Trying to draw an analogy between raping a woman because of how she is dressed and invading someone’s privacy because they use essentially unsecure data transmission is both inaccurate and more offensive than I really thought anyone could get talking about what constitutes an invasion of privacy. I was offended at the first sentence that compared the two, and outraged when the opinion writer continued to try to push the comparison. No comparison. None. Stop it. Just stop it.

Rachel McKlveen

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Backpage writer Jeremy Weiland responds:

My sympathies to anybody offended by the R-word. I don’t believe rape is akin to surveillance. I was comparing a victim-blaming narrative often used to excuse rape with the victim-blaming narrative being used to excuse totalitarian state surveillance. Blaming the victim is common to many oppressive systems, patriarchal and governmental alike. I believe we need more frank, searching, uncensored discussion of these oppressions and how they intersect.