1 in 5 women in the U.S. has been raped. 1 in 4 has been severely physically harmed by a partner. It’s not okay to joke about violence against women.
While Boulder’s h3 website specifies that “oversensitive” people shouldn’t hash, it says nothing about “reasonable” or “compassionate” people. I discovered the other day at a hash in Boulder, Colorado that this is a group of violent people. Not a single other person walked away when hearing violent jokes about women. Not a single person spoke up about or questioned the comedy.
Jokes including raping corpses and killing women. While making jokes like this is obviously unacceptable, people need to speak up. People of systemic power (in this situation, men) need to challenge this “comedy”. People who might not be as safe (in this situation, women), need to do whatever is safest. Speaking up is not always safe. That’s why I’m doing it virtually. But I had to do it. Because those who tolerate violence are perpetuating a violent society. Please, learn about systems of oppression and strive to be better than an oppressor. Don’t joke about violence. Don’t tolerate references that accept violence.
“But that’s no fun”. Learn how to joke outside of oppression. Don’t know where to start? Take some tips from John Oliver.