To the Members of this Group:

Are we just going to accept - by our collective silence about this - the use of "rape" as an appropriate word on this board?

What if the author had written that he was (insert racial term)'ed by the dealer?

I'm raising my hand as being offended by this term and its use. I hope others will join me by adding to this post. Thank you.

 

i don't see a problem with it. many words have multiple meanings. he could've said he got screwed by the dealer, but someone would've taken offense at that, since it also has a sexual connotation. take the words in their context, not the most common meaning.

if you look on dictionary.com, yes, there are quite a few definitions about forcing intercourse on someone. but in the context used, definitions such as "an act of plunder, violent seizure, or abuse; despoliation; violation: the rape of the countryside. " and "to plunder (a place); despoil" are what was meant. there's even a definition of "The refuse of grapes left after the extraction of the juice in winemaking". take the word in context--he wasn't sexually assaulted (at least, he didn't say he was), and he didn't get grape residue all over because of the dealer.

end rant.... now anyone feel free to blast me, as you're all entitled to your own opinions.

 

A racial slur is in no way the same using rape in a common context, is there a movement to limit the word rape to it's worst context?

 

I am either offended by your gross over-sensitivity, or I am offended by your sad sense of humor. And, I am offended by me not being able to tell which is appropriate for your post.

-- Alan

 

JRCaesar:

The forums moderators have obviously made a decision to allow the use of such a word, mostly because the underlying context was still in good taste and did not stray from the intended purpose of the forum where the post appeared.

Now, perhaps the initial poster could have made a better choice and used an alternate word. But while that was a possibility then, it certainly is not now. With that said, I believe many of us are mature and intelligent enough to exercise and uphold a good level of community respect without also falling victim to the pitfalls of excessive political correctness.

What do you think?


Cheers;

MSantos

 

It at the very least tacky. And all you fellas who think it's part of common language -- going ask your wife, mother, and/or sister if it's appropriate.

nf

 

It is all about context. I don't see a problem with it.

I'm assuming we are talking about:

To plunder or pillage (definition)?

Tell me what the problem is? Are we that stupid that we can't figure out which definition is being referenced here?

 

I'll just make one last post on this and you guys/gals can decide what's worth debating over.

I've corresponded with many of you over the months on this board, so I know most of us here are well-educated, well-written, humor-loving people.

There are many words the original author could have used - dozens, maybe hundreds of them. Even "screwed," as posted above, would have worked.

To suggest that the author meant anything than a metaphor for being forcibly assaulted is simply laughable. I don't understand why, as educated people, we would defend this one. As a parent, I know that there are many shades of gray as to what is right and what is wrong. But sometimes there's black and sometimes there's white. This is one of those times.

We're going to disagree on this, and fair enough.

But ...

Did you know, "College-age women are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than any other age group." (source: http://www.rainn.org/) Not funny.

 

I never saw any fine print demanding sweet talk used when I joined the site. I question your use of the word educated. Do you mean strictly just having enough sense to buy a more efficient car, or level of taught instruction?

Perhaps I'm alone here as just a northeastern redneck who keeps hospital equipment running and coach little kids part time. I don't think being educated means just not using select words, I would say it's more knowing what context to us them in. I think most others below seem to agree on the context of the word.

Besides, I feel my credentials shine whenever I pass an (Insert choice of V8+ guzzler)

 

I must throw in my vote with JRCaesar here. When I'm not driving in my HCHII, (and sometimes when I am!), I'm working as a psychiatrist, and one of my major specialty areas is trauma.

I understand the person who used the term originally was just being forceful in choice of metaphor, but I don't want to see such a vicious crime be trivialized by falling into relatively common use.

As a son of a Holocaust survivor, I feel similarly about the use of the word **** for someone who is compulsive on something. Let's all try to keep up our sensitivity meters, not simply for political correctness, but to avoid hurting people who may legitimately have reasons to not want such word usage.