trying to hamfistedly shoehorn his political rants into every topic is obnoxious and aggravating.

Sig time?

Sig time!

Redmask wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 22:12:
This has nothing to do with government, stop trying to derail everything with your idiotic liberal rants. As if people being over sensitive was somehow limited to liberals, bloody moron.

He is a self-admitted troll (See Speharo's or nin's sig) but it seems that people are learning not to fall for his bait. The thing is that I occassionally agree with him on some basic level about some things, but trying to hamfistedly shoehorn his political rants into every topic is obnoxious and aggravating.

This has nothing to do with government, stop trying to derail everything with your idiotic liberal rants. As if people being over sensitive was somehow limited to liberals, bloody moron.

Beamer wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 17:31:

William Usher wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 16:53:

eRe4s3r wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 12:21:

[snip] But what kind of fucked up parenting brings someone up doing the wolf whistle on a MICROSOFT PR EVENT (it's bad enough there are still cretins around doing it in public in bars and clubs (Although I have seen clubs that threw people out for doing it))

Whoa, wow...so wolf whistling is now sexist and the result of bad parenting? Wow.

Also, you can get ejected from a club for wolf whistling? Really? So using non-verbal gestures to indicate that someone is worth whistling to is now misogynistic and sexist?

Oh boy. Does this also apply as being rude and inappropriate if a guy does it to another guy?

Wait, you don't think wolf whistling is sexist?

Who cares what it is when a guy does it to another guy. This isn't about guys. Men need to stop going "but what if it's done to a guy!" It's bad to punch a guy sitting in the cube next to you, but ok to punch him in a ring? What gives?!


Ask women if they like being catcalled when they're walking to work.
To both points, we have more than a handful of guys here that would be quite upset if a group of gay men wolf whistled them as they were walking through the supermarket.

Hooray for double standards. If everyone wasn't so over sensitive these days it would even be an issue. I'd love to know when we stopped governing on logic and instead decided to do everything based on feelings. Life's tough wear a god damn helmet ffs.

Prez wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 03:25:

I'm normally mostly on board with being "politically correct" (polite) but this reaction, though not unexpected, seems a bit much for what was said and a whistle.

I have to say that I disagree in the strongest way possible with your insinuation that being "politically correct" and "polite" are the same thing, because they aren't.

Note that "politically correct" is in quotes.

Example: I see nothing wrong with the word "midget". But I've been told that midgets don't like to be called that, so to be polite I would use their apparent term of choice "little person" because I like being polite.

William Usher wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 16:53:

eRe4s3r wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 12:21:

[snip] But what kind of fucked up parenting brings someone up doing the wolf whistle on a MICROSOFT PR EVENT (it's bad enough there are still cretins around doing it in public in bars and clubs (Although I have seen clubs that threw people out for doing it))

Whoa, wow...so wolf whistling is now sexist and the result of bad parenting? Wow.

Also, you can get ejected from a club for wolf whistling? Really? So using non-verbal gestures to indicate that someone is worth whistling to is now misogynistic and sexist?

Oh boy. Does this also apply as being rude and inappropriate if a guy does it to another guy?

I honestly don't know what kind of women these guys hang around with. My wife LOVES to be wolf whistled at by guys. She takes it as a huge compliment - she preens like a cat! She isn't an outlier either - the vast majority of women I know enjoy it - it makes them feel attractive - as long as it it is in an informal setting. I can see professional woman not wanting to whistled at by her boss at work or her subordinates. I dunno - I've always assumed it was like saying, "Damn, girl, you look good!". Is complimenting a women on how she looks sexist too? How the hell do you guys ever get laid???

Prez wrote on Jun 12, 2013, 18:48:

NKD wrote on Jun 12, 2013, 18:43:

Prez wrote on Jun 12, 2013, 18:31:
It's nice to see that a couple of people have some perspective and aren't being run by their emotions. Talk about absolutely asinine comparisons or hypotheticals - this thread takes the cake.

"I have a grandmother that died so no one can ever make a joke about old people again!! Waaah!" Give me a goddammed break.

No. Kidding. People want to talk about rape jokes? This thread is a god damn mental rape. I feel violated having even participated in it.

Haha! Good one. Uh-oh - I just laughed at your rape joke. I must be the scum of the earth.

I think hypersensitivity should be listed as a medical disorder. Doctors could treat it by mandatory daily doses of Louis C.K.

We can just roll hypersensitivity as a disorder and merge that with liberalism, since both are pretty much one and the same. Never base anything on logic or reality, just MUH FEELINGS!

PHJF wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 18:08:
I DESERVE to be wolf whistled at! COME ON!!!

Oh, like the guy in the $6300 suit doesn't deserve a wolf whistle? COME ON!

I DESERVE to be wolf whistled at! COME ON!!!

William Usher wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 16:53:

eRe4s3r wrote on Jun 13, 2013, 12:21:

[snip] But what kind of fucked up parenting brings someone up doing the wolf whistle on a MICROSOFT PR EVENT (it's bad enough there are still cretins around doing it in public in bars and clubs (Although I have seen clubs that threw people out for doing it))

Whoa, wow...so wolf whistling is now sexist and the result of bad parenting? Wow.

Also, you can get ejected from a club for wolf whistling? Really? So using non-verbal gestures to indicate that someone is worth whistling to is now misogynistic and sexist?

Oh boy. Does this also apply as being rude and inappropriate if a guy does it to another guy?

Wait, you don't think wolf whistling is sexist?

Who cares what it is when a guy does it to another guy. This isn't about guys. Men need to stop going "but what if it's done to a guy!" It's bad to punch a guy sitting in the cube next to you, but ok to punch him in a ring? What gives?!


Ask women if they like being catcalled when they're walking to work.
To both points, we have more than a handful of guys here that would be quite upset if a group of gay men wolf whistled them as they were walking through the supermarket.