It boggles my mind that someone intelligent like Tom can feel offended by that.Also maybe is silly for you ,but for Cory Davis that is his life,he maybe have debts or mortgage that depend on his job and feel raped by the publisher that intervene in his job.I don't really know,but the usage of such strong words clearly shows how he feels about that.
Anybody defending Davis' use of that term here is a fucking coward.
The word "strawman" should never be used in any discussion or debate. It's almost always used as a cheap way to invalidate the arguments of the opposition.
I feel like Kellywand would give a great synopsis of Nemo's posts. Maybe it would be called a turgid-opsis....
For those of you defending the use of the word rape for trivial things like, say, not liking the multiplayer part of a game, let me ask you a question. Don't you feel forcible sexual assault is serious enough to merit its own word? Like genocide, racism, lynching, or censorship.
If so, maybe you have some suggestion for a better word? Because I can think of all kinds of ways to describe not liking multiplayer in Spec Ops: The Line. I can't really think of many ways to uniquely describe violent sexual assault.
First, "forcible sexual assault" has its own word: "rape." It's just
that word also has a long history of meaning other things. Denying the
existence of that history and the, currently valid, alternate usages
seems to me like censorship, the
"one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other" final item on your list.
Second,
there is a difference between you, I, or a random gamer not liking the
multiplayer of a game, and the feelings of the person who created the
game watching someone else (in his opinion, justified or not) destroy
it. There exists a body of criticism that commonly uses rape to discuss
the exploitation of artistic works. If "artistic" includes "creative"
then my earlier point stands.
Third, I can think of many ways to
describe violent sexual assault, especially if I am allowed to resort to
profanity as you did in your original article. I might say that, using
the same childish irreverence as you, "fucked up" might be applicable to
both situations as well, and to some people, much more offensive in
either sense. I don't particularly feel like listing these synonyms, but
see my next sentence for one example.
At this point, having thrice
violated my personal proscription against posting on
forums/messageboards/etc., I shall return to my lurking. Feel free to
attribute this to cowardice, or what you will. I touched the pitch of
posting and now am tired of trying to clean off the residue.
They totally censorshiped the multiplayer in Spec Ops: The Line.
Hmm...
No, this isn't new. Yes, we understand the implications of sexual politics and gender theory in the argument. Yes it is possible that he did utilize the term in a hyperbolic-but-grammatically-correct fashion. No you haven't been convicted of anything, though perhaps accused by your own admissions. Maybe it is possible that in 2012 a discussion of the relative political correctness of the word "rape" as applied to a commodity or object will produce, at best, a distended verbal impasse. But this quote does imply a sexual subtext: the product of this coercion being what he considers to be an illegitimate, deformed, and therefore useless offspring. I agree with Tom Chick. The subject of rape and sexuality has been in the spotlight since Akins' comments. Best not to use a term that could align you with such a sadly ignorant statement.
1st: Your continued reference to the history of the word is moot. Would you use the same rationale to defend people using the word "nigger"? After all, Mark Twain used that word, so how bad can it be? There's a historical precedent.
2nd: Different people have different obligations when it comes to how they speak. I was playing an MMO today and some random player observed that we were "raped". It bothers me less when he does it, because he's probably just a product of gamer culture. But someone like Cory Banks [EDIT: that should be Cory Davis!], speaking to thousands of readers, helps define gamer culture. I don't care how upset he is. I care that he's speaking to people like the kid in my group today.
3rd: I don't understand your point, but I'm puzzled at your odd insistence to be able to use rape to mean something trivial. Language is a powerful thing. It should be treated as such, or at the very least, its power should be acknowledged.
Seriously, thank you.
Unfortunately this man's language reached many people, likely even kids, I don't want people to grow up using words that they themselves could not possibly encompass the gravity of the definition on the word. As a person whose never been a victim of rape, should learn to understand the pain of those who have and instead should be considerate.
Language is indeed a powerful thing and should be treated as such. It should also be respected. You are not showing language any respect in denying a word one of its meanings.
I think you meant Cory Davis and not Cory Banks? I wouldn't usually mention it , but people might get a little tense given the subject matter.
'Fucked up' would have been acceptable but 'raped' is not?
Current usage, not "history", rape can mean more than just sexual assault. Why don't you understand this?
Nemo, thanks for the response here. Well said.
Getting that upset over a word? That's a weird hangup to have, Tom.