I feel that I should explain something

[Orrex]

This post was hidden, so I can't elaborate in-thread, but uppityperson raises a question that makes clear to me the carelessness of my wording.

In reply #25, it was asserted that "Nobody rapes by accident."

I took that to mean "nobody commits rape except (and only) after setting out to commit rape," which strikes me as self-evidently false.

I believe that my mistake was to focus too literally on the wording. I countered by suggesting that it is possible to be guilty of rape without intending it, in the same way that it's entirely possible to commit a wide range of crimes without realizing it. Having sex without knowing that one's partner is below the age of content. Still rape, I'd say, but not intentional.

Replies 58 & 60 make similar points.

Nevertheless, reply #36 offered what I found to be a farcical example:

It's not like accidentally hitting someone you didn't see with your car.

Finding this analogy inappropriate, I flippantly countered with another example, of committing a crime without realizing or intending it. I could probably have made my point better if I'd been more thoughtful about it. In any case, it was a fair hide, and I don't dispute it.

I apologize to anyone here who was reading that thread and who found my post painful or offensive.
I regret that I was careless and hasty in my wording.