<p>IthacaKid, I think what you’re not getting here is that adults consider this kind of text a big deal–they don’t consider it funny, and many of them will consider it so unfunny that they will call the police. Letting it slide entirely is doing no favors to the kid who does this, because the next girl he does it to may have parents that consider it very serious indeed, and he may indeed find himself in serious hot water.</p>
<p>This is another one of those situations where you can be seriously burned by what people actually think about something, as opposed to what you believe they should think about it.</p>
<p>She also got a texting from one of the boys in her school stating “I will rape you and you will like it”.</p>
<p>I agree with going to the parents…I** would let the parents know that if their child wasn’t properly disciplined, then you’d go to the school/police and the child may end up with a record as a sex offender…which will ruin his life.** </p>
<p>Let the parents have the first “whack” at issuing a major consequence…which should include (but not be limited to) writing a letter of apology to your D and to include why such a message was totally wrong. If the parents down-play or give a hand-slap, then contact the school…</p>
<p>Hunt is right. IthacaKid, you may think that some parents are, let’s say, “controlling nut jobs”, but if the recipient of the text happens to have “controlling nut jobs” as parents, and they happen to find out about the text, they are going to make life miserable, and possibly never the same, for the texter.</p>
<p>Prudence is one of the most difficult virtues to get across to young people.</p>
<p>I don’t care if Comedy Central considers this thigh slapping funny; if one of my daughters got a text like this, none of us would be amused. My first instinct would not be to call the police, but most certainly a call to his parents would be forthcoming. A repeat text with more threats would result in a call to both the school and police.</p>
<p>It is not a threat if they were both joking. My first instinct would be to ask my daughter about this. If it was a joke, then there would be nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>If it IS a “joke,” there is indeed something to be concerned about because there are MANY who would NOT consider it a “joke” and be concerned about the intentions and written THREAT, as has been detailed in this thread. Things committed to writing are lasting. “Jokes” about rape are NOT healthy and should be STRONGLY discouraged–it perpetuates myths about violence and sexuality that are very unhealthy.</p>
<p>I’m just astounded that anyone could see anything FUNNY about a statement promising to RAPE someone. WTH is funny about RAPE?! The people involved may think it’s amusing to joke about physical violence against women, but unless this odd perception is corrected pronto, the young man will continue to believe it’s okay, and inevitably he will learn the hard way that it’s not necessarily OK when someone finally decides to call the police or inform a school, a boss, or someone else who could seriously impact his future. Nip this in the bud now before he gets into some serious trouble.</p>
<p>I can understand how some adults might think calling in authorities such as schools and police would be extreme, but the fact that some think this is okay, that it’s funny, or not deserving of any intervention whatsoever is just shocking.</p>
<p>Kids who “joke” about raping are as clueless as kids who “joke” about killing others. Guess what? It’ll be taken seriously! Because sometimes kids who “joke” about killing others actually go out and do it! You think rape is funny? Go ahead. But if you have any brains - and if you don’t want those pesky grown ups coming down on you – don’t text/write/email about it. Because those pesky grown ups - many of whom deal with rape victims & rapists as part of their grown up lives – they just don’t have the sense of “humor” you do. And unfortunately for you, they have the law on their side.</p>
<p>@ katlia mom-Segregationists also had the law on their side. Just reread your post with “raping” and “killing” replaced with “race-mixing” or “interracial marriage.”
My point being that these jokes are freedom of expression and should be just as protected as freedom of association.</p>
<p>Dude, a threat of rape is not protected speech. If the recipient–or her parents–doesn’t take it as a joke, they will call the police, and the claim of freedom of expression will not protect you in the least.</p>
<p>By the way, you might have some problems in “joking” about race issues, too, if you don’t really understand how people might react.</p>
<p>Complete agree with this. If somebody who is a friend who got mad at me and smiled and said “I’m going to kill you for doing that”, I would take it as a joke. Now if a person who I never met told me “I’m going to kill you”, then of course I would be concerned.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if many other people don’t consider it as a joke. It only matters if these two kids consider it a joke. I can joke with my friends about anything and everything because we know each other so well. We know that we are just kidding and don’t take each other seriously when we are joking. Laughter is a good thing. You should try it sometime.</p>
This is what some of you youngsters don’t seem to understand–it does matter what others think if they see it–if a parent or other adult sees a text or e-mail message or Facebook post with a rape threat in it, you could be in a world of trouble, even if the girl you sent it to thinks it’s hilarious.</p>
<p>By the way, it’s hard to explain why, exactly, but a threat to kill somebody is much more likely to be accepted as a joke than a threat to rape somebody. Maybe it’s because parents often say they’re going to kill their children, but rarely that they are going to rape them.</p>
<p>I agree that what’s transpiring between the two kids shouldn’t be a joke.</p>
<p>BUT…</p>
<p>The OP is clearly joking with / trolling you all - and you guys are sitting comfortably up on top of your high horses so eager to go along with the ride :)</p>
<p>(Studies have proven that senior citizens over the age of 39 are most likely to fall for online forum trolls. Also, further studies have also proven that senior citizens over the age of 49 are the most adept at remaining obstinately adamant in stating their opinions; in fact they regularly well top the second place group in this facet: teenagers.)</p>
<p>^^kiddo, since you are so sure it is a ■■■■■… it is against CC TOS to have multiple aliases. Just sayin’.
The mods can and will track you by your IP addresses.</p>
<p>@cnp55->That’s why this joke wasn’t made to a TSA agent. It was sent in what was presumed to be a private manner. Unless you’re arguing that a text message to a teenaged friend is the same as speaking it in an airport to a government employee. Context is important. It would be inappropriate for me to make fun of Rick Perry at the RNC. It would be funny at my dinner table.</p>
<p>This is not a ■■■■■. To protect my D, I set up a new account. Thank you for all the replies and the suggestions. I have not turned on the texting feature yet. It may be a good thing. Since now my D can concentrate on her homework at night instead of texting every few minutes. I will show her your comments when the time is right. Thank you!</p>