Rape is never EVER funny

Just now I was visiting one of my favorite websites, Hello Kitty Hell. The website offers images of Hello Kitty themed products. Today's post disappointed me. The post revealed a marijuana pipe with Hello Kitty having sex with Butthead from the crude MTV animated show Beavis and Butthead.

Within each post the author of Hello Kitty Hell will sarcastically state how terrible he thinks it is that Hello Kitty is taking over the world. His posts are very tongue and cheek. At the bottom of this particular post the author stated, "While it may just be me, I think this is perfectly fitting punishment for all the Hello Kitty Hell the evil feline has put me through."


Sent in to Hello Kitty Hell by Gilles (via Museum Of Kitsch)

So, apparently Hello Kitty is being raped here. Perhaps this can be left to interpretation but I too think that this is how the image is presented.

Why is it that this is meant to be funny? If this is indeed the intent, why are we to find this humorous?

I had a friend who once told me that rape can indeed be funny. He referenced the late comedian George Carlin who at some point in his act had stated that if you envision Bugs Bunny being raped by Elmer Fudd you will laugh. If I'm not getting this story right please feel free to correct me as this is what I remember.

I looked online to research what my friend had told me. I did find a George Carlin piece where he says rape can be funny but this bit did not mention any Looney Toon characters. He made a "joke" about how often in the news we hear about burglars who break into homes and then rape 81 year old women. In the piece he exclaimed, "Why?!" and then went on to say that whoever wants to rape an 81 year old has no social life.

No social life? This is the concern? Not the fact that this person is comitting rape?

I like a lot of George Carlin's comedy but some is too crude for me and this is an example of crude and sexist material.

I have seen other rape cartoon panels where one character is raping another and it always astounds me how anyone can think they are funny simply because they are cartoons. I don't see how a drawing changes the fact that rape is taking place. It's not a mask but apparently some think that it is. Not only is this a shame but it is dangerous.

I am not suggesting that someone who views a cartoon raping another will suddenly go out and rape a real person. I am suggesting that a person who views, accepts and embraces rape as funny on any level is subject to desenitizing themselves to the issue.