Feel-good better story of the day: Guy learns that rape jokes aren’t funny

After a University of North Dakota paper had an article for the school online magazine titled, “One Night Stand: The Method,” which was a very poor attempt at a satire of how to get a girl drunk and rape her, author Josh Brorby wrote a pretty serious apology and response to the outrage it ensued:

I was wrong to think that humor could be used to look at a problem that is so visceral and prevalent in universities. In the article – no matter how each individual received it – I did not take into account the fact that many women have dealt with situations incredibly similar to the one I presented. I did not consider that in writing a satirical piece on such a personal issue, I was taking my position as a man for granted, ignoring the fact that such humorous overtones allow men who may think like the satirical character created to feel okay with their behavior, or to joke about deep sexual issues. The approach I took (I now know) did not address the issue in a way that could help; it only propagated the intense and still-existent rape/predatory culture that pervades our society.

Brorby then gives the message that he really intended to in the first place and calls for the men of the University to educate themselves about the prevalence of rape on college campuses.

Yes, this is just one story out of many we find daily that perpetuate rape culture – but when one individual is able to truly recognize it, be accountable and renounce it in this way, well, that’s something that I find refreshing, and wanted to share. My fellow Tweeters said it well, “This is what a real apology looks like.”