The number of times I have ever heard a sexual joke is astounding, and the number of times I have heard people joking about rape is just horrifying. That is why the poem When a Best Friend Is Raped by Marissa C (which is just as the title says, a poem about the narrators best friend being raped,) had such an affect on me.

Though, I do not know of anyone who has met this horrible fate, I believe this poem is a fantastic thought-provoking eye-opener about what people think to be a joke. This poem explains in astounding detail that you can feel, as if tangible, about how it feels to know someone who had to deal with this. The poem in itself is written so well that it almost hurts to read. I can only imagine the sadness that could have fueled this poem and I do not believe I will ever be able to comprehend it.

When a person accidentally bumps into another person, I can hear the tell-tale joke, “Stop raping him/her!” After I read this poem, my perspective upon the joke has changed. Rape is no longer simply a curse-word whispered under the desk behind a teachers back, to me. Not an empty word which holds no sense or comprehendible meaning; no. This word describes the agony and horror of the situation, and is not something that someone should joke about. That is insensitive and as horrible as using the word retarded, and yet, everyone uses it. Our society has contorted in a way that is beyond anything that is morally right. The people of Earth have turned it into one that can offend so many people without so much as a trace of hesitation. “That’s so gay!” “You’re retarded!” “Rapist!” All these phrases are followed by laughter. Does this sound familiar?

I do not expect our contorted environment to change its ways. They simply do not understand and do not feel the pain others may feel while coming in contact with these words. Nearly everyone uses these slurs and many try to follow the trend. In any case, I have to thank Marissa for putting this out for the world to see. If anyone has read this devastating and yet wonderful poem, I hope they can at least see why the joke is just plain wrong.