Entertainment with "Strong Seattle Values"?

My friend Kinny (you likely met her if you took some of my self-defense classes, as she often assists) is an inveterate newspaper reader, and just could not let Jerry Large's column in this week's The Seattle Times pass by without comment. I'll let her tell it. Jerry Large's column touched on ethics and values in sports. All well and good until he wound it up with this: "I couldn’t escape from real issues through sports that day, so I turned to other entertainment and settled in with my wife (who looks askance at football) to watch an episode of “Downton Abbey.” There’s entertainment for someone with strong Seattle values — the good old days, when aristocrats dressed formally for dinner and of course always behaved perfectly, never raising their voices, even to chide the loyal servants scurrying about their feet." (Full column: ) This sounds like vanilla unless you've actually been watching "Downton" lately. A current storyline involves rape. So I emailed him the following: Hi Jerry, I watched both the Seahawks game and "Downton Abbey" on Sunday, and after reading your column today I can't quite believe you did as well. One of the current "Downton" storylines involves the shocking, brutal rape of Anna the lady's maid and its horrific effect on her and those she loves. Rape is a crime and it is NOT part of our "strong Seattle values." Football players and fans consent to play and watch the game. Consent – by definition – is not part of rape. Its inclusion in an entertainment program is an ethical question worth as much, if not more consideration than problems in sports. Please ask your wife about the current "Downton" episodes. Though you may have been in the room with her, in my head you were paying a lot more attention to the Sunday funnies or Facebook than the TV. Or maybe you actually were hanging out in the kitchen for most of the program. I don't want to believe you were oblivious. The football game was a lot less jarring. I loved Richard Sherman's emotional, adrenaline-fueled and completely genuine rant. A little honest trash talk (that wasn't even bleep-worthy) for once, instead of the usual boring platitudes, turns the world upside-down? Rape: crime. Football: game. Sincerely, Roseanne Kimlinger What did you do today to challenge rape culture?

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Entertainment with "Strong Seattle Values"? is an episode from Safety in Seattle News by Joanne Factor of Strategic Living.

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This episode was published on Jan 24, 2014.

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