Waterboarding Is Torture, Pickpocketing Is Theft, Rape Is Rape
Via Adam Serwer's blog, the Washington Post's Greg Sargent offers a handy explanation for why the New York Times' decision not to describe U.S. waterboarding as "torture" reveals bias:
Think of it this way: We all agree that pickpocketing constitutes "theft." A pickpocket doesn't get to come along and argue: "No, what I did isn't theft, it's merely pickpocketing, and therefore it isn't illegal." Any newspaper that played along with a pickpocket's demand to stop using the word "theft" would be taking the pickpocket's side, not occupying any middle ground. There is no middle ground here.
Remember that the next time the media calls intimate partner violence and sexual assault by any-other-name. When a publication calls rape "sex," it is not reserving judgment before trial. When it describes an accused assailant as "a loose cannon" and a "bad boy," it is not adding color. When it characterizes self-defense after sexual assault as a "bar fight," it is not being fair. It's taking sides.
1:54 pm
Amen.
1:57 pm
Agreed.
2:00 pm
Chris Hayes did a convoluted rape analogy last night while sitting in for Ed Schultz that made me cringe.
2:26 pm
'Nuff said.
Fantastic, Amanda.
2:33 pm
So very, very, very much agreed.
2:46 pm
I don't have a problem with making Mel Gibson look worse.
1:58 am
I define torture as reading this blog. There are many definitions of torture. Maybe in your mind everyone has a universal definition of torture but that's not the case in the real world.
Similarly, is it rape when two underage minors have consensual sex? How about a 18 year old on his birthday and a 17 and 364 day year old girl? Did they have sex or did he rape her? What if I told you the age of consent is 16? Does it turn from rape to just sex? Do two adults who have consumed alcohol then rape each other when they both enthusiastically consent to sex despite their BAC?
You want rape to be black and white when the world is shades of gray and all the colors of the rainbow.
10:03 pm
Amanda, I would never have guessed that you're an MRA! One of their main concerns is that the media never uses the phrase "domestic violence" when the aggressor is a woman. And forget about using the word "rape" when a female rapes a child.
10:42 pm
@Bill
What happened to consent and asking people what happened?
"Do two adults who have consumed alcohol then rape each other when they both enthusiastically consent to sex despite their BAC?" And would they take this to court if they did?