# Weird situation: would you have stayed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369 "2011-09-23T19:19:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/241 "2011-09-26T14:40:50Z")
I’ve learned so much from this thread. For instance, I now know it’s much safer to rape someone _before_ I punch the glass out with my bare hands, rather than after. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/242 "2011-09-26T14:42:18Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I’ve learned so much from this thread. For instance, I now know it’s much safer to rape someone _before_ I punch the glass out with my bare hands, rather than after. See, this made me laugh. Take notes, **misterW**. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/243 "2011-09-26T15:15:47Z")
> [@misterW](#): > > No, read it more carefully. I said that any normal person would find the idea of coming upon a woman with her arm stuck in a car and, instead of helping her, raping her, to be utterly RIDICULOUS. Just because an idea is ridiculous does not mean it is funny to someone, let alone everyone. To be funny, more is required than just being ridiculous – a good delivery, maybe an element of surprise, some unique characteristic of the lister…you see what I’m saying, right? > > I never said that people shouldn’t say when they don’t like a joke. I just find it interesting how many of the people who will be indignant about hearing a rape joke will say nothing about jokes that deal with even more horrible things. It is as if you are almost SUPPOSED to be indignant about rape jokes. Nah, read your last post - you are saying that we’re a crowd of abnormal sex offenders. But I know you don’t really think that, so it’s all good. Mind you, I bet a crowd of sex offenders would find that joke hilarious, but probably for different reasons to the people here. There are some jokes about murder I wouldn’t find funny either, but the thing is, I’ve never been murdered, whereas I have been raped, as have a large percentage of women. That doesn’t mean I have some sort of special victim status or anything, but sometimes it means that a joke gives me mental images that are horrible rather than funny. It has to be a lot more ridiculous than that joke for it to be funny. > [@Enderw24](#): > > I’ve learned so much from this thread. For instance, I now know it’s much safer to rape someone _before_ I punch the glass out with my bare hands, rather than after. 😃 See, that worked. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/244 "2011-09-26T15:16:26Z")
> [@misterW](#): > > I never said that people shouldn’t say when they don’t like a joke. I just find it interesting how many of the people who will be indignant about hearing a rape joke will say nothing about jokes that deal with even more horrible things. Has anyone in this thread even made a joke about more horrible things than rape? If not, how are you even making this kind of assertion? The only thing I can think of that is clearly worse than rape is this scenario would be torturing the woman to death. It would amaze me if you could make a joke about something like that people would find non-offensive. But by all means, have at it if you think you can. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/245 "2011-09-26T15:19:19Z")
**phouka** nailed it completely. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/246 "2011-09-26T15:23:18Z")
How hard would it have been to use some sort of lubricant on her arm at the point where it was stuck, and then leverage the window down just a half-inch or so? Her arm would come right out. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/247 "2011-09-26T15:23:43Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > **phouka** nailed it completely. Yes, she did. And Rand Rover, of course what she is saying is that she personally disapproves of what the OP did. But it’s a trivial observation. That’s how society works. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/248 "2011-09-26T15:30:33Z")
I thought the joke was funny. But I’m of the opinion that life is so brutal and cruel sometimes that we _need_ to laugh whenever we can. I understand that other people are offended, though. And I still wouldn’t have stayed, not even after reading this entire thread. I’m sorry, your problem does not constitute my emergency. Maybe that makes me heartless. I’m willing to accept that. Although I would have called 911 right away. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/249 "2011-09-26T15:34:15Z")
> [@misterW](#): > > I just find it interesting how many of the people who will be indignant about hearing a rape joke will say nothing about jokes that deal with even more horrible things. It is as if you are almost SUPPOSED to be indignant about rape jokes. Sometimes rape jokes are funny. Sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes dead baby jokes are funny. Sometimes they aren’t. It all depends on the context and really what the joke is trying to say. The context for this was just… bad. This thread already has worked up an extraordinary amount of hostility toward the woman… because she was acting like a bitch, fine. I’m not saying the hostility is unwarranted. But when you start joking about rape in the midst of that hostility, it gets fucking creepy. And when women who have good reason to feel uncomfortable are completely dismissed, it gets even more twisted. Reminds me of this documentary I saw (I think it was This American Life) about a diner that specialized in insults. Part of the gimmick was that you could talk trash to the servers and vice-versa. They would rag on one another for their looks, for being fat or too skinny or whatever. The servers were black and the restaurant was near a mostly white college campus. After the bar rush the college kids would go and enjoy slinging insults back and forth. But then something unsettling happened. The students started sexually degrading the female servers, demanding that they show their tits and making comments about their bodies. They started talking racist shit, thinking up every offensive black stereotype and shouting it with glee. All these kids screaming in unison, ‘‘NIGGER! NIGGER! NIGGER!’’ and the servers weren’t laughing any more. To the students it was all innocent fun. But as an observer, it was extremely disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/250 "2011-09-26T15:41:59Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > The context for this was just… bad. This thread already has worked up an extraordinary amount of hostility toward the woman… because she was acting like a bitch, fine. I’m not saying the hostility is unwarranted. But when you start joking about rape in the midst of that hostility, it gets fucking creepy. Wow, this explains the “ick factor” very clearly. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/251 "2011-09-26T15:44:06Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > On the other hand, you can leverage the window down without too much force, especially if it’s open enough that an arm is stuck in it. This. A neighbor (retired cop) said that he woulda just used a 2x4 to leverage the window down. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > kayaker didn’t make the “this isn’t your day” joke. Thank you. IANAR, nor did I consider urinating on her. > [@jsgoddess](#): > > I don’t have to like her to help her. If I’m a bad person, this is why. If I do not like someone, my attitude is a solid “fuck you”. Especially at the end of my work day. On the other hand, I’ve changed many tires for nice folk. The last time someone locked their keys in the car, the owner said he had a spare key at home.I gave him my car keys to go get them. A few other things. This area has no local police coverage. When I said I called the “non emergency number”, I meant that I called the state police barracks. From previous calls to the cops, I’ve learned (from them) that this is the best thing to do here. If I literally dial “911” the call is transferred to and eventually handled by, the state police dispatch. We have their number posted for this reason. An ambulance, if needed, would be obtained through the local volunteer fire department. Also, as far as the integrity of the woman’s arm. I do have some medical training. I’ve stitched up a friend’s laceration with army surplus supplies, and have dressed more of my own wounds then I care to even think about. I can deliver a baby. Her arm was fine (sure, IMHO). My one area of medical knowledge that is near 0 would be mental health. She coulda been “crazy” (whatever PC term for that should be) but to my observation she was just plain nasty. And if this same scenario happens again tomorrow, I’ll respond the same way. ---
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/252 "2011-09-26T15:55:00Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Has anyone in this thread even made a joke about more horrible things than rape? If not, how are you even making this kind of assertion? The only thing I can think of that is clearly worse than rape is this scenario would be torturing the woman to death. It would amaze me if you could make a joke about something like that people would find non-offensive. But by all means, have at it if you think you can. My original point in this thread was just an expression of puzzlement at the behavior of the straight dope populace in general. It is a fairly common thing in MPSIMS for someone to post a news clipping of some bizarre horrible thing: a man whose wife cuts off his penis and sends down the disposal unit, a woman who dies of shock because she is allergic to the semen of her dog, a man who dies of head injuries from not wearing a motorcycle helmet riding home from an anti-helmet rally, someone who manages to maim themselves in some unexpected way, etc. After the item is posted, people try to outdo each other with puns and other jokes about the incident. These are real people, not hypothetical joke characters, and the things that have happened to them are often worse than being raped. I’ve rarely seen any indignant comments in those threads. So my comment was not necessarily directed at any particular person in this thread – for all I know, every poster who was indignant about the rape joke in question may be even more indignant about some of the things I mentioned. Just expressing a general puzzlement, that is all. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/253 "2011-09-26T15:56:32Z")
I would have called 911, not the non-emergency number; this situation could actually have caused damage to the trapped arm due to cutoff circulation. And I would probably have stayed (though in my situation I would have _hoped_ she’d have dialed down the nastiness from 10 to 9 at least, since I would have called the emergency number). Of course, then I might have offered to break the window for her which would have been a no-win situation… I break the window and get her loose, she’s pissed at the broken window, I don’t break the window and she’s pissed anyway. Honestly though? Even though she was abusive, you should have at least stayed nearby, if not within earshot. What if the police had had trouble finding her. or she’d had a heart attack or something? She was a bitch, but you were irresponsible in leaving. Don’t be surprised if this broad calls her lawyer on you. I don’t know that you’re at any legal risk but it could be a major annoyance. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/254 "2011-09-26T16:01:17Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Reminds me of this documentary I saw (I think it was This American Life) about a diner that specialized in insults. Part of the gimmick was that you could talk trash to the servers and vice-versa. They would rag on one another for their looks, for being fat or too skinny or whatever. The servers were black and the restaurant was near a mostly white college campus. After the bar rush the college kids would go and enjoy slinging insults back and forth. But then something unsettling happened. The students started sexually degrading the female servers, demanding that they show their tits and making comments about their bodies. They started talking racist shit, thinking up every offensive black stereotype and shouting it with glee. All these kids screaming in unison, ‘‘NIGGER! NIGGER! NIGGER!’’ and the servers weren’t laughing any more. To the students it was all innocent fun. But as an observer, it was extremely disturbing. Yep, it was a segment of the TAL series on Showtime. The hot dog stand is [The Wiener’s Circle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wieners_Circle), and they serve a terrific chocolate shake. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/255 "2011-09-26T16:03:18Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Don’t be surprised if this broad calls her lawyer on you. I don’t know that you’re at any legal risk but it could be a major annoyance. People not helping bear no risk, generally speaking. People helping in a way that inadvertently harms are often protected by “good samaritan” laws. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/256 "2011-09-26T16:04:14Z")
Amending my earlier response after having read more, you called the barracks because that was more efficient than calling 911, so skip that part of my comment. I suspect psycho-bitch would not have listened to you saying “I called someone that will get here FASTER than calling 911”, and the abuse would have continued. That said, you shoulda stayed nearby. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/257 "2011-09-26T16:05:23Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > People not helping bear no risk, generally speaking. People helping in a way that inadvertently harms are often protected by “good samaritan” laws. True - hence the “might not succeed but could cause annoyance” comment. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/258 "2011-09-26T16:05:41Z")
> [@The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](#): > > And here we have the heart of the matter. The idea that a trapped, isolated woman may end up the victim of a sexual assault isn’t really that ridiculous or abnormal. It’s not a foregone conclusion of course, but it’s really not unheard of. Moreover, the idea that an “unpleasant” woman may _deserve_ said assault is also really not uncommon in the real damn world. > > Also, if you need to explain why a joke is funny, you might want to consider the concept that maybe it isn’t actually universally funny. OK, how about this: what if Porky Pig played the role of **kayaker** and Elmer Fudd was the woman with her arm stuck in the window? ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/259 "2011-09-26T16:05:56Z")
> [@misterW](#): > > It is a fairly common thing in MPSIMS for someone to post a news clipping of some bizarre horrible thing: a man whose wife cuts off his penis and sends down the disposal unit, a woman who dies of shock because she is allergic to the semen of her dog, a man who dies of head injuries from not wearing a motorcycle helmet riding home from an anti-helmet rally, someone who manages to maim themselves in some unexpected way, etc. Notice how these incidents are about people doing stuff to themselves? The ensuing jokes fall along the same lines. They don’t take the form of specific posters joking about doing vile things to real life person(s) under discussion. Your joke deviates from the norm in an important way. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369/260 "2011-09-26T16:07:31Z")
> [@misterW](#): > > My original point in this thread was just an expression of puzzlement at the behavior of the straight dope populace in general. It is a fairly common thing in MPSIMS for someone to post a news clipping of some bizarre horrible thing: a man whose wife cuts off his penis and sends down the disposal unit, a woman who dies of shock because she is allergic to the semen of her dog, a man who dies of head injuries from not wearing a motorcycle helmet riding home from an anti-helmet rally, someone who manages to maim themselves in some unexpected way, etc. After the item is posted, people try to outdo each other with puns and other jokes about the incident. These are real people, not hypothetical joke characters, and the things that have happened to them are often worse than being raped. I’ve rarely seen any indignant comments in those threads. > > So my comment was not necessarily directed at any particular person in this thread – for all I know, every poster who was indignant about the rape joke in question may be even more indignant about some of the things I mentioned. Just expressing a general puzzlement, that is all. The first two situations combine something horrific with something comedic - of course they’re funny. The helmet story doesn’t sound like a rich source of puns though. And in two of them it sounds like they were partially responsible for what happened to them. They’re also distant, not people any of us have met. Of course, some days you might find sick jokes funny and other days you might not, depending on your mood otherwise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-situation-would-you-have-stayed/597369.md?page=14)