This is really heinous.
Bob jokes that Steve is "doing everything in his power to get fired". I honestly wonder if he should be.
He writes this of the Steubenville rape case: "As long as I’m safely unconsious [sic] and therefore shielded from the costs of an assault, why shouldn’t the rest of the world (or more specifically my attackers) be allowed to reap the benefits?"
He dismisses any sense of ownership of the body by noting that when a neighbor turns on their porch light, your body is penetrated by photons... so really how is that different from other sorts of penetration?
Happy Women's History Month, everyone!
This world is sick sometimes.
I like Landsburg most of the time, but yes, you are right. His statement here is both vile and incomprehensible.
ReplyDeleteIf Landsburg ever found himself in prison, I wonder how indifferent he would be to allowing his own body to "provide benefits to others" (say if he were knocked unconscious first and had no recollection of the event later).
His only offense is trying to "think like an economist" when that sort of logic isn't completely warranted, right? /sarcasm
ReplyDeleteThis kind of trolling never really bothers me because it's trolling. However, the thing that bother me about it are all the comments more or less agreeing with him and saying stuff like "rape isn't that bad".
ReplyDeleteI don't know... I feel like it's not too much to ask that trolling be non-rapey...
DeleteIt's a tough enough issue to grapple with even within the population of people that don't shrug it off like that.
And I'm not personally convinced it's just trolling anyway.
I guess "doesnt bother me" isn't the right way to have put that. It is more accurate to say that I get really offended by this stuff once I look at the comments and see how many people agree with him. Then its not just one creep in the wilderness but a social problem.
ReplyDeleteWords can't describe how sick, horrified, and depressed comments like this make me.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it goes without saying (although I will say it anyway) that the 'costs' of assault extend way beyond the assault itself. Assault leaves lasting damage, regardless of whether the victim was conscious during it or not.
ReplyDelete