photo by Steve Rhodes
I read some shocking facts about rape in the United states from Ms. Magazine:
- The FBI’s definition of “forcible rape” in their Uniform Crime Report (UCR): “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” [PDF]
- What that definition leaves out: anal, oral and statutory rape; incest; rape with an object, finger or fist; rape of men
- Number of men raped in any year, according to the UCR: 0 [PDF]
- Estimated number of men actually raped each year, according to the Dept. of Justice: 93,000 [PDF]
Some of the most offensive facts:
Percentage of rape reports deemed “unfounded” by New Orleans police in 2008: 60 percent
Percentage of rape reports deemed “unfounded” by Baltimore police in 2009: 32 percent
Percentage of actual estimated false rape reports in any given year according to research studies: 2-8 percent
What a Philadelphia police officer once called his city’s sex crimes unit: “The lying bitches unit.”
Read more here.
There is a petition available asking the FBI to modernize the definition of rape. Sign it here.
I was a victim. I deserve to be counted.
Check out a previous post about preventing rape and one about rape in the Bible.
photo by Miikka Skaffari
Hey y’all! It’s time for something completely different! I found a little quiz to see how you pronounce certain words and to see if you have any regionally-specific vocabulary for certain items. I also did my own little voice recording so you can laugh at my accent:
Listen to me explain the challenge and answer the questions.
Words to pronounce:
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught
Questions to answer:
- What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
- What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
- What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
- What do you call gym shoes?
- What do you say to address a group of people?
- What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
- What do you call your grandparents?
- What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
- What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
- What is the thing you change the TV channel with?
It’s free over at vocaroo.com. All you need is a microphone. You can share your voice by pressing “Post on the internet” and copying the “vocaroo link.”
If you want to blog your version of the challenge, leave a comment with a link so I can listen! If you don’t have a blog, just record your voice and paste the link in the comments box.
graphic by James Ellis
I follow the hashtag #atheism on twitter in order to keep abreast on what people are saying about religion and other controversial subjects. Often the content contains thoughtful discussion or bits of news that interests me, but much of it resembles typical “zinger” one-liner material: pithy 140-character messages that resemble confrontational bumper stickers instead of well-balanced arguments against religion. Yeah, I’ve done it too. I admit it! Twitter is the safe-haven of the verbal jab.
I spotted one such “zinger” today:
Without faith there could be no genocide, no racism, no bigotry; faith breeds evil. #christian #jesus #bible #god #atheism #islam #muslim
-@FlyingFree333 (Flying Free), 29-4-2011 13:30:22
I’ve certainly heard this hyperbolic argument before, and as an atheist I do not agree. I realize you cannot easily present a reasoned argument for an enormous claim like this on twitter, but even if there were paragraphs of explanation behind it I’m not sure I would ever be convinced that the sole reason for racism, bigotry, and genocide is faith. To avoid an argument about vocabulary; “faith,” could easily be replaced by “religion.”
I am far from being an expert, but I think there are sociological, psychological, and economic causes unrelated to religion that cause these problems in the world. Religion is certainly used to justify many horrible actions such as genocide (e.g. Deuteronomy 20:16-18) and slavery (e.g. the Curse of Ham). However, I do not think all religions or faiths bring about these results, nor do I think ruling out other causes for the evil in the world is wise.
I’d really like to have a discussion about this claim. Is faith the cause of genocide, racism, and bigotry?
And as a side question: What do you think about these kinds of pithy statements on twitter? Do you think they help anything or perhaps give atheists a bad name?
You can’t go wrong with hand signals! And no, I don’t see one in there for giving the middle finger—though I imagine it would signify “Your premise is bullshit. I’d rather be watching Will & Grace.”
Originally by Landon Schurtz, a graduate student of Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma
[Source]
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