Raise the Hammer

Trigger Alert: this article addresses the issue of sexual assault, and some readers may be triggered by the terms or material contained in it. Please take the necessary precautions to avoid being triggered, or have a plan of self-care in place should you find yourself reacting to the material.

Too late!

This triggered my visceral horror of politicized namby-pamby, victim-manufacturing sociobabble and I nearly wrecked my keyboard with spewed coffee.

But I activated my self-care plan and promptly skipped the entire text and am now talking myself down with a soothing balm of sarcasm.

I'm separating the surrounding political language from the issue itself.

I don't know quite what the issue is in this case because that "trigger" language repulsed me enough that I skipped it.

Not impressed with the trigger alert. Someone appears to be itching for a fight. This is a serious issue that needs less cynicism all around. Such a good article wasted

I'm confused as to what you're being sarcastic about. Are you satirizing someone who takes issue with what is basically just a factual definition of sexual assault, or the trigger alert?

WTF?

You seem to have a different definition for the words lust and passion than I'm used to. Clothing and movies with sexual content have nothing to do with rape. There is no positive correlation there. Rape and sexual exploitation is most prevalent within cultures (internationally speaking and subcultures here at home) where there is an ingrained belief that one person is of greater value than another. If one sees another as lesser it can be rationalized that it is ok to treat them in a subhuman manner. Women thoughtout the world and human history have been considered second class humans, and while we've made amazing progress in the last century, there is still a ways to go, even in Canada.

Comment edited by Dylan on 2015-04-28 20:39:27

I'm a male student who was sexually assaulted on campus at the end of January by a younger female classmate. I can't even begin to tell you how shockingly mistreated I was by the "system" set up to supposedly support me. Not only was I often lambasted for being a male victim who should've "...just pushed her off." or "...punched her right back." but I was also immediately told by a campus worker to "Take it as a compliment." and then went through two weeks of grueling interrogation like interviews where I was often asked if I was exaggerating details or looking for attention. I missed assignments, as well as shifts at work and watched my performance drop downwards along with my grades. All I want to say is that sexual assault can happen to anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. It is not the victim's fault, and should be treated with the utmost standard of care and compassion. I understand that wrapping the notion of sexual assault around one's mind can be difficult, as any sort of extreme trauma is, but that definitely does not merit the sort of comments I'm reading now. Heightened awareness of sexual assault and it's impacts not only empowers victims to think of themselves as survivors but also gives the opportunity for others to come out, seek justice and understand their rights. The monthly dedication is not a symbol for the rise of nanny-statism or some sort of liberalistic infringement but rather the creation of a forum to raise public awareness and give voice to those who were cruelly abused.

WTF is this moronic garbage.

Content in movies and games are driven by demand. We live in a society that buys misogyny and violence. Combat the disease, not the symptoms.

In actuality, your points were simply so poorly written and nonsensical that it was not worth people's time to respond.

You're being ignored because you spammed the comments with a bunch of ignorant medieval comments equating rape with lust that most civilized people moved past a long time ago.

What isn't moronic about you weird judeo-christian nonsense about 'passion' and 'lust'? Spew your nonsense somewhere else.

Ok, here's a counter argument for you: your discredited, pseudo-psychological bs conveniently turns a social issue into one of personal morality, thereby absolving yourself and the rest of society from the obligation to do anything more than smugly lecture from on high. It's nothing but self-serving wankery disguised as faux concern for victims, and you're not fooling anyone but yourself.

What literature? Point me to the peer reviewed social science research that says people rape because they see nakedness and are consumed with lust. And take your time trying to find it.

Tell you what. You sit over there getting your thrills from thoughts of lewdness, nakedness, lustful appetites, and porn, and the grown-ups will get on with trying to deal with the actual causes of sexual assault. Take it easy though. I hear it can make you go blind.

looks at comments.

closes tab and quietly backs away.

You're really out to lunch.

Speaking of lunch....You mentioned the other ancient notions of sin above, so what is your solution to gluttony? Outlaw tasty food? What about banning food in revealing packaging?

God help any victim of SA who then has to turn around and deal with your BS.

Woah, let's not punish those that can enjoy a few potatoes chips without consuming the quantity that would damn them for eternity!

I think we're on to something though. Most chip bags leave enough to the imagination, but there are some that reveal a little spud, and I just can't contain myself. And if I see people enjoying chips on TV....my goodness, it's like I'm no longer myself. I must have them!!!

Not sure why I'm even bothering, but rates of SA go DOWN when access to and consumption of erotic media goes UP. This is widely and consistently documented and flies right in the face of your claim that access to p o r n leads to lust and SA.

Please do humanity a favor and stay far away from any woman who has been victimized by SA, your typical victim blaming BS will victimize her all over again!

"the person who uses his or her body to entice others" That is Victim Blaming 101. Please stay far away from victims of SA, your barbaric ideas will only make things worse.

So I'm thinking a no-comments policy on gender issues posts might be appropriate.

My barbaric ideas explains why 30 percent of college students say they would rape if they could get away with it.

Citation please. An actual one - you speaking is not a citation. There is definitely a percentage of psychopaths among the population. But I don't believe this statistic.

You are triggered by language of sin. Perhaps you are atheist, been burned by false religion.

First, I'm sorry I commented on this post. It is a very important issue, however like Pxtl, I closed my browser and said okay that's enough internet for today. My only thought:

Why do the most religious people consume the most pornography?

Why do countries where women are covered from head to toe have the biggest rape problems?

I'm confused as to what you're being sarcastic about. Are you satirizing someone who takes issue with what is basically just a factual definition of sexual assault, or the trigger alert?

The language of the trigger alert.

As I wrote earlier, I didn't read the article, the language put me off so.

It's a real shame that you have dedicated all your repulsion to the author's compassionate effort to warn readers who have been sexually assaulted that some of the article's contents might provoke a disturbing emotional reaction.

I'm not going to give Ms. Nicoll a pass on form and language just because her heart's in the right place.

Putting aside my scorn for trigger talk, it's plain that it wasn't mainly about "warning" (and offering therapeutic advice to) readers: for heaven's sake, "sexual assault" appears in the deck, right after a headline that makes the subject pretty clear.

That trigger alert is an exhibition of right-thinking credentials; it's the party flag run up the pole; it's a political act of performative feminism. It's a shibboleth.

Interesting. Please, tell us more...

I'm not here to argue with you, I'm here to tell you that you're a moron.

Ryan, is it possible to suppress the "banned user (anonymous)" empty comments?

John