# Skald the Rhymer, your fixation with rape is somewhat disturbing. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 14, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549 "2011-01-14T01:59:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/61 "2011-01-14T17:07:13Z")
It’s not the same thing at all, but all the love and compassion for Tom Delay in this thread is breaking my heart. The ironic thing is if I said that he should be hung from a tree, nobody would be offended. Even moving beyond the facetious, serious opinions that serial killers and the like should be literally exceuted are not seen as offensive. We have people on this board who advocate for actual torture. We’re talking about wishing harm on evil people here. The fact that rape hurts is exactly the point. We want evil people to be hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/62 "2011-01-14T17:09:34Z")
I disagree with you, **Peeta**. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/63 "2011-01-14T17:13:54Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It’s not the same thing at all, but all the love and compassion for Tom Delay in this thread is breaking my heart. The ironic thing is if I said that he should be hung from a tree, nobody would be offended. Even moving beyond the facetious, serious opinions that serial killers and the like should be literally exceuted are not seen as offensive. We have people on this board who advocate for actual torture. We’re talking about wishing harm on evil people here. The fact that rape hurts is exactly the point. We want evil people to be hurt. For the record, if you seriously advocated hanging Tom Delay, I would be offended. And I do not want to hurt evil people, I want to stop evil people (something I don’t really believe in, but whatever) from doing evil. Period. Hurting them isn’t part of my plan. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/64 "2011-01-14T17:20:00Z")
**miss elizabeth** , I don’t want to offend you, and I certainly don’t think **Dio** ’s joke about Tom Delay is in good taste. But I do think that the earlier point, about rape being an interesting tool for generating moral discussions, is a valid one. It’s true that rape is a horrible, painful subject to its victims - but the same is true of other violent crimes. Not to the same degree, I’ll grant you, but still. Are we to refuse to use _any_ violent crime as the basis of moral hypotheticals? I don’t think so. I think it’s possible to acknowledge that a crime is horrible, and its victims deserve respect, while still carrying on a discussion of the philosophical issues it raises. And i think that discussion can be interesting and valuable. As for **Peeta** ’s suggestion that this Board has a rape-tolerant culture - respectfully, I think she’s dead wrong. I abhor rape and rapists, as every civilized man does, and I’m quite certain the vast majority of posters feel the same way. I most certainly would _not_ blame the victim of a rape, male or female alike. And as a Doper for nearly ten years, I confess I’m a bit offended at the suggestion that we’re cool with rape as a group. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/65 "2011-01-14T17:20:26Z")
It takes a special level of retardedness to accuse people of hypocrisy because of two conflicting beliefs that they don’t even personally hold. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/66 "2011-01-14T17:20:59Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It’s not the same thing at all, but all the love and compassion for Tom Delay in this thread is breaking my heart. The ironic thing is if I said that he should be hung from a tree, nobody would be offended. Even moving beyond the facetious, serious opinions that serial killers and the like should be literally exceuted are not seen as offensive. We have people on this board who advocate for actual torture. We’re talking about wishing harm on evil people here. The fact that rape hurts is exactly the point. We want evil people to be hurt. Careful there, “hung from a tree” is not going to go over well either. Especially as Delay is already associated with racism. Maybe just a generic, “I hope this jerkass suffers” or “I would not shed a tear if he died in a fire.” As to **Skald** , I like him and I like many of the people complaining about him. I don’t read his threads about rape and so wasn’t aware of them. I rarely read his threads beyond Tolkien and mythology related ones I guess. But I have chatted with him a lot and clearly I wasn’t around when he was skeeving people out about rape questions. The threads are easy to avoid and I don’t see a serious problem but he should not keep up the questions in chat like environments about rape as clearly it does bother people. ---
**Author:** ![AqualungBats5th](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@AqualungBats5th](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AqualungBats5th)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/67 "2011-01-14T17:23:37Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Frankly, a big problem in U.S. culture (and presumably that of many other countries, too) is that we don’t talk about rape enough. We shove it under the rug and pretend it doesn’t happen and that when it does it’s something that shames the person it happens to. This I agree with. However, my problem with Skald’s rape hypotheticals is how much lurid detail there is. How much thought he is clearly putting into the details of the rape. This is not to spur discussion about rape. It comes across as voyeuristic, frankly. I don’t see how it doesn’t come off at creepy. And honestly, a post like that first OP really ought to have a trigger warning on it or something. > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > IMO he’s one of the most consistently interesting and entertaining people on this site. You, on the other hand, I don’t know from Adam. Agree to disagree on him being interesting or entertaining, but hey, didn’t realize that was a requirement for taking issue with someone. I will admit that I have been privy to some of the offboard stuff that **Myrnalene** mentions, and that colors my opinion of him. But I left it out of the OP, and won’t discuss it further here. (oh but PS, **Skald** , PM me if you want to discuss this privately.. Believe me, you’ll get an earful.) oh and [QUOTE=miss elizabeth] You said it would be funny, and that he would deserve it. That is fucked up, it isn’t funny AT ALL, and you absolutely deserve to be called out for it. You should apologize, for real, not this bullshit “Chill out, I’m kidding” stuff. Men get raped in jail, that is a fact. It isn’t a fucking punchline. It’s a disgusting brutal reality. [/quote] Bingo. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/68 "2011-01-14T17:26:33Z")
Y’all are gonna make me agree with **Dio the Crazy**. Give it a rest, already. People here wish others to be beaten with pipes, or strangled to death because they comma spliced. People are beaten up and strangled all the time, so much like rape, these are far more relatable than being drawn and quartered, yet people use this kind of hyperbole in conversation anyway. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/69 "2011-01-14T17:28:41Z")
I think it only bothers _some_ people, **What**. I’m with those who a) hadn’t noticed; b) find **Skald** interesting and entertaining; and c) think that we all have our own private idaho hot buttons and it can sometimes be those that accuse who are sometimes obsessed. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/70 "2011-01-14T17:30:13Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > **miss elizabeth** , I don’t want to offend you, and I certainly don’t think **Dio** ’s joke about Tom Delay is in good taste. But I do think that the earlier point, about rape being an interesting tool for generating moral discussions, is a valid one. It’s true that rape is a horrible, painful subject to its victims - but the same is true of other violent crimes. Not to the same degree, I’ll grant you, but still. Are we to refuse to use _any_ violent crime as the basis of moral hypotheticals? > > I don’t think so. I think it’s possible to acknowledge that a crime is horrible, and its victims deserve respect, while still carrying on a discussion of the philosophical issues it raises. And i think that discussion can be interesting and valuable. > > As for **Peeta** ’s suggestion that this Board has a rape-tolerant culture - respectfully, I think she’s dead wrong. I abhor rape and rapists, as every civilized man does, and I’m quite certain the vast majority of posters feel the same way. I most certainly would _not_ blame the victim of a rape, male or female alike. And as a Doper for nearly ten years, I confess I’m a bit offended at the suggestion that we’re cool with rape as a group. I do not have the time right now to respond to this fully, but I wanted you to know I saw it, and I will reply as soon as I can. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/71 "2011-01-14T17:30:51Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Y’all are gonna make me agree with **Dio the Crazy**. Give it a rest, already. People here wish others to be beaten with pipes, or strangled to death because they comma spliced. People are beaten up and strangled all the time, so much like rape, these are far more relatable than being drawn and quartered, yet people use this kind of hyperbole in conversation anyway. _winces_ Was it really necessary to comma-splice by way of example? I mean, I know that you’re mean, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Peeta\_Mellark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Peeta\_Mellark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peeta_Mellark)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/72 "2011-01-14T17:35:42Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > As for **Peeta** ’s suggestion that this Board has a rape-tolerant culture - respectfully, I think she’s dead wrong. I abhor rape and rapists, as every civilized man does, and I’m quite certain the vast majority of posters feel the same way. I most certainly would _not_ blame the victim of a rape, male or female alike. And as a Doper for nearly ten years, I confess I’m a bit offended at the suggestion that we’re cool with rape as a group. I don’t think anyone here is “cool” with rape and perhaps my impression is skewed because I’m fairly new here and as a rape survivor I definitely get a little jolt when I see the word out there in a thread title. It’s just that in the few months I’ve been here I’ve seen multiple threads about rape in which ignorance and rape tolerant attitudes are on display. At one point there was a rape thread in the Pit, in MPSIMS, in IMHO and GD _all at the same time_. And it wasn’t just “man, rape sucks” talk. It was “women shouldn’t go out in bad neighborhoods flashing their vajayjays all over the place! that’s how you stop rape!” and “if someone says to stop in the middle of sex and you don’t, that isn’t really rape!” type stupidity. It’s not a simple “pro-rape” and “anti-rape” dichotomy. It’s the dismissive attitude toward the realities of rape, embracing the fantasy of Kirsten Dunst in a wet shirt being attacked by swarthy men in an alley. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/73 "2011-01-14T17:37:57Z")
> [@AqualungBats5th](#): > > However, my problem with Skald’s rape hypotheticals is how much lurid detail there is. How much thought he is clearly putting into the details of the rape. This is not to spur discussion about rape. It comes across as voyeuristic, frankly. I don’t see how it doesn’t come off at creepy. It doesn’t come off as creepy, to me, because bizarre hypotheticals full of detail are **Skald** ’s MO here. If only ones involving rape were fully fleshed, you might have a point. As is, it doesn’t bother me remotely. I think your opinion is absolutely being influenced by the off-board experiences that you and another user are making reference to. > [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Was it really necessary to comma-splice by way of example? If you think there was a comma splice in that post, you don’t know what a comma splice is. ---
**Author:** ![Peeta\_Mellark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Peeta\_Mellark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peeta_Mellark)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/74 "2011-01-14T17:41:18Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > It doesn’t come off as creepy, to me, because bizarre hypotheticals full of detail are **Skald** ’s MO here. If only ones involving rape were fully fleshed, you might have a point. As is, it doesn’t bother me remotely. > > I think your opinion is absolutely being influenced by the off-board experiences that you and another user are making reference to. Yeah, I think similarly. I’d asked someone about this last night and the off-board stuff sounds like it upset people a lot, but his hypotheticals here aren’t in the same league. And off-board stuff isn’t really something we can hash out here, so… ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/75 "2011-01-14T17:49:55Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > If you think there was a comma splice in that post, you don’t know what a comma splice is. Whew. For a second there, I was questioning myself. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/76 "2011-01-14T17:56:12Z")
There still shouldn’t have been a comma after “pipes,” though. But that’s a whole 'nother issue. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/77 "2011-01-14T17:56:32Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > It doesn’t come off as creepy, to me, because bizarre hypotheticals full of detail are **Skald** ’s MO here. If only ones involving rape were fully fleshed, you might have a point. As is, it doesn’t bother me remotely. > > I think your opinion is absolutely being influenced by the off-board experiences that you and another user are making reference to. > > If you think there was a comma splice in that post, you don’t know what a comma splice is. You’re quite right, and I stand corrected. Sorry, **MeanOldLady**! ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/78 "2011-01-14T17:59:37Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > There still shouldn’t have been a comma after “pipes,” though. But that’s a whole 'nother issue. 😃 Quiet you. _shakes fist_ > [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > You’re quite right, and I stand corrected. Sorry, **MeanOldLady**! All good. So what are we talking about again? Rape? Not cool. Rape is bad. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/79 "2011-01-14T18:07:09Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Y’all are gonna make me agree with **Dio the Crazy**. Give it a rest, already. People here wish others to be beaten with pipes, or strangled to death because they comma spliced. People are beaten up and strangled all the time, so much like rape, these are far more relatable than being drawn and quartered, yet people use this kind of hyperbole in conversation anyway. Seconded, without the extra comma of course. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549/80 "2011-01-14T18:09:28Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > **miss elizabeth** , I don’t want to offend you, and I certainly don’t think **Dio** ’s joke about Tom Delay is in good taste. But I do think that the earlier point, about rape being an interesting tool for generating moral discussions, is a valid one. It’s true that rape is a horrible, painful subject to its victims - but the same is true of other violent crimes. Not to the same degree, I’ll grant you, but still. Are we to refuse to use _any_ violent crime as the basis of moral hypotheticals? > > I don’t think so. I think it’s possible to acknowledge that a crime is horrible, and its victims deserve respect, while still carrying on a discussion of the philosophical issues it raises. And i think that discussion can be interesting and valuable. > > As for **Peeta** ’s suggestion that this Board has a rape-tolerant culture - respectfully, I think she’s dead wrong. I abhor rape and rapists, as every civilized man does, and I’m quite certain the vast majority of posters feel the same way. I most certainly would _not_ blame the victim of a rape, male or female alike. And as a Doper for nearly ten years, I confess I’m a bit offended at the suggestion that we’re cool with rape as a group. I agree with pretty much everything in this post. There have been a LOT of discussions centered around rape lately - or at least it seems to me that I’ve been seeing an usually large number of them - but I haven’t seen people being tolerant of rape. Actually, I should specify: I haven’t seen people being tolerant of the rape of women. The rape of men is most frequently treated here, as in the wider U.S. culture, as nothing more than a joke. That’s a situation that I find disturbing and disgusting, but I’m getting off topic. So, maybe **Skald** thinks a lot about rape (among other unpleasant things). So what? I think a lot about rape and trauma, I just talk about it less. Some people are very interested in true crime stories, which I find a bit squicky, but I don’t think that everyone who contributes to [True Crime Report](http://www.truecrimereport.com/) is a creep. **Skald** has never struck me as a creepy guy, but he is very interested in how people make decisions in unpleasant and morally difficult situations. As others have said, rape works particularly well for setting up those sort of hypothetical situations. It’s one of the most traumatic events that will happen to a significant portion of the population. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skald-the-rhymer-your-fixation-with-rape-is-somewhat-disturbing/567549.md?page=5)