A Rape-Defence World

Consent is an affirmative act which requires a person to say yes. For
some reason, this doesn't register with people who use the 'but she
didn't say no' argument in defence of rapists.

The arguments used in the bizarre world of rape-defence tend to fall
apart when they're used in any other scenario though.

Consent, in that world, is:

* a default position -- I haven't said 'no', so I'm clearly willing to
buy everything in your shop.

* about giving in to the inevitable -- Of course I'll give you my
wallet, never mind that you've got a gun to my head.

* about not fighting back -- Why would I hesitate to get into a boxing
match with someone twice my size who could break my neck in half a
minute?

* about failing to say 'no' -- Obviously, if students in an exam hall
aren't specifically told that they are not allowed to copy from each
other, it's because they are allowed to do so.

* about being unsure -- I'm not sure if I've recovered enough after my
back injury to lift weights, so, yes, of course you should pile them
on to me.

If one actually had to live in a community that defined 'consent' as
the rape-defence-world does, life probably wouldn't be safe, orderly
or even minimally comfortable.