Okay, there used to be a
writeup here. It contained a few pretty awful jokes. Very
sexist. They're not here anymore and I'm not going to bring them back.
Two weeks ago I was at a seminar called "
Out of the Shadows." It was a seminar on
sexual assault. We had several speakers, but it was the last speaker that made the most impact. He spoke for about an hour and a half at length on the topic of
rape, including how rape occurrs,
who rapists typically are and are not, and
how to prevent rape. He also discussed the
cultural aspects of it, and how men view women and vice versa. At the end of his speech he said that if we want to make a change then we have to be
active participants in that change. He didn't expect us to do as he had done, dedicating his life to those ends and speaking at hundreds of
colleges,
writing books,
counseling victims, but he did ask that we do little things, like when we hear a
sexist joke or a remark such as "Oh, she's asking for it with that dress," that we stop, and say no, that we try to change
perceptions of sexuality. I'm doing that here.
He asked the males in the audience if they were going to make changes in the way they behave, speak, and try to affect those around them. He asked us to stand up if we were willing to do that.
I stood up. This is my first change.
I had previously written at the end of the offensive writeup the following after it was
downvoted into the negative:
Look, the title of this node says "Really sexist but still marginally funny joke," which should be a pretty good indicator of what you're going to get. That's the point--noding on topic. If you don't like the title, don't read it and downvote the on-topic writeup.
I no longer feel that's true, and wish I hadn't said it. It almost sounds like
something DMan would say. The downvote was the community's way of saying that it wasn't a
respectable writeup and didn't belong here. I agree with the downvoter now.
If you don't like something, never feel you should have to restrain yourself. The borders here are blurred and
avoiding what you do not like will not change anything. I am saddened that after having added the above note on downvoting this writeup became my third highest repped writeup and was
chinged.
Though in
an ideal world for me this node would not exist, it does, and I am able to appreciate the humor of it.
If we can't laugh at ourselves, at whom can we laugh? I won't allow myself to leave my contribution here, though.