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E-PrinceRecently, a beleaguered friend of mine loudly exclaimed, "I totally got raped by my history test." An awkward laughter trickled from the crowded lunch table. He began to regale us with the story of an impossibly hard exam. But before ...(back to the article)
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this article was retarded
Not to trivialize your offense, but you might want to look up 'rape' in the dictionary. While sexual rape is indeed a definition of the term, there are several other meanings and your friend was actually using the term appropriately.
Sort of like getting offended if a musician talks about a piece being retarded - he's not offending developmentally disabled folks, but using a different sense of the word.
Reminds me of the uproar over the word "niggardly" a few years back, which people seemed unaware had nothing to do with being derogatory towards racial groups.
What if I were to say "That test totally killed me?" Is it unfair and wrong to joke about murder in such a way, especially considering one the acquaintances at the table may have had a loved one who has been murdered? Obviously this article is simply a vehicle to remind people about Take Back the Night on the 25th, but your message was lost on me due to the fact that I was distracted by how uninteresting and absurd your argument is.
I have to side with the author on this topic. Words have power beyond their dictionary definitions. I've heard my friends use the "raped by a test" before and it's always made me feel uncomfortable. However traumatic a test might be, I highly doubt that its effect on a person would be on the same traumatic scale as rape.
I thought this was an excellent article, well-written and on a very salient topic. "Language Purist," I did indeed look up rape in the dictionary, and though it is true that rape can have alternate (not necessarily sexual) meanings such as "an outrageous violation," Michael's point is not simply that his friend's use of the word rape in such a context was inappropriate or inaccurate -- rather, he is saying that it is insensitive of people not to realize that the use of this word does have the potential to upset others. I think this article does a wonderful job of not just pointing out the severe physical and emotional tolls of rape and sexual assault, but also of emphasizing the enormous power of language in general, and reminding us of the care we should take in using it. In fact, he urges us to consider all the potential meanings of our words (just as Language Purist does in his comment) and asks us to have the decency and intelligence not to choose them lightly or to use them in a way that we know might be disrespectful to others (surely you cannot be suggesting that it is really possible to separate the word "rape" from its connotation of sexual violence) . And a note to "A Troll:" yes, I suppose a person whose friend or relative had been murdered might be upset to hear someone say "that test totally killed me" (though there is a distinction between being killed and being murdered). But this does nothing to diminish the effectiveness of Michael's argument, since (once again) a large part of his article is simply reminding us to watch what we say and to exhibit greater concern for the feelings of others. Also, I take issue with your characterization of the article as "simply a vehicle" for the promotion of Take Back the Night. It is essential that we have events like Take Back the Night to deal with issues of sexual assault, and I think it is a bit callous of you to refer to the article as "simply a vehicle" to promote something that is so very important and which should interest all of us.
Though it may have been insensitive and a bit crude of your friend of his careless use of the word 'rape', I would have to side with whoever posted under the name 'A Troll' when he argued against the flaw of your position. His point is valid - starting on this slippery slope of politically correct language, one does not have to look far to see the absurd extent to which this may be applied. Perhaps the language of 1984 is not so far away after all.
I am shocked at your unfeeling use of language, sir. I have a useless brother at home who would be incredibly injured by your reckless jabs at useless individuals, or as they prefer to be referred to, the ambitionally challenged.
We, as a society, have a responsibility to ourselves to never offend anyone, lest they... be offended. Because then! Certainly... something... will happen. And as you know, this is Princeton.
Something happening might fly around where you are from, sir, but not here! We do not tolerate activities here unless they're university sponsored, cost a truckload of money and nobody in their right mind would remotely want to attend.
Now we can't use "rape" for hyperbole anymore? Wow, I guess our language is becoming neutered. Wait, is 'neutered' out, too?
He was just trying to make a point
The Yankees are gonna murder them Red Sox tomorrow.