Happy 55th, you sellout chimp

Now let's turn attentions from Obama and toward another Osama, namely an Australian comedian due to perform in the South, whose jokes allegedly encourage sexual violence and make light of survivors' pain. Rape Crisis Dunedin spokeswoman Michell Reddy was concerned about the jokes Jim Jefferies has made about survivors of sexual abuse. A New Zealand tour by the comedian in October includes stops at the Regent Theatre in Dunedin and the Civic Theatre in Invercargill. Rape jokes were a form of harassment and inappropriate in a society with a high prevalence of sexual violence, Miss Reddy said. A joke by Jefferies refers to the women allegedly sexually assaulted by comedian Bill Cosby. He states the penalty for Cosby raping the women would be the same for any number more than 30, so he should "just go for it". Be that as it may, this disregards the impact of the trauma that the women involved have lived through and encourages sexual violence. It treats women as just a statistic. In another joke, Jefferies calls rape a compliment, but it is not and never will be. It is a serious criminal offence that can, and does, have long-lasting effects physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Jefferies needs to ask himself who was benefiting from his jokes (obviously him). By portraying sexual violence as something that should not be taken seriously, he affirms perpetrators by turning their actions and the lack of consent into something that should be laughed about. Rape jokes are neither edgy, new, or subversive, and are a key driver of rape culture. And besides, Chris Lilley is a much better comedian.