Hey Opie & Anthony! Rape Is No Laughing Matter
OK, now can we have a national dialogue about misogyny?
I realize XM is a subscription service, so comments like this aren’t likely to generate the national outrage of, say, Don Imus’ remark, but I see the same issues at play, and I think it’s long past time we put a stop to this crap:
Outrage as guest on ‘Opie’ show sez he’d rape Condi & Laura
BY DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Bad-boy radio hosts Opie and Anthony yesterday topped even their infamous 2002 “Sex in St. Pat’s” stunt, serving up a homeless man’s profane declaration that he’d like to rape Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth.
The graphic sequence on their XM Satellite Radio program showed that even in a medium with no restrictions on content, Opie and Anthony found a way to cross the line.
The actual comments were made by a guest the shock jocks call Homeless Charlie. As each woman’s name came up, he said, “I’d love to f— that b—-.”
They laughed as they imagined “the horror” in Rice’s face and what it would be like to hold her down and punch her in the face.
Look, it’s just not funny. It’s not funny to talk that way about any woman, be it a housewife, the Secretary of State, or even a street prostitute. Violence against women is Just. Not. Funny. Ever. It’s too real for far too many women around the world for it to be a joke.
XM issued a statement saying they “deplored” the comments, and Opie & Anthony issued a formal apology. But there’s been no talk of disciplinary action. XM, in the middle of a merger with Sirius, would probably like this all to go away as soon as possible.
I say no. We need to talk about misogyny in this country. We need to talk about why anyone would think it was acceptible to laugh about punching a woman in the face. This conversation keeps getting pushed aside because it makes people uncomfortable — mostly, I suspect, white males who are tired of being “blamed for everything.” Well, too bad.
I didn’t think it was funny when Ralph Cramden shouted “To the moon, Alice!” (seriously, did anyone not know what that meant?). I don’t think the 2007 version is funny, either.
When will the day come when every episide of the latest TV cop drama doesn’t feature a woman in peril? When will films stop using the tired “woman-as-victim” plot line?
Enough, already.