Fifth-graders get caught playing ‘rape tag’

2-3-2012 Minnesota:

Our increasingly disturbing youth culture hit a new low point this month when some fifth-graders at a Minnesota elementary school were caught playing “rape tag.”

The game is similar to freeze tag except a person has to be humped to be unfrozen, according to MSNBC.

A concerned parent brought the activity to the attention of the principal of Washington Elementary School in New Ulm, and Bill Sprung quickly addressed the matter by sending a letter home to all families. False rumors about the game were popping up on Facebook and principal Sprung wanted to get the facts in parents’ hands to stop the spreading of misinformation.

And then an incident that happened a couple times on one elementary school playground became national news…

Is it really that big of a deal? While the idea of rape tag is morally wrong and entirely disgusting was the kids’ behavior out of character? Children are notorious for pushing the “offensiveness envelope,” Anna North at Jezebel puts so perfectly, and I’m sure we can all look back on our elementary years and recall shockingly inappropriate things that occurred on the schoolyard. Kids are masters at taking sensitive subjects such as gay and retarded and sex and using them in the most shameful ways imaginable. Anyone remember singing the song: “I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family…but we’re really lesbians.” I recall shouting this out with a group of friends on the playground when I didn’t even know what the word lesbian means.

But rape, rape. There’s absolutely nothing funny about rape. Even the most talented comedian struggles to make rape funny. That’s what makes this story so unsettling—and leads you to think that children have pushed the envelope way too far this time. This is unacceptable.

Likely the children at this school didn’t even understand what rape means. Some kid picked up the word from television or the Internet and knew that it was related to sex. Kids think humping and sex is weird and silly and enjoy joking about it. It’s just upsetting that kids are familiar with the word rape at such an early age, whether they understand the meaning or not. ..Source.. by Amy Graff