Are you a potential rapist?

[Broken Glass Can]

I saw the exchange below on a newsgroup. Do you think all men are potential rapists? Is it slander to post the names of randomly selected men as potential rapists?

(timothy shimeall) writes:
> I haven't seen any discussion of this in soc.feminism, and would like
> to know if the readers have any reaction.
>
> A group of students in an art class at the University of Maryland
> picked a bunch of names at random from the campus phone book,
> selecting for one apparent gender, and posted those names publically
> as potential criminals.

The students in the art class did not pick the names at random.
The students "named every identifiable male in the student
directory"
The names were posted as potential rapists. This was a
response to the increase in campus violence against women.

>
> When the named people protested at this apparent slander, the work was
> defended philosophical grounds by the school administration.
>
> Do you feel that the students were sexist? (Does it depend on the
> sex of the students involved?)

The students did not say that the men were rapists, just
that they were potential rapists. Which, if you think
about it, is true--out of the male student body at UMD,
I am sure that some of them are rapists. I would say
that here at UMD there are approximately 15,000 men
attending the school...so, anyone with statistics?
>
> Given that the students were women in a "feminist" art class, the names
> they used for their "art" were all names of men, and the Poster read
> "Notice: These Men are Potential Rapists" do you feel that the men
> were slandered?
>
> Why or why not?
> Tim
>
> Note: The facts are abstracted from a posting in soc.men...
> The questions are mine.
>
> Disclaimer: I speak for NO organization.

The names were not used for art. The list was used to
start conversations about the high incidence of violence
against women on this campus.

I do not feel that the men were slandered. No one said
that ALL of the men were indeed rapists, just pointing
out that you may know someone who is a rapist.

I don't think that I personally would have been
involved with something like this...I don't think
that it created much positive response. I believe
that we should be more aware about potential rapists,
and that more action should be taken against rapists.

I just wanted to post something because I am currently
attending the University of Maryland, and I wanted
to clear up some things...Anna M. Winkler

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