"How many unfunny rape jokes lead to rape?"

I cannot tell you how often, from both men and women, I get called "uptight" or a "femi-nazi" or some equally disparaging comment for holding the belief that rape jokes (or "wife-beating" or whatever the sensitive issue is) are just not funny. No exception. When anyone steps back and realizes that to be able to make a joke about these issues is based in a disrespect for the severity of the issue/CRIME, it basically kills the humor. As far as I know, anyone well versed in sexual assault issues, who has been assaulted, or who knows someone that has been, never finds a joke about rape or assault funny--the difference between them and someone else who does probably exists in having the issue hit home. When I hear issues about wife-beating, I don't think about the joke-I think about all the bruised faces I have seen, I see victims and survivors--not objects of humor.

Moreover, as I have mentioned before, if one takes a look back on history--the issues that we have made fun of in the past often reflect society's prejudices. For example, there was a time when African-Americans were made fun of in mainstream newspapers and media and it was "only a joke" because of societal attitudes--that doesn't make it okay, and it wasn't funny then to many people and its even less funny now to most. So to me, yes, rape jokes are not jokes--they are insults to survivors of rape, victims of rape, and all women, they are indicative of the fact that crimes against woman are still not given equal weight or attention.

So, what spurred this post was my googling of an amazing woman--Sonia Ossorio, the President of NOW-NYC. I googled her and came across this video where she was debating the severity of two remarks made by radio hosts concerning raping Condoleeza Rice--how upsetting that anyone could believe that we could ever make light of that issue!...Patrice O'Neal, the comedian defending the comments asks, "how many unfunny rape jokes lead to rape?" Let me say this at the very least: its not necessarily that a rape joke directly causes a person to commit the crime. It is truth, however, that a rape joke is indicative of a societal culture and attitude that doesn't do enough to say that raping someone IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE. NEVER. and, sorry Patrice O'Neal--its NEVER FUNNY either...and, yes, I do have a sense of humor.