Madam, – One of your letter-writers makes no bones about equating discussion of rape, where an arrested person does not give her name, with “ignorant waffle” (April 7th).
As long as we have men, particularly those acting in a policing capacity, who think threatening or even joking about rape is only ignorant waffle, women will not be safe in Ireland.
There appears to be an emerging attitude of blaming the “protesters” for everything.
An Garda Síochána itself has to question its attitude to the ethics of policing and what appears to be an attitude of denigrating certain people/women as deserving abuse. Abuse starts with the denigration of people, it leaves the abuser free of guilt. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The furore over private comments made by two members of the gardaí is nonsensical. It does not take a degree in English literature to realise that the humour underpinning the exchange is plainly sardonic and satirical. That rape is a terrible crime is part of the black humour – using outlandish and disproportionate concepts to provide a jolting contrast to a mundane event emphasises the ridiculousness of the situation. Had they used the word “kill” instead, would there be as much uproar?
Undoubtedly not, despite murder being another terrible crime. The assertion that certain topics are “not funny” is demonstrably wrong as humour entirely subjective and dependent on the situation. Police forces making light of violent crime may seem distasteful, as might medical professionals joking about patients, or emergency crews wise-cracking about death, but these are private coping mechanisms for situations which are incredibly hard to deal with. In any case, the topic of rape itself was not the subject of the joke, but rather a deliberate absurd escalation in a very clearly sarcastic manner when the individuals concerned had every reason to think they were in private discussion.
The whole debacle shows either a worrying naivety or deep hypocrisy in some of the searing condemnation heaped upon these gardaí. In many high-stress situations gallows humour is a much-needed source of relief, as cynical or heartless as it may appear to those outside the profession. It is presumptuous to infer that this off-hand light exchange actually conveys any sort of insight into their attitudes about violent crime.
As long as gardaí deal with victims, suspects, and criminals in a professional and non-prejudicial manner the content of their private comments or jokes between themselves is not ours to moderate. Should we insist that members of the police force refrain from making private jokes unless they’re approved by external investigation? Most of us would be profoundly unhappy if our private jokes and comments with work mates were recorded, particularly when we occasionally make jokes about clients, customers and situations that we would much prefer to keep private and in context.
In light of this observation, the criticism they have faced seems somewhat sanctimonious and hypocritical. Our police force and indeed medical and emergency services do incredibly difficult work under very difficult circumstances, and I for one could not care less what sort of jokes they find funny in private, provided it does not interfere with their ability to do their job. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Pat Rabbitte described alleged comments by some gardaí as unedifying (Home News, April 6th).
According to my dictionary to edify is to build up faith or to strengthen spirituality.
In my opinion rape is a violation of any woman’s fundamental human right to consent, or to refuse, to have sexual intercourse with any man. To describe threatened rape as unedifying is an outrageous cop-out by a member of a Government which made transparency one of its core values. I also note that other bodies refuse to comment on this specific case.
After Abbeylara I am amazed to see that a superintendent is investigating a case involving members of the force. To ensure absolute confidence in the outcome of the investigation I would have thought that a completely independent body should be involved.
Could it be that I am still living in the age of Roisín Dúbh and dancing at the crossroads? – Yours, etc,