• Welcome to the new Internet Infidels Discussion Board, formerly Talk Freethought.

Is Rape worse than murder?

J

Jolly_Penguin

Banned
Banned
Joined
Aug 22, 2003
Messages
10,366
Location
South Pole
Basic Beliefs
Skeptic
I have heard many opinions on how horrible rape is, from both men and women, and those it has happened to and hasn't happened to, varying from annoyance to atrocity. I wonder why the disparity. I have even heard some people tell me that rape is worse than murder.

A few reasons why Rape is bad:

1. It is a violation of your personal space. But then so is me forcing my thumb in your mouth.

2. It exposes you risk of disease. But so does me forcing my thumb in your mouth.

3. It may expose you to risk of pregnancy. So, does purposefully using a faulty condom in consensual sex equate to rape?

4. Sex has social implications and social taboos we have created. I think this is the big one.

I think point 4 varies from person to person and I think that is a big reason why opinions of rape do. But wouldn't that make conservatives see rape as worse than liberals see it? That doesn't seem to be the case.
 
One can recover from rape and go on to lead a happy and positive life despite having experienced it. You can't recover from murder (unless your Dad is some kind of bigshot), so I'd say that makes it worse. There's no potential for anything for you after it.
 
It depends on one factor.

We know the consequences of murder. You are dead and you will always be dead. So far, no murder victim has survived the crime.

The question becomes, is rape worse than death?

Maybe, maybe not. This all depends upon how society views a rape victim. What does a rape victim face from her friends and family? Is a rape victim less valuable as a person, after the rape. Answer these questions and then, you will have an answer to your question.
 
Bronzeage said:
It depends on one factor.

We know the consequences of murder. You are dead and you will always be dead. So far, no murder victim has survived the crime.

The question becomes, is rape worse than death?

Maybe, maybe not. This all depends upon how society views a rape victim. What does a rape victim face from her friends and family? Is a rape victim less valuable as a person, after the rape. Answer these questions and then, you will have an answer to your question.
Click to expand...

^this

Can't rep you again, sorry.
 
What does "worse" mean?
 
Bronzeage said:
It depends on one factor.

We know the consequences of murder. You are dead and you will always be dead. So far, no murder victim has survived the crime.

The question becomes, is rape worse than death?

Maybe, maybe not. This all depends upon how society views a rape victim. What does a rape victim face from her friends and family? Is a rape victim less valuable as a person, after the rape. Answer these questions and then, you will have an answer to your question.
Click to expand...

This.
 
Tom Sawyer said:
One can recover from rape and go on to lead a happy and positive life despite having experienced it. You can't recover from murder (unless your Dad is some kind of bigshot), so I'd say that makes it worse. There's no potential for anything for you after it.
Click to expand...

On the flip side, once you are dead, that's it... pain stops; whereas the pain/trauma/adverse affects from being raped can last the rest of the victim's life depending on the severity/circumstances of the rape.

Murder is most certainly worse from the perspective of no more life. I would say it is also far far worse for the loved ones of the victim. But from the perspective of the victim's emotional trauma, rape is worse.
 
Unbeatable said:
Bronzeage said:
The negative aspects of one thing are a degree greater than another thing.
Click to expand...

How can these degrees be measured? How can it even be determined that a given aspect is negative?
Click to expand...

Why do they need to be measured? Is it difficult to figure out if you like something, or don't like it? Is it difficult to determine if one experience was better or worse than another? Is it difficult to empathize with someone and deduce whether or not they would like it.

I've never had trouble with this sort of thing.
 
What kind of a question is that? How is either in any way quantifiable?
 
+or-1 said:
What kind of a question is that? How is either in any way quantifiable?
Click to expand...

This is the Internet. I've seen board discussions running into hundreds of posts on the subjects of dandelions and drying paint. LOL
 
That's stupid. Dandelions are way more interesting than drying paint. How is that even a conversation?
 
Bronzeage said:
It depends on one factor.

We know the consequences of murder. You are dead and you will always be dead. So far, no murder victim has survived the crime.

The question becomes, is rape worse than death?

Maybe, maybe not. This all depends upon how society views a rape victim. What does a rape victim face from her friends and family? Is a rape victim less valuable as a person, after the rape. Answer these questions and then, you will have an answer to your question.
Click to expand...
I being raped and killed worse than being raped and left alive?
 
bigfield said:
Bronzeage said:
It depends on one factor.

We know the consequences of murder. You are dead and you will always be dead. So far, no murder victim has survived the crime.

The question becomes, is rape worse than death?

Maybe, maybe not. This all depends upon how society views a rape victim. What does a rape victim face from her friends and family? Is a rape victim less valuable as a person, after the rape. Answer these questions and then, you will have an answer to your question.
Click to expand...
I being raped and killed worse than being raped and left alive?
Click to expand...

For myself, given there were only two choices, I would prefer rape without being killed, but that's just me. As a simple caveat, a rapist would be smart to kill me. Otherwise, his life is going to become very uncomfortable.
 
Don't we have to make a distinction between the many varieties of rape out there? When we talk about rape on this website, we usually talk about the "get drunk at college and have sex" sort of rape. Nobody in their right mind thinks something like that is a fate worse than death, do they? Or statutory rape?

That's what kind of bugs me about all these rape discussions. When people want to emphasize how horrible rape is, they focus on the 'abducted from a dark alley by a stranger at knifepoint" type rapes (which are pretty rare), and when they want to emphasize how ubiquitous rape is, they focus on the much more common, but more benign, "sex under the influence of alcohol while at a party". This leads the less well informed public to think that rape is happening everywhere, and its always violent and heinous. It's not.
 
thebeave said:
Don't we have to make a distinction between the many varieties of rape out there? When we talk about rape on this website, we usually talk about the "get drunk at college and have sex" sort of rape. Nobody in their right mind thinks something like that is a fate worse than death, do they? Or statutory rape?

That's what kind of bugs me about all these rape discussions. When people want to emphasize how horrible rape is, they focus on the 'abducted from a dark alley by a stranger at knifepoint" type rapes (which are pretty rare), and when they want to emphasize how ubiquitous rape is, they focus on the much more common, but more benign, "sex under the influence of alcohol while at a party". This leads the less well informed public to think that rape is happening everywhere, and its always violent and heinous. It's not.
Click to expand...

Yes, there is a great deal of distinction in the spectrum of rape, with specific definitions at each point on the line. This allows the users of this forum to swap definitions at will, or claim someone else is. We don't have sufficient words in the English language to deal with this problem. We only have the word "rape" and a few modifying adjectives(aggravated, statutory, date, etc). As we expand the circumstances in which we recognize "less than willing cooperation from a sex partner," rape is the only word we have.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom