Quote Originally Posted by thir View Post
Where am I going with this? Simply that when you (judges, teachers, journalists or whoever) get to talk to some of these people, they all say variations over the same theme: "I did not mean it." "Doesn't everyone?"
I'm in complete agreement with you here. The way people in authority tend to dismiss or overlook these actions is, IMO, criminal. What's even worse is that, in those rare instances where the women and girls actually defend themselves, they are viewed as the criminals!

But that has nothing to do with the game. Repeated studies have shown that game play does not translate into real life actions, except in extremely rare cases of certain mental illnesses, in which case the actions would likely have occurred regardless. What HAS been shown, I believe, is that role-playing in such games can actually help to defuse violent tendencies and reactions, to some degree.

I do agree, though, that something needs to be done, in our schools and in our courts, to punish those who harass others, either physically or verbally. And on the Internet it's gotten out of hand. As you've noted, a woman saying something that refutes a point made by a man will almost always be subjected to the most vile, hateful, demeaning rhetoric imaginable. Not because she's wrong. In fact, the more right she is, the worse the hate. This has got to be addressed and controlled. Those who comment in such ways should be banned and have their ID's released to the public.