Rape Jokes

I really want to be careful

Of the word sensitive

Because—

No, I know that

When you asked the question

You weren’t calling me sensitive

But I just think certain words

Need to be removed

From the conversation altogether, okay?

Because I wouldn’t say that anything

About being offended

--And I don’t even like that word—

Offended by rape jokes

Makes me sensitive

Now, if the comedian

Was a girl

And she was up there

And she’d been raped

And was trying to—to—

Deal with that

With comedy

Okay, fine

That’s—that’s her deal

You know what I mean?

That’s her coping

With her experience

But for a man

Who’s never had the experience

Of being raped

To make jokes about it

Is, uh, really troubling to me

And it’s troubling

That me having a problem with it

Gets me asked if I think

I’m being sensitive

No

No I do not think

That asking a man

To not crack rape jokes

Is sensitive

No

Would you make a rape joke?

You wouldn’t, okay

So a part of you knows

That making that joke

Would be wrong

But you’re gonna what?

Defend another guy’s right

To make the joke?

Which is, uh, what?
A first amendment thing

Or whatever?

I’m not talking about the right to do this

Or the right to do that

I’m talking about just—just using your common sense

To make a decision

About what’s compassionate, right?

There are girls in that audience—

And I refuse to believe

That this comedian

Did not know that

--That there are girls who were there in that audience

Who had been raped

Statistically, it’s—

Not even a question, right?

But he still makes the joke

And who is the joke for?

That’s what I want know

Who is he making that joke for?

Not for the girls who’ve been raped, right?

Is he making it for the girls who haven’t been raped?

Does he think maybe

They’ll find it funny

Even though being raped

Is a thing that—

If you’re a woman

And you’ve never had it happen to you

You probably fucking thinking about it—

I’m sorry, should I—?

Is it?
Is it okay to—?

Okay

So you probably fucking think about it

All the fucking time, right?

So the jokes not for them

Is it for the guys then?

Right?

Is the rape joke for the guys

So they can laugh

About how funny rape is?

As a black woman

I kind of wonder

As I’m sitting there

Listening to these jokes—

Or maybe I’m not wondering

But I’m thinking to myself—

Would he be up there

Making black jokes?

No, right?

I just—

I just don’t think he would

And why not?

Why wouldn’t he?

Why isn’t he?

Where’s free speech there?

Where are the black jokes

If you’re some bold-ass comedian

Who can say whatever the fuck you want?

If edge is your thing

Okay, boy, be edgy then

But, oh, your edge is strictly limited

To cracking jokes about rape?

Dude, fuck you

Fuck you and your jokes

He and the other guys in that room

They’re getting off

On how they know

That when that joke

Comes out of his mouth

Some girl in the room

Probably a lot of girls, actually

Are going to be uncomfortable

That’s why he tells it

That’s why it gets a laugh

From the people who it gets a laugh from

And that’s why I’m allowed to not only not like it

But speak up about it

And it doesn’t

Make me

Sensitive

Right?

So just, like, if you’re going to keep doing it—this—

These interviews or whatever

Just try to be really careful

Of the words you use

Just put a lot of thought

Into the things you say

To people

Because one word—

Like, one misplaced word

Or something that you think is fine

It’s just—

You need to give it more thought than that

That’s all I’m saying

You need to really think about

What it is

You’re saying