John Birdsall, the editor of SFoodie (the SF Weekly's food blog), in some sensationalistic pageview grab, compared the photographic outing of LA Times food critic S. Irene Virbila to "a form of rape."
It hurts to even link to something like this (read if you must), but to compare the invasion of someone's privacy and self-imposed anonymity to sexual assault is a totally inappropriate metaphor. It's offensive, demeaning, and completely trivializes the victims of a violent, traumatic, and physical crime. Does Birdsall even know what the word "rape" means? It might be time for a retraction and an apology.
Update: The title of the post has been changed to "Outing of L.A. Times Restaurant Critic Crosses the Line" from "Outing of L.A. Times Restaurant Critic a Kind of Rape."
· LA Times Critic S. Irene Virbila Outed by Angry Restaurateurs [-E-]