The Problem with Hoping Rapists Will Be Raped

[ccharles000]

Lock the rapist up and see how he likes it when he’s turned into some guy’s girlfriend.

We’ve all heard sentiments like the one up above at some point. They might have come from acquaintances, friends, or family members who thought that they were taking a hard line stance against rape. It might have even been us, in a moment of weakness, expressing a wish for a rapist to truly understand the violation he has inflicted on another. We see it all the time, more commonly the more horrific a rape is considered to be — including from feminists, womanists, or others who are invested in bringing an end to sexual violence. The words can very easily roll off the tongue. It can be easy to believe that it makes sense to say, I hope he’s raped in jail and finds out what it’s like.

And it needs to stop.

The simple fact is that wishing rape on another person is never, no matter what the circumstances, anti-rape. It inherently can’t be, and there is no way around it.

http://thecurvature.com/2009/10/02/the-problem-with-hoping-rapists-will-be-raped/

[cali]

1. the problem is that it's sick, sick, sick to wish that on anyone.

[ccharles000]

2. I agree

I hate it when I see it on du at times.

[redqueen]

3. It's sad that this has to be explained for some people.

But there you go.

[cliffordu]

4. I don't want them raped - I want them killed by the general population

in any maximum security prison.

And if not killed, turned into vegetables.

[armyowalgreens]

8. There's nothing better than a good old fashioned murder...

:sarcasm:

[cliffordu]

10. Yep -

On the other hand, we could let them all out to reoffend.

:sarcasm:

[Forkboy]

12. Are those the only two options?

[Posteritatis]

17. Threads like this are like flypaper for logical fallacies. (nt)

[cliffordu]

20. No such thing as rehab for sexual psychopaths.

They just keep getting slicker.

[Forkboy]

22. Not an answer.

Is letting them out or having them killed in prison the only two options?

[cliffordu]

23. I have extensive - and I mean years of work with adolescent survivors of

childhood rape at the hands of their relatives.

Most were living on the streets, tricking until they died of overdoses or went to prison.

Some became offenders themselves.

There are those that just cannot be helped - I am talking about the offenders, here.

They need to go.

[Forkboy]

24. Life in prison not good enough?

Love that hard on for blood here on DU lately! :thumbsup:

[cliffordu]

25. I got a chubby for it now.

[Forkboy]

27. I believe you.

[armyowalgreens]

15. False Dichotomy.

Try again.

[armyowalgreens]

16. .

.

[vadawg]

13. lol tell us how you really feel, but i can understand that feeling

and i see the hatred from the general population towards the kiddie fiddlers every day, very dark.

[cliffordu]

19. Yep. Short eyes gotta go.

[MoonRiver]

5. It's like the death penalty.

You don't take away the crime, but you commit, or wish will be committed, an act of the same nature. I totally understand the feeling, however.

[Matariki]

6. Thanks. I find that sentiment, along with prison rape jokes appalling.

It's an endorsement for institutionalized torture. Nothing good comes of it.

[Brickbat]

7. I totally agree, and thank you for posting it. Prison rape is not a joke. Wishing rape on someone

else only perpetrates the rape culture we live in.

[Thickasabrick]

9. Thank you - I would like to see changes made to the prison systems

also so that this type of crime isn't so commonplace and ignored. It is unabashed brutality that is basically condoned by prison officials.

[BlooInBloo]

11. People calling themselves "true progressive" hope for that sort of thing all the time...

They hope that rapists get raped.

They hope that other criminals get tortured.

And so on.

Just the way Americans are, with their thirst for blood and vengeance.

[redqueen]

14. On edit: you're right.

Even in blue states like CA, support is strong.

*sigh*

[Orsino]

18. It's torture. We don't favor torture, do we?

No, we don't.

[cliffordu]

21. Apparently we do. Not stopping it is tacit approval.

[Dirtyhairy]

26. Of course, it's not anti-rape.

It's karma.

[TexasObserver]

28. More importantly, it isn't rapists getting raped in prison. It's others.

We have a huge non violent population of prisoners among the violent criminals, with expected results. Our penal system is abhorrent.

Rapists should be removed from society upon conviction, and not allowed to mix with other prisoners.

[SidneyCarton]

29. Agreed, wishing rape as a "punishment" on anyone is not justice, it is derangement.

It is an outgrowth of the inherent sadism in our culture. Do I wish that rapists are locked up for the rest of their lives, yes. But only in the (all too often vain) hope that they are thus prevented from committing further atrocity.

[Control-Z]

30. What I find to be the most disturbing

is the dark world that becomes commonplace to these people. Turning our backs and allowing it to go on is as good as saying the behavior is acceptable. It doesn't help anyone. It doesn't rehabilitate anyone. It perpetuates the very deviant behavior that landed these guys in prison in the first place. And it causes many lesser criminals to become part of that dark world.

[Ignis]

31. Thanks for posting this.

No one--not even prisoners serving time for certain crimes--"deserves" to be raped. :eyes: