'Rape Tag' Playground Game Upsets Minnesota Parents (VIDEO)

Parents are outraged after nearly two dozen 5th graders at Washington Elementary School in New Ulm, Minn., were caught playing a game called "rape tag," WCCO TV reports.

In the game, children "tag" each other by grabbing other students' private parts, according to the report.

Greg Diehl of a Rape & Abuse Crisis Center told WDAY TV he's shocked by the game.

"So much of it is inappropriate for their age, their stage of development," Diehl told the station.

The station gave a breakdown of the game's apparent rules:

"Our research finds if you are "it", you are the rapist. Instead of saying "you're it", you say "Rape," and you get points for touching people on certain body parts."

The controversy began when a parent witnessed the game and contacted the school's principal, Bill Sprung, who immediately took action, reports KEYC TV in neighboring Mankato, Minn.

"I contacted fifth grade teachers, they all spoke to their classes and at that point I also notified all the recess supervisors," Sprung told the station.

After sending a letter home to parents addressing the incident, Sprung told MSNBC that he's been contacted by around 15 to 20 parents also wanting to voice their concerns. The principal went on to say that there have been no more occurrences of the game at the school, and that they have not needed to increase monitors during the break.

Scroll through Sprung's letter to parents, courtesy of MSNBC:

WATCH:

Comments

[nhanvan]

07:33 PM on 04/24/2012

This made me hard

[vidmagic]

12:33 PM on 03/09/2012

How horrific. Maybe some parents should arm their children to shoot these rape taggers.

[vidmagic]

12:30 PM on 03/09/2012

This is nothing. You should see what they do on the dance floor.

[dtrafficante]

11:51 AM on 02/18/2012

How did teachers not notice this happening before a parent did??

[mtp5]

02:54 AM on 02/12/2012

Did anyone catch the fact that AFTER the letter (of the school's response) was sent to the childrens' homes, the parents are DISTURBED that THEY now NEEDED to talk to their children about sexually-explicit issues with THEIR OWN children?!???!!!! These parents NEED to do their jobs as parents and not complain so much of the things they NEED they should have been doing all along, talking to their kids, especially about such important matters!!!

[Rashid Naeem Beatty]

08:12 PM on 02/11/2012

well.

you could knock me over with a feather.

i had no idea this was even happening.

although, of course, i am not surprised.

why would i be?

this "innocence of children" has long been eroding, in direct proportion with the rapid promulgation of Information.

(is this what is meant by being careful of taking a bite from the Forbidden Fruit of Knowledge?)

[ConcernedMom fromMI]

05:47 PM on 02/11/2012

This quote was copied directly from the letter from the school principal: "The parent described rape tag as similar to freeze tag except that a person had to be humped to be unfrozen." Not exactly innocent playground play occurring.
Just b/c kids are "getting along" doesn't mean they are playing appropriately. Playground supervisors and teachers need to actively perform their duty. They are designated reporters so it is their job to "eavesdrop" on playground activities. Understood that they can't catch everything, but it sounds like this was a recurring activity over a period of time, so in that regard, it should have been caught and stopped sooner.
Actually it sounds like this school could benefit from a WatchDog Dad Program, where dads spend assigned days at school actively participating in their children's classrooms as well as assisting other teachers and staff in various capacities and serve as extra pairs of eyes at recess/lunch. More parent involvement at school helps curb this kind of activity quite a bit.

[reading2009]

04:09 PM on 02/11/2012

At least the school had an immediate appropriate response!

[Polloflife]

02:45 PM on 02/11/2012

This is really sad and pathways to abuse waiting to happen. I can really appreciate what it says there at Proverbs 19:20"Listen to counsel and accept discipline, in order that you may become wise in your future". I really hope these kids get the help and guidance they need, to be honest they shouldn't have minutes to even play a game like this anywhere, let alone near a supervised school.

[VegasJamie]

12:58 AM on 02/11/2012

Why do elementary school kids have Facebook?

[ConcernedMom fromMI]

05:49 PM on 02/11/2012

my thoughts too!

[NikitaAhn]

08:29 PM on 02/08/2012

Do a quick search on Facebook for pages containing the phrase "you know she's playing hard to get when..." and see what pops up. "...When she resists the chloroform," "...when she breaks free of the ropes," "...when she's running away from you down an alley," "...when you need a second roll of tape," etc. Just a few of the other disturbing "humor" pages on FB:
"It's not rape, it's surprise sex"
"I love the smell of rape in the morning"
"It's not rape it's sexual banter"
"My GF never says no, but it's hard to say anything when you're asleep"
"Wanna play the rape game? No? That's the spirit!"
"It's not rape if you shout SURPRISE!"
"It's not rape if you like it"

Kids playing a game about rape is not that shocking when you look at how dismissive our culture is about rape. It's sad, and disturbing, that violent sexual assault is apparently a joke to so many people. Someone needs to have a serious discussion with these kids (and continue the discussion more in depth as they get older) about the seriousness of rape and the importance of consent when it comes to touching, sex, etc. The attitudes they're developing now about consent will impact how they behave sexually when they're older - the sooner we teach them to respect one another's right to control how and when and by who they are touched, the better.

[reading2009]

04:10 PM on 02/11/2012

I wish I could fan you! Excellent post!

[andyc1110]

05:13 PM on 02/07/2012

Having worked with adolescents for 25 years I feel pretty confident that this is an example of "boys will be boys". They have a way of shocking even the most veteran of teachers, but such inappropriateness has been around for as long as I can remember.

The use of the expression "rape tag" should be addressed as inappropriate and insensitive. The boys should be told that this is not to happen on school grounds. Then the subject should be dropped. Excessive attention to the matter will only ensure it sticks around for a long time.

[NikitaAhn]

08:36 PM on 02/08/2012

Having worked with sexually abused kids for about a decade, I can say that while it's entirely possible that this was just kids acting out, it's ALSO a possibility that the kid who instigated this game is acting out sexual abuse that he's experienced himself. I've seen a lot of kids who instigate sexually inappropriate games with peers as a means of mimicking things done to them, normalizing their abuse, or trying to gain a feeling of control or power by casting themselves in the role of their abuser (in this case, "it" or "the rapist"). While it shouldn't be assumed automatically that this is the case with these kids, it would also be a mistake to blatantly disregard the possibility. If there is one kid in particular who instigated this game or who insisted on being "it" all the time, the school counselor should sit down with him and discuss the game (without asking leading questions, of course) to see if there is reason to be concerned about his motives.

[reading2009]

04:11 PM on 02/11/2012

They used to say that rape was just "boys being boys."

I, myself, have a higher opinion of what boys and men are capable of, and think that they should be held to that high standard.

And the subject SHOULD stick around for a long time....rape is not a joke. Ever.

[PresReagan]

11:48 AM on 02/07/2012

It states that this was in-appropriate for their age. THIS IS INAPPROPRIATE FOR ANY AGE.

Wake-up parents and teach your children, be a parent first and a friend second. This is beyond disturbing. This is NOT the schools fault, this is the PARENTS fault.

[kellyruss5]

10:57 AM on 02/11/2012

Thank you! It is inappropriate for any age! Another person although stated that it was inappropriate made a "boys will be boys" comment. I cannot stand that comment. Especially in referring to this. I can tell you all three of my boys didn't even know the meaning of that word in the 5th grade let alone act it out in a game. I am raising warriors but they will honor and defend women. People need to protect their kids from porn in this electronic world. Many parents are giving their kids wide open acces to the web. Hollywoood contributes to the corruption of what our kids are exposed to. It would be nice not to have to protect my kids eyes non-stop and try to stay ahead of them.

[matilda81]

05:51 PM on 02/06/2012

Many of these children most likely do not know the true definition of rape. This is an example of kids being kids. Sometimes children naively engage in inappropriate activity. When I was in the fifth grade, students pulling down their classmates' pants became so prevalent that sweat pants were actually banned from school, even during P.E. Obviously the game should be stopped, but this isn't news worthy.

[PresReagan]

11:49 AM on 02/07/2012

do you have kids?

[SuburbanMalcontent]

05:07 PM on 02/06/2012

To all of you outraged over this and wondering what in today's day and age could influence kids to do this, it's not actually anything new. I'm 35 and remember this game back when I was in 5th and 6th grade. it was more innocently titled "Zap" back then, but the premise was still the same. But unlike this story, it was never something that got to the parents or school administration. It ran its course and then was "out of style" once summer vacation rolled around.

[dramaflickchick]

10:53 AM on 03/24/2013

Geez what kind of school were you at? I don't remember anything like this being played when I was a kid.