Sarah Silverman tweets rape prevention tips. Men upset

[Panich52]

The Telegraph
Comedian Sarah Silverman tweeted a tongue-in-cheek list of tips, advising men on 'how to avoid being a rapist'. Cue social media implosion, as Claire Cohen reports

As rape prevention tips go, these are pretty unique.

Why? They're not targeted at the potential victim.

@SarahSilverman: These are great- send to all the men in ur life RT @texpatriate 10 Rape Prevention Tips. @lizzwinstead pic.twitter.com/IPfWsaz9zz

Examples include:

‘Carry a rape whistle. If you find that you are about to rape someone, blow the whistle until someone comes to stop you’.

How about: ‘If you are in an elevator and a woman gets in, don’t rape her.’

Or: ‘Remember, people go to the laundry room to do their laundry. Do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.’

These are just three in a list of 10 ‘tips’ aimed at – you guessed it – would be rapists.

The tongue-in-cheek list first appeared in 2011, on a blog by the Washington State Coalition against Domestic Violence. http://www.wscadv2.org/#nf


More
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11489536/Sarah-Silverman-rape-prevention-tips-go-viral.-Upset-men.html

[niyad]

1. why refer to it as "tongue-in-cheek"? seems pretty straightforward to me.

and 3.. . .2. . . .1 . . .

[marym625]

14. Love it

[still_one]

2. rape is not a funny issue, even in the context of scarcasm

[NYC_SKP]

4. No, but a variety of delivery systems is indicated when traditional ones don't work.

And, apparently, traditional ones don't work.

If a humorous tack gets someone's attention, gets them to think, or prevents even one assault in 1000 years, it's worth it.

I believe that it's an effective approach, but would hate for it to be the only approach, used to send out the message that any touching is a violation, no means no, and it's never the victim's fault.

[still_one]

7. Prison works quite well. Anyone who doesn't realize that rape is wrong needs to be removed from

society

[NYC_SKP]

8. One approach doesn't negate the other. As I said, use a variety of strategies.

And, why wait for the crime to happen and then act when you can work on prevention?

[Jon82]

10. Variety

No matter how serious and real a subject is, many people will stop reading because of a lack of immediate interests. Meaning, they feel that the subject is serious but the material is boring to read. No, rape is not a joke. But, if a comedic approach will spark the reader into being more interested in preventing it, they will move on to reading the real information and not lose interest.

[niyad]

26. yeah, becausing putting rapists in prison is such a high priority in this country.

over FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND untested rape kits, some going back three decades, in this country, and you say prison. how, exactly, is that going to work in a culture that places such a low priority on this heinous crime?

[marym625]

15. No, it's not

But being humorous about issues that are not has always gotten attention. Whatever anyone does, that doesn't harm someone, that brings attention to this never ending crime, is fine by me

Besides the obvious, what is really sad is that addressing the pool of potential rapists to stop rape, instead of the potential victim, is a novel idea.

[BlueJazz]

3. In my humble opinion, there are thousands of things in this life that are funny.

Rape isn't one of them...tongue in cheek or not.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

11. Couldn't agree more; so not funny.

[Thinkingabout]

5. As I read this men may be upset and may sound somewhat tongue-in-cheek but when I

hear excuses like "she was asking for it", "how was she dressed", and "she wanted it", it upsets me these excuses are used. Good Post.

[SheilaT]

6. While rape is not at all funny,

the usual tips for women are degrading, because the put the entire burden on the woman. As if they and they alone somehow magically conjure up a rapist, and it's completely her fault that the rape occurred. Men are the rapists. Women are the raped. They need to finally understand that no woman ever asks for it. A woman should be able to walk down the street stark naked and not be subject to being raped because of the way she's dressed. Or not dressed. And so on.

Look, I realize that most men probably aren't rapists, but there needs to be a much stronger male culture that sends the message to all men that rape is never acceptable. Never.

And Sarah Silverman's tweets really put it back to the men.

[zentrum]

9. You got it.

This underscores really well the problem with aiming all advice at women. It's not just funny, it's truly exposing the truth in a rape culture.

[marym625]

16. couldn't agree more. eom.

[Kalidurga]

12. Poor men

they seem to think that they are deemed guilty by association when clearly this is aimed at the way people think about rape prevention. Many people think rape prevention is thus:

1. Telling women to check the backseats of their cars, keep all their doors locked at all times, check their windows and don't have tall shrubs near your house.
2. Don't drink and party if you do drink make sure you never ever let your eyes off your drink.
3. Don't go out alone.
4. Don't go out at night.
5. Make sure you have cab fare if your date gives you the creeps and ya gotta split.
6. Make sure you walk around with confidence and stay alert. If you are feeling off and unalert you could be a target.
7. Don't wear revealing clothing.
8. Don't wear high heals they are hard to run in.
9. Carry a whistle, mace, a gun, and brass knuckes.
10. Learn karate, kick boxing, and self defense.
11. Use heavy drapes not sheer curtains.
12. Don't be friendly with strangers/Don't be rude with strangers/Don't smile.
13. Don't wear headphones.
14. Try to grow a penis.


These aren't just tips I have seen or heard from people I have known or from the tv some are actually from being in groups that advocate for victims of rape. It's really soul crushing to me to hear some of these tips like "Don't wear headphones" which to me is really saying don't ever try to just live your life spontaneously and enjoy yourself just always be on guard. It looks like rape prevention from the would be victim side is a full time job and I think it sucks that anyone should have to think about these tips 24/7 and beat themselves up if they slip up or didn't do one of the hundreds of things the police handbook on rape prevention tells them they should have done.

[marym625]

17. and for dog's sake,

Don't fight when there's a gun pointed at you.
Always fight, even if there's a gun pointed at you. Otherwise, it could be consent.
Don't ask that the rapist use a condom, that means consent per Texas jury.
Don't get pregnant, that means it wasn't rape.
Don't get raped by someone that is considered good looking, especially if you are not. What hot guy would rape an ugly chick?
Even if you're a little girl, you better not ever be seen as flirtatious, that means you're asking for it.

There is absolutely no way that rape isn't twisted to be the woman, or even little girl's fault, by some twisted people. Very unfortunately, those twisted people include judges and juries

[Kalidurga]

19. the worst case I have read about is the 11 year old girl who was gang raped

not only was she blamed she was arrested for being raped. No, it wasn't in India. It was in DC. I read about that here. It is still a shocking thing to me to think about.

[marym625]

20. Yes. I read that as well

She is suing. I hope she takes them for every penny they have. The city, the department and them personally. I also hope charges are brought against them.

[Kalidurga]

21. I want some of them charged and jailed

the judge I think is the worst. Surely by the time you get to be a judge you understand the term statutory rape at the very least. But, this was also a crime of violence and all of that was so easily overlooked.

[marym625]

24. agree completely. eom..

[Sweet Freedom]

22. More tips

Don't wear your hair in a ponytail. Men can easily grab you by your hair and rape you.
Don't wear your hair in a bun. Men can easily grab you by your hair and rape you.
Don't wear your hair down. Men can easily grab you by your hair and rape you.

When walking, frequently look over your shoulder to make sure you aren't being followed.
When walking, don't look around too frequently or you will appear scared and weak.

Always talk to strange men; they won't rape you if they know you can give a description of them to the police.
Don't talk to strange men; if they planned to rape you, they will kill you if they know you can give a description of them to the police.

If you're drunk and you're raped, it's your fault not his, because you make bad decisions when you're drunk.
If he's drunk and you're raped, it's your fault not his, because he can't make good decisions when he's drunk.
If you're both drunk and you're raped, it's your fault not his, because you make bad decisions and he can't make good decisions when you're both drunk.

[Kalidurga]

25. Yeah that's about the size of it

Those tips I heard and absorbed I thought were common sense for a long time. I mean if this is what the experts were saying. But, then the list grew longer and longer and some of the things were in contradiction to each other and so many just keep you from being able to do what you should just have the right to do without being attacked violently. The headphone thing really bugged me even though I don't like them I prefer my music in the open air but I digress, why should an action that isn't careless be the cause of being blamed?

[Sanity Claws]

13. I like the list

A lot of commenters don't like the list, essentially saying that rape is not funny.
What they fail to realize is that this list changes the discussion. It places the burden on men, on what they can do. It places the fault for rape on men who rape, not on their victims.

[gwheezie]

18. I was raped. I like the list.

I can add if I dated you once years ago and run into you again and say it's nice to see you it doesn't mean you can show up a rape me.

[Sweet Freedom]

23. gwheezie

[niyad]

27. (((((gwheezie))))