You know, I think we’ve had a few threads on this lately, but they’ve mostly been directed at specific posters over specific things, and have also disintegrated into personal arguements. I was reminded of the issue in this thread where a great deal of people felt that a suitable punishment for a crime was continuous gang rape.
Well, I’ll just get it off my chest, and you can call me a bleedin’ heart or whatever.
I’ve been raped, as a lot of people know, and I’m sick and FUCKING TIRED of people wishing RAPE on someone, and particularly ‘anal prison rape’ which seems to be something of a riotous funny subject with people: “Making friends with his cellmate in prison”, “prison justice”, “he’s going to be real popular in prison”. It makes me sick to think that a group of such smart and usually sensitive people would think that it’s alright to laugh and take glee and indeed wish such a heinous act of violence and humiliation on someone.
I understand that sometimes we react viscerally to scenes that we can’t comprehend such as the murder or torture of chidren or innocents, but please people…think for a minute before you become the animal you loathe so much.
I’m sorry to hear of your painful experience Jar but I do make a distinction between the rape of a citizen and that of an inmate while at the same time admitting that might not be right on my part.
You weren’t a criminal. Nothing about your experience could be considered just.
The (pedophiles, rapists, murders, etc.) are, and in many cases the weight of justice will appear to some of us to be far too light. If someone hurt a family member of mine, shipping them off to free room and board, however cramped, just ain’t going to cut it.
I’d want them to experience discomfort at least proportional to what my loved one felt.
Now, I will agree with you that maybe mention of said violent act should be discouraged here. As you said, many times it’s only made in bravado or jest. The last thing I’d want is for our mention of it, even in jest, to be painful to you or anyone else with a like experience.
I’m sorry to hear of your painful experience Jar but I do make a distinction between the rape of a citizen and that of an inmate while at the same time admitting that might not be right on my part.
You weren’t a criminal. Nothing about your experience could be considered just.
The (pedophiles, rapists, murders, etc.) are, and in many cases the weight of justice will appear to some of us to be far too light. If someone hurt a family member of mine, shipping them off to free room and board, however cramped, just ain’t going to cut it.
I’d want them to experience discomfort at least proportional to what my loved one felt.
Now, I will agree with you that maybe mention of said violent act should be discouraged here. As you said, many times it’s only made in bravado or jest. The last thing I’d want is for our mention of it, even in jest, to be painful to you or anyone else with a like experience.
Not prisoners, not murderers, not rapists. Nobody.
The idea that prisoner rape is some form of justice, some built-in deterrent of the justice system, is barbarism. Justice has nothing to do with it; it’s vengeance, pure and simple.
The victims aren’t those who’ve committed the worst crimes; they’re the ones who are simply the most vulnerable. The worst offenders are immune, and are probably the perpetrators of prison rapes.
For more information, as in facts, as in not bizarre voyeuristic vengeance fantasy, check out this factsheet from one of the organizations involved in the fight against prisoner rape, Stop Prisoner Rape.
I remember a thread about this subject from months back. One of the best things I read was that those who joke about male rape in prison (or wish it to happen to someone) wouldn’t say that female convicts deserved to be raped every day.
I don’t think we’re laughing about the vulnerable getting raped here. When we hear about some truly despicable crime, that’s when we would likely smirk and say “hope he’ll get his”.
I interpreted the OP not to be a question of whether or not prison rape is okay in general, but instead to be directed toward our response to the frequently outrageous events of the world that are inevitably brought here for discussion.
I agree with you MrVisible that promoting rape is bullshit. But I do feel that publicly acknowledging the fact that it does exist and would undoubtably be extremely unpleasant IS in fact a deterent to those who would consider a crime.
Do you consider yourself an ethical person? Moral, even? If so, how can you wish rape on someone?
In addition to what MrVisible said, you might want to recall that it’s not only the rapists and murderers in prison who get what you so appallingly termed justice.
On top of that, the government is responsible for the safety of the inmates in the prison. Instead of wishing for yet another crime to be comitted, you should wish the people who’re supposed to be doing their jobs (the prison guards) manage to do said jobs better. & Yes, I do realize it’s a difficult job.
But lieu, by acknowledging it and accepting it, as people do in the linked thread, you’re not saying it is “bullshit,” you’re saying that it’s ok.
I find it hard to reconcile “I think rape in prisions is horrible and should be stopped,” and, “I hope that bad man gets raped in that hotbed of male rape known as prision, and maybe that’ll deter other criminals,” in the same person.
Maybe I am a vengeful and immoral person, but I feel no sense of compassion or pity for a person who molested a child and is now enduring prison rape. In fact, the dark side of me hopes that they feel the same terror and pain that they subjected their victims to.
Like I said, that might not be right on my part but when I hear that some inconsiderate bastard that has comitted a particularly atrocious act now gets to experience fear in a manner similar to that of his victim, well good!
I think we’ve got to distinguish here between actually endorsing rape and using laughter here on this board to deal with our disgust at an event.
When I was 18, I had been caught for shoplifting from when I was homeless and was in jail for three days… my step father said: “Well, I guess now you’ll really know if you’re gay or not.”
To wish rape on someone or taunt them with the possibility is cruel and vicious. What does being raped teach anyone other than that they can be victimized by someone? You can’t assume that it will teach a lesson and make them better people. What it will probably do is make them afraid and angry; more liable to act out/
So, Diane, how do you feel about a person who molested children, and is then sent to prison, where he proceeds to molest juvenile offenders that he’s locked up with?
You see, the people who commit the worst crimes aren’t the demographic group that get raped most in prison. The rape victims are the vulnerable, the young, the weak, and the terrified.
I think it’s also important to distinguish between laughter and something more serious. Not meaning to call anyone out, but we had these comments in the thread linked in the OP:
… hm, that’s actually really the only one that wished rape. Most of the others are about inflicting other sorts of physical pain.
Regargless, (and I do want to point out that the poster of the above quote has since retracted his statement), that is clearly a non-humorous call for this guy to get raped.
I’m shocked to hear some of you saying you have no qualms with prisoners being raped. Do you think we should have institutionally controlled rape in prison? Where the warden ties the bad guy down and picks a couple of “bubbas” from the crowd and lets them work him over (officially, of course)? Should it be a form of sentencing? What the hell are you thinking!?
Not sure who you are addressing, but I would not wish rape on anyone nor do I think it will teach them a lesson or make them better people. What it does do is partially satisfy my sense of vengeance for the despicable acts of molesters and rapists.
Should I be proud of feeling this way? Probably not, but this is how I feel. It’s comparable to the execution of Ted Bundy. I didn’t celebrate, but I sure as hell didn’t shed a tear either. Some people don’t deserve my compassion or pity.
In a way I understand this. But there’s no justice down that path. Criminals - no matter how awful their deeds - remain people, and a terrible crime against a person is still a terrible crime when the victim is a criminal.
And Diane, much as I respect you, please consider that ceasing to recognise that a person is a person is just what they do: