women:dogs :: _____:bitches

sometimes the things that come out of people's mouths really floor me. sometimes, I'm not too surprised. take, for example, the latest comparison between the Mike Vick federal dog fighting case and the rape case brought against Kobe Bryant (and ultimately dropped) in 2004. From Feministing:

Below is part of a transcript where CNN sports reporter Larry Smith tells Nancy Grace that dog fighting is worse than rape.

SMITH: Yes, well, that's -- he's been in a lot of trouble lately, when you think about all the other incidents, and this is just the worst one of all. Keep in mind, too, that while Kobe Bryant is a situation we can sort of compare this to, this really is much worse. Not only can you argue that the crimes are much worse in terms of, you know, killing dogs and that kind of thing, but as an NFL starting quarterback, you are the most visible face in that city. I`ve said all along, in fact, you know, if you go through and, you know, very quickly name 10 mayors of major cities in the country...

GRACE: Larry Smith, did I just hear you say...

SMITH: ... you could have a harder time doing that...

GRACE: ... mistreatment of...

SMITH: ... than naming 10 NFL starting quarterbacks.

GRACE: Did I just hear Larry Smith, CNN sports correspondent and anchor, state that crimes on a dog are much worse than crimes on a woman? Did I hear that?

uh, yeah. and you wonder why rape remains so prevalent on college campuses across the country. at Wash U, a campus of approximately 10,000 undergraduates, 35 rapes were reported from 2003-2005. imagine having a 0.4% chance of being raped during your 4 years of college. and this is based on what was reported. if the media feels that major sports figures are in bigger trouble when they harm animals (and don't get me wrong, the initial reports of the Vick case are sickening) than when they assault women, they are only feeding the beast. the attitude among some college athletes will continue to be that rape is OK, that it's a woman's problem if she doesn't "want it," etc.

so, if you were curious about the answer to the analogy above, how to fill in the blank, I should let you know that it's a trick question. in the eyes of Larry Smith and some members of the sports community, there is no comparison. they're all the same thing.