Why rape jokes are a-okay

Why rape jokes are a-okay.

I have struggled with this for years.. how can anti-pc jokes be so harmlessly funny (sometimes) yet be considered *bad* by so many. I have long since taken the stand that I am not a bigot if I jokingly say the word nigger, or fag, or call something dumb I did retarded (and mean it).

The argument generally goes, "you shouldn't use those words because some people associate so strongly with those words, and you can never know when someone is going to have strong associations to words you use." Which, I have to admit, is incredibly fucking convincing. Only with my very closest friends, can I know that someone doesn't have a clinically retarded family member or used to be another gender.

If that's really the end of the argument though, it's pretty weak. I think the unspoken assumption here is that using these words is somehow invoking the culture or badness surrounding these ideas. And certainly, any spite or hate filled anything is basically intolerable, words or otherwise.

However, there is no evidence I am aware of that making a rape joke in anyway increases the likelihood of rape.

Nor is a rape joke necessarily made in a threatening or hateful way. Same with racist jokes. Same with kids using "gay" in place of "that sucks"; maybe it's dumb slang, but it isn't *hateful* and it isn't invoking any of that original bad culture surrounding the word.

Statistically, nine out of ten people enjoy gang rape. A blonde heard that joke and wondered what kind of guy wouldn't enjoy that. She figured it was a priest because they like little boys.

If you really think I should self-censor to protect the fragile feelings of those around me, that just really makes me uncomfortable and I wish you would not ever ask me to self censor because I believe in freedom of speech.