I recently read a story in the LaCrosse Tribune about the use of the
word “rape” to describe situations that have nothing to do with sexual
assault. The article itself was very even-handed and made no accusations
against people who use the word “rape” inappropriately. It didn’t claim
that people who use this word casually are intentionally trying to
belittle victims of sexual assault or are otherwise sexist. It certainly
didn’t call for fining or imprisoning people who use the word to refer
to situations other than an actual rape.
Yet, that is the
reaction some people had to this article. The article was an effort to
convince people to make a free choice to use more accurate and polite
language in their conversations. It was very similar to recent efforts
to encourage people not to use the word “retarded.” However, many
commenters saw it differently. One cried, “More censorship from the
oversensitive liberal masses.” Another even claimed to sympathize with
victims of rape or other sex crimes, saying, “There are too many people I
know who've been victims of sexual crimes for me to make light of
what's a very serious issue. That being said, we as a society cannot
allow this type of politically correct censorship.”
If the
article had argued that people who use the word “rape” inappropriately
should be subject to criminal penalties, I would wholeheartedly agree
with the above commenters. But the article didn’t say that. It was
merely a reasoned argument about why people shouldn’t use the word to
describe things that don’t have anything to do with sexual assault. In
fact, by the (incorrect) logic of these commenters, they are themselves
“censoring” the writer of the article.
In this country we are
fortunate enough to have the right to say just about anything we want.
But we don’t have the right to speak without being criticized. You can
say anything you want, no matter how offensive it is. But other people
have the right to criticize you for saying it. You can respond by
changing your language. You can respond by making a logical argument
about why what you said actually isn’t as bad as the other person thinks
it is. Or you can just ignore the people who think you are offensive,
and continue doing whatever you want. What you can’t do is accuse people
who criticize you of censorship. Well, you can—but you are being
factually inaccurate.
Link to original article: http://lacrossetribune.com/news/opinion/article_0ae7bee4-f449-11df-b3a5-001cc4c002e0.html
—Alex Wagner
