Quote Originally Posted by turtlesong View Post
has everyone gone completely insane?

Rape: Forced sexual intercourse; sexual assault; sexual intercourse between an adult and a minor. Rape may be heterosexual (involving members of opposite sexes) or homosexual (involving members of the same sex). Rape involves insertion of an erect penis or an inanimate object into the female vagina or the male anus. Legal definitions of rape may also include forced oral sex and other sexual acts.

that is the medical definition of rape. most legal definitions include that definition as well. roland inserted his gun into sylvia's vagina. and the text says that he was especially careful not to let her flesh touch his as he was doing it. that my friends is rape. woman do not ask to be raped, and how is a forcible insertion of a gun into a woman's vagina retaliation for words?

has everyone gone completely insane?
Yes, but that has nothing to do with the point at hand.

I'd say that while by our current legal and medical definitions that what he does in this scene would constitute rape in our society, but let's remember where our country was not so long ago. Our current legal and medical positions have come about through a long process of refinement. Twenty to thirty years ago in most states most cops would tell you that a husband couldn't rape his wife...because she was his. Pretty much the same attitude applied to beating your wife or kid (with possible exception of a beating that resulted in their death) Matter of fact in many social circles it was basically considered a man's duty as a husband to keep his wife and kid's in line. What I'm getting at here is that our view as a society has progressed toward where we are now. In various times and places it has been much different. In some parts of the world a woman is considered at fault for rape automatically. And they would argue sincerely that this is right. What I mean is that while if a man were to shove a gun into a woman here in our times in our world there could be little question of it being considered rape. but in Roland's world and times they were in an entirely different place.


And to call Sylvia's sermon just words greatly underestimates the power of words. A skillful speaker can incite people to the point of murder or laying down their own life. I'd say at that point words are more than "just words"
If that were the case there would be no such thing as slander or threats as crimes. I could say I'm gonna' kill the president tomorrow at noon and mean it and have no problems.... because they're just words.