Update: Now Ace of Spades is calling me "hysterical" for noticing that what you see below you is a bona fide rape joke---he's denying that there's a connection between forcing someone to have sex and rape (which really does call into question his basic intelligence). Wingnuts are not known for backing down when they're wrong, of course, but instead turning to absurd and increasingly incoherent defenses. Instead of continuing to argue with morons, I decided to join in with Atrios. The best response to this is redouble our support for Warren. They're only responding to her with vicious sexism because she kicks ass.
So donate to her campaign today! Do it because she kicks ass, but also do it because I'm under a sea of tweets from conservatives who insist that rape jokes aren't rape jokes plus they're hilarious, dontchaknow? This is admittedly emotionally difficult for me, considering that being a rape victim ate up like years of my life trying to put it completely behind me. Being ganged up by guys who think this shit is JUST HILARIOUS is really disturbing. But if Warren gets more donations out of it, then hey, good has come from it.
Via Whiskey Fire and via a tip-off in Turntable, here's what Glenn Reynolds thinks is hilarious. Wait, not just hilarious, but, to quote him, "BEST ELIZABETH WARREN PARODY/RESPONSE YET".
I wonder what Mrs. Reynolds thinks about her husband's belief that men married to American women are just "settling" because they can't buy foreign brides? Who am I kidding? She'll probably applaud it on her blog and her male minions will slobber about how much more awesome she is than those feminist bitches. Hey, when you're married to Glenn Reynolds, you have to get your kicks where you can, because home isn't an option.
Two thoughts:
1) This was inevitable. Elizabeth Warren is an outspoken woman who doesn't pull her punches. That causes anti-feminists to flash on the idea of rape just as reliably as showing me an independent record store causes my hand to move for my wallet.
For those who don't get why comparing paying taxes to rape is cool, let's just say this: Sex is an act, not a commodity. Sex is something you do with another person. Yes, some people pay for it, but they are paying for a service, not a commodity. Forcing someone to have sex with you is a violent assault, but if you were to put it in economic terms, it's a kind of enslavement. In fact, many women in the world are forced into prostitution, where they have to endure being raped multiple times a day. Something I would not be surprised to find out the guy who wrote this understands perfectly well, though perhaps doesn't see as the evil that it is. Paying taxes is more like paying your rent. No one like it, but it's the price of admission to living in the style you do.
2) If you think that any taxes at all are like rape, then you are saying all taxes are wrong. All. Is Glenn Reynolds actually arguing for zero taxation for all people forever? If so, instead of sniggering like a moron, he should make a thorough argument for how a tax-free society would work. I doubt he really thinks we should have no taxes. Therefore, he doesn't even believe the premise of this joke. Which proves, once again, that he---like most wingnuts---has no sense of humor whatsoever, and doesn't even really understand how a joke is constructed. Rule #1 of joke writing is that it has to be about something real. This is the equivalent of writing, "Man, those leperchauns really need to quit taking so much time figuring out what they need to order in restaurants!"
Please, wingnuts. Learn what jokes are before you start making them.
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