Words are powerful.

They have power.

Think about it. A few years ago, whenever someone even said the word rape, you cringed, shivers went down your spine and more.

Now? It has become such a common word for a terrible event. My family loves to say, "the phone company is raping us up the ass" or "I got raped over at the market" in both cases meaning being ripped off.

This word was once a powerful word, never used, and now it is just a common word like the response "fine" when someone asks how you are.

I think it is terrible that these words are being destroyed and it's jsut another word.

So of course I feel that the word "rape" should never be used in a joke.

There are certain things in this world that I will never find funny; rape is one of those things. He was out of line for sure.

I do not find many jokes amusing or humorous. But then again, most "jokes" are ignorant or discriminatory and people do not even realize it.

Tosh was definitely out of line. I do, however, think there's a place for a very particular sort of "rape joke." If the joke is VERY carefully constructed and it mocks not the victims of sexual assault, but the perpetrators, rape culture more broadly, or another appropriate target, then it has the potential to not only be acceptable, but helpful. A well-executed joke doesn't have to make light of a serious issue (if it did, I'd be the first one to say that no rape joke could ever be acceptable); instead, it has the potential to be a restorative and poignant form of social commentary, which can be a weapon against rape culture and a method of coping with the ugly reality of sexual assault.

But did Tosh do that? No, he didn't. His "joke" (which was phrased more like some sort of weird veiled threat) made light of rape and sexual assault, which isn't just "offensive" (because if it merely offended me, the rational response would just be to ignore it), but genuinely harmful, especially considering that around 20% of the women in his audience (and maybe a few men too) had been or would, at some point in their lives, be victims of sexual assault.

I think rape jokes just perpetuate rape culture. I really don't see how it's funny to joke about such a horrible and traumatizing experience.

Oh, and just to clear up this silly bit that gets thrown around about X, Y, or Z offensive thing being "protected free speech" (and therefore somehow immune to criticism?), that's just a silly response to detractors. Tosh is legally free to make tactless rape jokes and everyone else is free to criticize him for it. That's the beauty of free speech: you can say you dislike the way in which someone else (e.g. Tosh) exercised his free speech. And if Comedy Central were to drop him over the media uproar, that furthermore wouldn't be a violation of free speech. If you're an entertainer and you fail to entertain (in this case, by saying something that I take to have been genuinely mean-spirited and harmful), then you get fired. I swear, if I ever have to read another defense of an outrageous statement based on the fact that it's some sort of criticism-immune free speech, I'm going to start hitting people with con law textbooks.

No one should ever joke about rape. That was just way out of line. I'm pretty sure this moron has seen the effects of rape on women and men, and if he had thought about this he wouldn't have made a joke, or maybe he would have. Must be one of those comedians who will do anything for a laugh...pathetic.

I would only ever laugh at rape jokes in a group of people whom I knew very well, and I would never say that someone deserved it. More often than use, rape jokes I hear use it as an analogy. It's still insensitive, yes.. but I know that some of my friends are okay with it.

I've been raped multiple times and it is NEVER funny. There's a lot more I could say about it, but I am a bit upset at the moment...

I think the only time it could be funny would be in an ouch-that's-relevant kind of way. For example, the reason "dead baby" jokes could be taken as possibly funny is because there isn't a huge culture that contributes to babies dying in horrific ways and if someone's baby dies people generally don't tell the parents that the baby died because of something they wore or something else ridiculous like that (And if someone did, they would be considered an asshole.).
Unfortunately, rape is just treated differently than other violent crimes and violent subjects so it shouldn't be joked about the same way either.
Of course, it's totally different in the context of the joke being told by survivors or others who face the reality of rape on a regular basis. Humor can help people get through things.

The joke was in poor taste. That's not a subject that I ever find joke worthy

Tosh was out of line. I sometimes joke about rape, but only with my boyfriend because we engage in rape play (which is obviously consensual). It's directed at myself. I certainly don't go around saying other people should be raped, or joke about it in any other context. Not sure if the heckler was out of line. I'm unfamiliar with the "unwritten laws" of stand-up.

I don't condone rape or violence at all, but... Daniel Tosh is a comedian. He's honestly no worse than George Carlin ever was, and he wasn't making a public statment. I'm upset at the fervor around this issue, I think it's way overblown!

My husband watches Tosh.O all the time, and he's just an offensive guy in my opinion. Rape jokes are not funny.

I read an awesome article by a feminist blogger about how to write a funny rape joke--make the rapist the butt of the joke instead of the victim. Their argument was that if you're making fun of/calling out rape culture rather than perpetuating it, then it's okay.

No they are not

Absolutely not okay.

Any "joke" that is directed at a group and is derogatory, is never funny--race, sex, ability, ethnicity, eye color...not funny. Period, no exceptions.

it all depends on the day, mood, etc.