gym boss sacked for sending a message suggesting a woman who missed class should be raped

[TSwizzle]

What on earth was this guy thinking ?

Edinburgh University dismissed Ross Brain without notice after more than 800 students signed an open letter to principal and vice-chancellor Peter Mathieson demanding his sacking. He sent the message in a WhatsApp group to colleagues at Edinburgh University Sports and Exercise club, discussing potential punishment for a woman who missed an exercise class. One message believed to be from Brain said: ‘Lets rape her. Or give her the choice of 600 burpees or rape.’ When no one responded, he was accused of sending another, saying: ‘No-one up for this then?’.

Metro

I am astounded that anyone would write that out and post it publicly. What is he missing, aside from a few marbles ?

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

If our “president” tweeted something like this, a million of his followers would volunteer.

 

[prideandfall]

What on earth was this guy thinking ?

Edinburgh University dismissed Ross Brain without notice after more than 800 students signed an open letter to principal and vice-chancellor Peter Mathieson demanding his sacking. He sent the message in a WhatsApp group to colleagues at Edinburgh University Sports and Exercise club, discussing potential punishment for a woman who missed an exercise class. One message believed to be from Brain said: ‘Lets rape her. Or give her the choice of 600 burpees or rape.’ When no one responded, he was accused of sending another, saying: ‘No-one up for this then?’.

Metro

I am astounded that anyone would write that out and post it publicly. What is he missing, aside from a few marbles ?

i'm very confused by this reaction coming from you, given your rock-solid posting history and ideological position on women, since what this guy posted seems entirely consistent with what you would normally characterize as either totally normal and acceptable behavior, or brazenly decry as a lie told by whores to denigrate men who would never actually do such a thing.

this is an incredibly common occurrence, this sort of attitude by men towards women is very commonplace.

 

[TSwizzle]

What on earth was this guy thinking ?

Edinburgh University dismissed Ross Brain without notice after more than 800 students signed an open letter to principal and vice-chancellor Peter Mathieson demanding his sacking. He sent the message in a WhatsApp group to colleagues at Edinburgh University Sports and Exercise club, discussing potential punishment for a woman who missed an exercise class. One message believed to be from Brain said: ‘Lets rape her. Or give her the choice of 600 burpees or rape.’ When no one responded, he was accused of sending another, saying: ‘No-one up for this then?’.

Metro

I am astounded that anyone would write that out and post it publicly. What is he missing, aside from a few marbles ?

i'm very confused by this reaction coming from you, given your rock-solid posting history and ideological position on women, since what this guy posted seems entirely consistent with what you would normally characterize as either totally normal and acceptable behavior, or brazenly decry as a lie told by whores to denigrate men who would never actually do such a thing.

You clearly have me mixed up with someone else and I accept your apology in advance.

this is an incredibly common occurrence, this sort of attitude by men towards women is very commonplace.

I'm not sure how incredibly common this sort of thing actually is. Which is why I am aghast at how anyone in this day in age could put out what he said publicly. I would love to hear his thoughts on it now.

 

[fast]

In today’s liberal climate, where mole hills are taken out of context and turned into mountains, it’s extremely ignorant not to expect a potential fallout from the public utterance of such comments. We don’t know the full context and the true nature for what drove his comments, and my important point here is that it doesn’t matter, for even had it been completely innocent, there are far too many ways to distort and cast what he said in the dimmest light possible.

Imagine for instance you were among a few close knit friends who were complaining something fierce about these so-called burpees, and one girl in particular makes a follow up sexual reference to one of her friends who recently spoke of a rape fantasy. Once the jist is caught that the fantasy coming true might be preferable to the exercise, another utters what in the moment would at most elicit a few laughs among friends.

We don’t know what was going through his head, and even had it been ‘a moment of innocence among friends’ that (for hypothetical example) drove him in part to speak those ghastly sounding words, he should have known better than to imbue all members of the public crowd to be lenient and temper how critical they should be. There are some conservatives who would want to get to the nitty gritty and either douse the flames where there was no evil intent (or flick the Bic themselves if among true scum), but for some others, it doesn’t matter one iota: bring the gas and petition to either fire him or set him on fire.

So yes, dumb, ignorant, stupid, unprofessional, and insensitive. Yes, those words have no place being showcased for all in the public eye to see. And yes, there should be consequences. All I’m saying is that I would not be among those immediately anxious to sign the petition without first having a better understanding of his mindset.

 

[Toni]

In today’s liberal climate, where mole hills are taken out of context and turned into mountains, it’s extremely ignorant not to expect a potential fallout from the public utterance of such comments. We don’t know the full context and the true nature for what drove his comments, and my important point here is that it doesn’t matter, for even had it been completely innocent, there are far too many ways to distort and cast what he said in the dimmest light possible.

Imagine for instance you were among a few close knit friends who were complaining something fierce about these so-called burpees, and one girl in particular makes a follow up sexual reference to one of her friends who recently spoke of a rape fantasy. Once the jist is caught that the fantasy coming true might be preferable to the exercise, another utters what in the moment would at most elicit a few laughs among friends.

We don’t know what was going through his head, and even had it been ‘a moment of innocence among friends’ that (for hypothetical example) drove him in part to speak those ghastly sounding words, he should have known better than to imbue all members of the public crowd to be lenient and temper how critical they should be. There are some conservatives who would want to get to the nitty gritty and either douse the flames where there was no evil intent (or flick the Bic themselves if among true scum), but for some others, it doesn’t matter one iota: bring the gas and petition to either fire him or set him on fire.

So yes, dumb, ignorant, stupid, unprofessional, and insensitive. Yes, those words have no place being showcased for all in the public eye to see. And yes, there should be consequences. All I’m saying is that I would not be among those immediately anxious to sign the petition without first having a better understanding of his mindset.

I find it hard to imagine a situation where calling on a group of people to rape another person for any reason at all is not criminal.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

In today’s liberal climate, where mole hills are taken out of context and turned into mountains, it’s extremely ignorant not to expect a potential fallout from the public utterance of such comments. We don’t know the full context and the true nature for what drove his comments, and my important point here is that it doesn’t matter, for even had it been completely innocent, there are far too many ways to distort and cast what he said in the dimmest light possible.

Imagine for instance you were among a few close knit friends who were complaining something fierce about these so-called burpees, and one girl in particular makes a follow up sexual reference to one of her friends who recently spoke of a rape fantasy. Once the jist is caught that the fantasy coming true might be preferable to the exercise, another utters what in the moment would at most elicit a few laughs among friends.

We don’t know what was going through his head, and even had it been ‘a moment of innocence among friends’ that (for hypothetical example) drove him in part to speak those ghastly sounding words, he should have known better than to imbue all members of the public crowd to be lenient and temper how critical they should be. There are some conservatives who would want to get to the nitty gritty and either douse the flames where there was no evil intent (or flick the Bic themselves if among true scum), but for some others, it doesn’t matter one iota: bring the gas and petition to either fire him or set him on fire.

So yes, dumb, ignorant, stupid, unprofessional, and insensitive. Yes, those words have no place being showcased for all in the public eye to see. And yes, there should be consequences. All I’m saying is that I would not be among those immediately anxious to sign the petition without first having a better understanding of his mindset.

I find it hard to imagine a situation where calling on a group of people to rape another person for any reason at all is not criminal.

You need to get out more.

I've worked in plenty of environments where this kind of behavior is the norm, normal but certainly not desirable. It's that it has gone on for so long that people do it without even thinking of how wrong it is or the effect it has on another person. It's sad. That it is changing, albeit glacially, is a good thing. For the most part the people who do it aren't criminal, just ignoramuses.

 

[Toni]

In today’s liberal climate, where mole hills are taken out of context and turned into mountains, it’s extremely ignorant not to expect a potential fallout from the public utterance of such comments. We don’t know the full context and the true nature for what drove his comments, and my important point here is that it doesn’t matter, for even had it been completely innocent, there are far too many ways to distort and cast what he said in the dimmest light possible.

Imagine for instance you were among a few close knit friends who were complaining something fierce about these so-called burpees, and one girl in particular makes a follow up sexual reference to one of her friends who recently spoke of a rape fantasy. Once the jist is caught that the fantasy coming true might be preferable to the exercise, another utters what in the moment would at most elicit a few laughs among friends.

We don’t know what was going through his head, and even had it been ‘a moment of innocence among friends’ that (for hypothetical example) drove him in part to speak those ghastly sounding words, he should have known better than to imbue all members of the public crowd to be lenient and temper how critical they should be. There are some conservatives who would want to get to the nitty gritty and either douse the flames where there was no evil intent (or flick the Bic themselves if among true scum), but for some others, it doesn’t matter one iota: bring the gas and petition to either fire him or set him on fire.

So yes, dumb, ignorant, stupid, unprofessional, and insensitive. Yes, those words have no place being showcased for all in the public eye to see. And yes, there should be consequences. All I’m saying is that I would not be among those immediately anxious to sign the petition without first having a better understanding of his mindset.

I find it hard to imagine a situation where calling on a group of people to rape another person for any reason at all is not criminal.

You need to get out more.

I've worked in plenty of environments where this kind of behavior is the norm, normal but certainly not desirable. It's that it has gone on for so long that people do it without even thinking of how wrong it is or the effect it has on another person. It's sad. That it is changing, albeit glacially, is a good thing. For the most part the people who do it aren't criminal, just ignoramuses.

I'm sure I do need to get out more.

The fact that this sort of behavior is common among some crowds does not make it less criminal. There was no 'moment of innocence among friends.' Friends do not suggest raping a friend. You may mean that he didn't mean it literally but since women are routinely threatened with rape for posting on the internet and now, apparently for being late or missing something--what, exactly is it that you think is not threatening to women? And not deliberately threatening to women? It's threatening.

It is intended as a threat: comply or be raped! Which is one of the messages that women are inundated with from birth onwards.

 

[Bronzeage]

In today’s liberal climate, where mole hills are taken out of context and turned into mountains, it’s extremely ignorant not to expect a potential fallout from the public utterance of such comments. We don’t know the full context and the true nature for what drove his comments, and my important point here is that it doesn’t matter, for even had it been completely innocent, there are far too many ways to distort and cast what he said in the dimmest light possible.

Imagine for instance you were among a few close knit friends who were complaining something fierce about these so-called burpees, and one girl in particular makes a follow up sexual reference to one of her friends who recently spoke of a rape fantasy. Once the jist is caught that the fantasy coming true might be preferable to the exercise, another utters what in the moment would at most elicit a few laughs among friends.

We don’t know what was going through his head, and even had it been ‘a moment of innocence among friends’ that (for hypothetical example) drove him in part to speak those ghastly sounding words, he should have known better than to imbue all members of the public crowd to be lenient and temper how critical they should be. There are some conservatives who would want to get to the nitty gritty and either douse the flames where there was no evil intent (or flick the Bic themselves if among true scum), but for some others, it doesn’t matter one iota: bring the gas and petition to either fire him or set him on fire.

So yes, dumb, ignorant, stupid, unprofessional, and insensitive. Yes, those words have no place being showcased for all in the public eye to see. And yes, there should be consequences. All I’m saying is that I would not be among those immediately anxious to sign the petition without first having a better understanding of his mindset.

I find it hard to imagine a situation where calling on a group of people to rape another person for any reason at all is not criminal.

You need to get out more.

I've worked in plenty of environments where this kind of behavior is the norm, normal but certainly not desirable. It's that it has gone on for so long that people do it without even thinking of how wrong it is or the effect it has on another person. It's sad. That it is changing, albeit glacially, is a good thing. For the most part the people who do it aren't criminal, just ignoramuses.

I've spent a lot of time in gyms and health clubs. I've worked most of my life in automotive shops where the entire crew was male. I've never been in any shop, weight room or locker room, with any group of men where this kind of comment would have been considered acceptable on any level.

 

[fast]

In today’s liberal climate, where mole hills are taken out of context and turned into mountains, it’s extremely ignorant not to expect a potential fallout from the public utterance of such comments. We don’t know the full context and the true nature for what drove his comments, and my important point here is that it doesn’t matter, for even had it been completely innocent, there are far too many ways to distort and cast what he said in the dimmest light possible.

Imagine for instance you were among a few close knit friends who were complaining something fierce about these so-called burpees, and one girl in particular makes a follow up sexual reference to one of her friends who recently spoke of a rape fantasy. Once the jist is caught that the fantasy coming true might be preferable to the exercise, another utters what in the moment would at most elicit a few laughs among friends.

We don’t know what was going through his head, and even had it been ‘a moment of innocence among friends’ that (for hypothetical example) drove him in part to speak those ghastly sounding words, he should have known better than to imbue all members of the public crowd to be lenient and temper how critical they should be. There are some conservatives who would want to get to the nitty gritty and either douse the flames where there was no evil intent (or flick the Bic themselves if among true scum), but for some others, it doesn’t matter one iota: bring the gas and petition to either fire him or set him on fire.

So yes, dumb, ignorant, stupid, unprofessional, and insensitive. Yes, those words have no place being showcased for all in the public eye to see. And yes, there should be consequences. All I’m saying is that I would not be among those immediately anxious to sign the petition without first having a better understanding of his mindset.

I find it hard to imagine a situation where calling on a group of people to rape another person for any reason at all is not criminal.

I agree, but whether it’s genuine is important. It goes to the heart of the matter. It’s not always the case that what is said is meant. The mother who says “I’m going to beat you black and blue” (after the kid uses crayons on a wall) or the girl friend that says “I’m going to kill you” (after the boyfriend hides something she just pulled out to use). When an atheist speaks out about a bring-your-own-kitten BBQ party, the utterances of the words do not stand as a true calling for others to do as said.

If the guy truly meant it, then that’s one thing (and may he suffer the wrath of the law and public ridicule); otherwise, it’s grossly inconsiderate of others. If the latter, however, it’s not a call to rape women, be it sound that way to the ear or not.

 

[Toni]

You need to get out more.

I've worked in plenty of environments where this kind of behavior is the norm, normal but certainly not desirable. It's that it has gone on for so long that people do it without even thinking of how wrong it is or the effect it has on another person. It's sad. That it is changing, albeit glacially, is a good thing. For the most part the people who do it aren't criminal, just ignoramuses.

I've spent a lot of time in gyms and health clubs. I've worked most of my life in automotive shops where the entire crew was male. I've never been in any shop, weight room or locker room, with any group of men where this kind of comment would have been considered acceptable on any level.

Thank you.

 

[Toni]

In today’s liberal climate, where mole hills are taken out of context and turned into mountains, it’s extremely ignorant not to expect a potential fallout from the public utterance of such comments. We don’t know the full context and the true nature for what drove his comments, and my important point here is that it doesn’t matter, for even had it been completely innocent, there are far too many ways to distort and cast what he said in the dimmest light possible.

Imagine for instance you were among a few close knit friends who were complaining something fierce about these so-called burpees, and one girl in particular makes a follow up sexual reference to one of her friends who recently spoke of a rape fantasy. Once the jist is caught that the fantasy coming true might be preferable to the exercise, another utters what in the moment would at most elicit a few laughs among friends.

We don’t know what was going through his head, and even had it been ‘a moment of innocence among friends’ that (for hypothetical example) drove him in part to speak those ghastly sounding words, he should have known better than to imbue all members of the public crowd to be lenient and temper how critical they should be. There are some conservatives who would want to get to the nitty gritty and either douse the flames where there was no evil intent (or flick the Bic themselves if among true scum), but for some others, it doesn’t matter one iota: bring the gas and petition to either fire him or set him on fire.

So yes, dumb, ignorant, stupid, unprofessional, and insensitive. Yes, those words have no place being showcased for all in the public eye to see. And yes, there should be consequences. All I’m saying is that I would not be among those immediately anxious to sign the petition without first having a better understanding of his mindset.

I find it hard to imagine a situation where calling on a group of people to rape another person for any reason at all is not criminal.

I agree, but whether it’s genuine is important. It goes to the heart of the matter. It’s not always the case that what is said is meant. The mother who says “I’m going to beat you black and blue” (after the kid uses crayons on a wall) or the girl friend that says “I’m going to kill you” (after the boyfriend hides something she just pulled out to use). When an atheist speaks out about a bring-your-own-kitten BBQ party, the utterances of the words do not stand as a true calling for others to do as said.

If the guy truly meant it, then that’s one thing (and may he suffer the wrath of the law and public ridicule); otherwise, it’s grossly inconsiderate of others. If the latter, however, it’s not a call to rape women, be it sound that way to the ear or not.

It only matters a little whether the threat was meant literally.

Whether it is a threat to literally rape a woman or 'only' figuratively, it is meant to compel submission.

Rape isn't about sex. It's about compelling someone to submit. The rapist gets sexual gratification from it (but not always) but more a validation of his power to dominate and control: to compel submission.

"Grossly inconsiderate" doesn't begin to touch the level of bad. Best case scenario, it is a reflection of a diseased way of thinking.

 

[ideologyhunter]

I think there might be another best case scenario: a dumbbell attempt at dark, sexist, Diceman-style humor. The consequences are predictable and uncontestable. If you're into Diceman style idiocy, know when and where (and the real answer is never.)

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

i'm very confused by this reaction coming from you, given your rock-solid posting history and ideological position on women, since what this guy posted seems entirely consistent with what you would normally characterize as either totally normal and acceptable behavior, or brazenly decry as a lie told by whores to denigrate men who would never actually do such a thing.

You clearly have me mixed up with someone else and I accept your apology in advance.

Pretty certain the idea would be you would consider people "snowflakes" for taking his clearly sarcastic position as a serious call for a crime to be committed against the woman. You love whining about snowflakes and triggering all sorts of shit. Apparently, being sarcastic about rape is a bridge too far, even for you.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

You need to get out more.

I've worked in plenty of environments where this kind of behavior is the norm, normal but certainly not desirable. It's that it has gone on for so long that people do it without even thinking of how wrong it is or the effect it has on another person. It's sad. That it is changing, albeit glacially, is a good thing. For the most part the people who do it aren't criminal, just ignoramuses.

I've spent a lot of time in gyms and health clubs. I've worked most of my life in automotive shops where the entire crew was male. I've never been in any shop, weight room or locker room, with any group of men where this kind of comment would have been considered acceptable on any level.

I'm talking about places like mills and other manufacturing environments that had few if any women around ever and the behavior evolved. I've known one person who got fired over it because he happened to be the unfortunate idiot on the cusp of change regarding the behavior. It could have been any of a group of idiots.

This stuff was once tolerated just like domestic abuse was once tolerated.

 

[Toni]

You need to get out more.

I've worked in plenty of environments where this kind of behavior is the norm, normal but certainly not desirable. It's that it has gone on for so long that people do it without even thinking of how wrong it is or the effect it has on another person. It's sad. That it is changing, albeit glacially, is a good thing. For the most part the people who do it aren't criminal, just ignoramuses.

I've spent a lot of time in gyms and health clubs. I've worked most of my life in automotive shops where the entire crew was male. I've never been in any shop, weight room or locker room, with any group of men where this kind of comment would have been considered acceptable on any level.

I'm talking about places like mills and other manufacturing environments that had few if any women around ever and the behavior evolved. I've known one person who got fired over it because he happened to be the unfortunate idiot on the cusp of change regarding the behavior. It could have been any of a group of idiots.

This stuff was once tolerated just like domestic abuse was once tolerated.

And should never have been tolerated, nor should it be tolerated now.

 

[fast]

I agree, but whether it’s genuine is important. It goes to the heart of the matter. It’s not always the case that what is said is meant. The mother who says “I’m going to beat you black and blue” (after the kid uses crayons on a wall) or the girl friend that says “I’m going to kill you” (after the boyfriend hides something she just pulled out to use). When an atheist speaks out about a bring-your-own-kitten BBQ party, the utterances of the words do not stand as a true calling for others to do as said.

If the guy truly meant it, then that’s one thing (and may he suffer the wrath of the law and public ridicule); otherwise, it’s grossly inconsiderate of others. If the latter, however, it’s not a call to rape women, be it sound that way to the ear or not.

It only matters a little whether the threat was meant literally.

Whether it is a threat to literally rape a woman or 'only' figuratively, it is meant to compel submission.

Rape isn't about sex. It's about compelling someone to submit. The rapist gets sexual gratification from it (but not always) but more a validation of his power to dominate and control: to compel submission.

"Grossly inconsiderate" doesn't begin to touch the level of bad. Best case scenario, it is a reflection of a diseased way of thinking.

To compel submission? That’s like imbuing an actor in the movies as having the qualities of the character. You’re talking about the guy as having the same mindset as a rapist despite whether he has that mindset. That’s why knowing the context in which he uttered the words is so important. What he thinks inside or how he is as an actual person says much more about him than any words he might have ignorantly blurted out. It says he’s a dumbass, but we cannot conclude a diseased mind without a good bit more to go on. It’s also why I’m not inclined to overreact. I don’t see the mountain. All I see is the mole hill that will predictably be inflated by others.

Keep in mind that I have a running caveat. It may very well be the case that he is as awful as you make him out to be, but my point is that it’s not outside reason to think things have been blown completely out of proportion. Based on what was in the OP, there is not sufficient information to make him out to be a monster, as the words uttered by him alone with no supporting context allows us to infer he has inner demons commensurate with what a truly ugly minded person might.

 

[Toni]

I agree, but whether it’s genuine is important. It goes to the heart of the matter. It’s not always the case that what is said is meant. The mother who says “I’m going to beat you black and blue” (after the kid uses crayons on a wall) or the girl friend that says “I’m going to kill you” (after the boyfriend hides something she just pulled out to use). When an atheist speaks out about a bring-your-own-kitten BBQ party, the utterances of the words do not stand as a true calling for others to do as said.

If the guy truly meant it, then that’s one thing (and may he suffer the wrath of the law and public ridicule); otherwise, it’s grossly inconsiderate of others. If the latter, however, it’s not a call to rape women, be it sound that way to the ear or not.

It only matters a little whether the threat was meant literally.

Whether it is a threat to literally rape a woman or 'only' figuratively, it is meant to compel submission.

Rape isn't about sex. It's about compelling someone to submit. The rapist gets sexual gratification from it (but not always) but more a validation of his power to dominate and control: to compel submission.

"Grossly inconsiderate" doesn't begin to touch the level of bad. Best case scenario, it is a reflection of a diseased way of thinking.

To compel submission? That’s like imbuing an actor in the movies as having the qualities of the character. You’re talking about the guy as having the same mindset as a rapist despite whether he has that mindset. That’s why knowing the context in which he uttered the words is so important. What he thinks inside or how he is as an actual person says much more about him than any words he might have ignorantly blurted out. It says he’s a dumbass, but we cannot conclude a diseased mind without a good bit more to go on. It’s also why I’m not inclined to overreact. I don’t see the mountain. All I see is the mole hill that will predictably be inflated by others.

Keep in mind that I have a running caveat. It may very well be the case that he is as awful as you make him out to be, but my point is that it’s not outside reason to think things have been blown completely out of proportion. Based on what was in the OP, there is not sufficient information to make him out to be a monster, as the words uttered by him alone with no supporting context allows us to infer he has inner demons commensurate with what a truly ugly minded person might.

Threats work even without actual violent actions.

Just ask the KKK why they burn crosses on people's lawns instead of starting out with a lynching.

In the scenario laid out, the person blowing things out of proportion was the person suggesting to many others that someone should be raped. Full stop. For a minor offense. And then tried to say that this was a joke.

Jokes are supposed to be funny. Threatening to rape someone is not funny.

 

[fast]

To compel submission? That’s like imbuing an actor in the movies as having the qualities of the character. You’re talking about the guy as having the same mindset as a rapist despite whether he has that mindset. That’s why knowing the context in which he uttered the words is so important. What he thinks inside or how he is as an actual person says much more about him than any words he might have ignorantly blurted out. It says he’s a dumbass, but we cannot conclude a diseased mind without a good bit more to go on. It’s also why I’m not inclined to overreact. I don’t see the mountain. All I see is the mole hill that will predictably be inflated by others.

Keep in mind that I have a running caveat. It may very well be the case that he is as awful as you make him out to be, but my point is that it’s not outside reason to think things have been blown completely out of proportion. Based on what was in the OP, there is not sufficient information to make him out to be a monster, as the words uttered by him alone with no supporting context allows us to infer he has inner demons commensurate with what a truly ugly minded person might.

Threats work even without actual violent actions.

Just ask the KKK why they burn crosses on people's lawns instead of starting out with a lynching.

In the scenario laid out, the person blowing things out of proportion was the person suggesting to many others that someone should be raped. Full stop. For a minor offense. And then tried to say that this was a joke.

Jokes are supposed to be funny. Threatening to rape someone is not funny.

Sometimes things are just as they seem, but sometimes things are not as they seem, so while a threat seems like a threat, it is also just that, a threat, but something that is not a threat yet seems to be is not what it seems, even if it seems like it is. You characterize the utterance of what seems like a threat as being a threat, and it may be, for it seems like it is, but things are not always like they seem, so what you characterize as a threat may not in fact be.

Basically, if you hear the words, “rape others,” you see it in the worst possible light no matter what light was intended. It takes more than words to conclude another called upon others to rape. What was in the mind of the speaker matters.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

To compel submission? That’s like imbuing an actor in the movies as having the qualities of the character. You’re talking about the guy as having the same mindset as a rapist despite whether he has that mindset. That’s why knowing the context in which he uttered the words is so important. What he thinks inside or how he is as an actual person says much more about him than any words he might have ignorantly blurted out. It says he’s a dumbass, but we cannot conclude a diseased mind without a good bit more to go on. It’s also why I’m not inclined to overreact. I don’t see the mountain. All I see is the mole hill that will predictably be inflated by others.

Keep in mind that I have a running caveat. It may very well be the case that he is as awful as you make him out to be, but my point is that it’s not outside reason to think things have been blown completely out of proportion. Based on what was in the OP, there is not sufficient information to make him out to be a monster, as the words uttered by him alone with no supporting context allows us to infer he has inner demons commensurate with what a truly ugly minded person might.

Threats work even without actual violent actions.

Just ask the KKK why they burn crosses on people's lawns instead of starting out with a lynching.

In the scenario laid out, the person blowing things out of proportion was the person suggesting to many others that someone should be raped. Full stop. For a minor offense. And then tried to say that this was a joke.

Jokes are supposed to be funny. Threatening to rape someone is not funny.

Sometimes things are just as they seem, but sometimes things are not as they seem, so while a threat seems like a threat, it is also just that, a threat, but something that is not a threat yet seems to be is not what it seems, even if it seems like it is. You characterize the utterance of what seems like a threat as being a threat, and it may be, for it seems like it is, but things are not always like they seem, so what you characterize as a threat may not in fact be.

Basically, if you hear the words, “rape others,” you see it in the worst possible light no matter what light was intended. It takes more than words to conclude another called upon others to rape. What was in the mind of the speaker matters.

I agree. It wasn't a threat. It was grossly inappropriate and unprofessional language that reflects terribly on the company he worked for. That his mind would even casually jump to rape for such a casual reference speaks volumes to his character.