Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Facebook agrees to block sexual assault 'humor'

nbcnews.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–49 of 49 posts

Re: Facebook agrees to block sexual assault 'humor'

#41

Post by skore »

jimzvz wrote: post #38

I wonder if rape jokes targeting males will also be removed as I have found these much more common than rape jokes targeting females, particularly regarding the rape of suspected male criminals. An example: http://i.imgur.com/X8cjv2v.png

This isn't reddit and it's especially not r/mensrights

[Edit] Since I got a downvote right away, here is my reasoning: Rape of any form is terrible. But the reaction to rape of females shouldn't be changing the subject to rape of males. It's diminishing the gravity of both by brushing away the importance of one with an inappropriate overstating of the other. And that's precisely the style of discussion prevalent in r/mensrights and it would be terrible if that made its way over to HN.

Re: Facebook agrees to block sexual assault 'humor'

#42

Post by tss20147 »

skore wrote: post #41
jimzvz wrote: post #38

I wonder if rape jokes targeting males will also be removed as I have found these much more common than rape jokes targeting females, particularly regarding the rape of suspected male criminals. An example: http://i.imgur.com/X8cjv2v.png

This isn't reddit and it's especially not r/mensrights [Edit] Since I got a downvote right away, here is my reasoning: Rape of any form is terrible. But the reaction to rape of females shouldn't be changing the subject to rape of males. It's diminishing the gravity of both by brushing away the importance of one with an inappropriate overstating of the other. And that's precisely the style of discussion prevalent in r…

The poster wasn't changing the subject from the rape of females to the rape of males. The title of the article is "Facebook agrees to ban sexual assault 'humor'" and not "Facebook agrees to ban sexual assault against women 'humor'" yet the article only seemed to address sexual assault against women humor. Asking if the policy also extends to humor regarding sexual assaults against males is a fair question under the circumstances and in no way diminishes the gravity of both.

According to surveys 7 - 12% percent of males report having been the victim of a sexual assault with the vast majority of victims having been assaulted while minors. The rate of sexual assaults against males is increasing. It is a serious and increasing problem.

Re: Facebook agrees to block sexual assault 'humor'

#44

Post by skore »

tss20147 wrote: post #42
skore wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't reddit and it's especially not r/mensrights [Edit] Since I got a downvote right away, here is my reasoning: Rape of any form is terrible. But the reaction to rape of females shouldn't be changing the subject to rape of males. It's diminishing the gravity of both by brushing away the importance of one with an inappropriate overstating of the other. And that's precisely the style of discussion prevalent in r…

The poster wasn't changing the subject from the rape of females to the rape of males. The title of the article is "Facebook agrees to ban sexual assault 'humor'" and not "Facebook agrees to ban sexual assault against women 'humor'" yet the article only seemed to address sexual assault against women humor. Asking if the policy also extends to humor regarding sexual assaults against males is a fair question under the c…

It's a tough call to make, but you do have a point.

I suppose what kind of threw me off was that the image linked as an example by the poster could be understood as both a male and female version of sexual assault "jokes". Still, the implication is clearly male, just as the implication of the article was clearly female. (Actually, a little more than just implication, but the title sets to tone to be a little more general.)

One point I do still maintain is that there simply is a clear imbalance between sexual assault on females and males. Yes, that does not change the gravity of either, but it does suggest how the conversation about it ought to run. If it were the other way around, seeing society predominantly talk about female sexual assault would be troublesome. But it is not and thus pulling the conversation towards male sexual assault kind of rings my alarm bells. Just as the implication is universally female, bringing up male sexual assault implies trying to diminish it being a predominantly female issue.

It is accurate that sexual assault against females gets the center stage and it is just as correct that sexual assault against males is a serious issue.

Your point about sexual assaults against males being rising is interesting - do you happen to have a link on that? My immediate theory would be that while there might be a rise, it can only ever be a rise in reported assault. So I would guess that it is probably increased by the fact that we as a society have become more open to accept males as victims of sexual assault in the first place. But I would be interested in seeing actual data on that.

Re: Facebook agrees to block sexual assault 'humor'

#45

Post by lowboy »

smegel wrote: post #32
lowboy wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least you invoked the name of the logical fallacy. And it's more than just offense in this case. Sexual assault is a very serious and terrible thing to have happen. Joking about it legitimizes and normalizes it, contributing to incidents. I imagine it's the same thing as with hate speech: it could prompt acts of violence toward people of the targeted group.

And sincere discussions of alternative political systems could lead to another Stalin/Mao/Hitler. Criticizing Islam might lead to another holocaust. At what point do you let people share ideas freely without holding them responsible for what "might happen"? When can a joke "just be a joke"?

A joke with "tape her and rape her" is not a sincere discussion.

People posting on Facebook is a privilege granted at the sole discretion of Facebook, it's not a right. While I support free speech, it's completely at FB's discretion as to whether or not content is acceptable.

Also, this could help you: https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/slippery-slope

Re: Facebook agrees to block sexual assault 'humor'

#46

Post by theorique »

omd wrote: post #34
smegel wrote: post #23

Hard to see how this won't slide down the slippery slope of banning all "offensive" content...at what point do you say we are OK with this particular group being offended but not others? Perhaps when the mainstream media starts agitating over it...

Trying to keep a certain level of civil discourse on a social website is not a slippery slope. Banning rape jokes is not a slippery slope. For as long as I can remember Facebook has had the option to report posts about: - Hate speech or symbol - Spam or scam - Graphic violence - Drug use - Nudity or pornography That is not trampling the First Amendment. There are plenty of other hate forums where people who are afrai…

That is not trampling the First Amendment.

Correct - that only refers to prohibition of government censorship.

I suspect that Facebook wants to keep things "nice" (for some value of "nice") so that the advertisers won't get spooked away and they can continue on their trajectory of world domination.

The trouble is that not every user, advertiser, or activist group agrees on what is "nice", or at least "permissible".

Re: Facebook agrees to block sexual assault 'humor'

#47

Post by egillie »

smegel wrote: post #33
egillie wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whenever I start to worry about this I remember that Canada has laws against hate speech http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech_laws_in_Canada but doesn't seem to have slipped down any slopes.

So does Australia...you might want to look up the case of Andrew Bolt, a journalist who was convicted over making flippant remarks about indigenous Australians. Many consider this case to be a prime example of excessive application of hate speech laws against speech that was clearly not "hateful".

Interesting, it looks like Australian law also forbids speech that is "reasonably likely, in all the circumstances, to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people". That's going a bit further than the "inciting hatred" standard Canada uses....and yeah, seems very abuse-able.

Re: Facebook agrees to block sexual assault 'humor'

#48

Post by jimzvz »

skore wrote: post #44
tss20147 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The poster wasn't changing the subject from the rape of females to the rape of males. The title of the article is "Facebook agrees to ban sexual assault 'humor'" and not "Facebook agrees to ban sexual assault against women 'humor'" yet the article only seemed to address sexual assault against women humor. Asking if the policy also extends to humor regarding sexual assaults against males is a fair question under the c…

It's a tough call to make, but you do have a point. I suppose what kind of threw me off was that the image linked as an example by the poster could be understood as both a male and female version of sexual assault "jokes". Still, the implication is clearly male, just as the implication of the article was clearly female. (Actually, a little more than just implication, but the title sets to tone to be a little more gen…

One point I do still maintain is that there simply is a clear imbalance between sexual assault on females and males. Yes, that does not change the gravity of either, but it does suggest how the conversation about it ought to run. If it were the other way around, seeing society predominantly talk about female sexual assault would be troublesome. But it is not and thus pulling the conversation towards male sexual assault kind of rings my alarm bells. Just as the implication is universally female, bringing up male sexual assault implies trying to diminish it being a predominantly female issue.

uhhh...???

Jokes about male rape are accepted by the mainstream more than female rape jokes, in my opinion, specifically prison rape. Under almost any article/image about some criminal (particularly violent criminals) or suspected criminal that has numerous comments, you will find facetious comments about how that criminal will/should be raped in prison. Now, I asked my original question because, if facebook do start to remove jokes about male rape, it will affect a larger number of people and perhaps affect people that do not feel that a joke about male prison rape is actually a rape joke and I find that interesting.

Re: Facebook agrees to block sexual assault 'humor'

#49

Post by skore »

jimzvz wrote: post #48
skore wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a tough call to make, but you do have a point. I suppose what kind of threw me off was that the image linked as an example by the poster could be understood as both a male and female version of sexual assault "jokes". Still, the implication is clearly male, just as the implication of the article was clearly female. (Actually, a little more than just implication, but the title sets to tone to be a little more gen…

One point I do still maintain is that there simply is a clear imbalance between sexual assault on females and males. Yes, that does not change the gravity of either, but it does suggest how the conversation about it ought to run. If it were the other way around, seeing society predominantly talk about female sexual assault would be troublesome. But it is not and thus pulling the conversation towards male sexual assau…

Actually, I did not disagree with that, so I'm not sure what you mean.
Post reply on HN