Althouse: "Don't Drop the Soap is a controversial prison-themed board game designed by art student John Sebelius as a 2006 class project at the Rhode Island School of Design."

September 10, 2015

"Don't Drop the Soap is a controversial prison-themed board game designed by art student John Sebelius as a 2006 class project at the Rhode Island School of Design."

"The game received criticism for its content, most notably for the game's treatment of prison rape. Sebelius also received notice for being the son of Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Gary Sebelius. The game officially went on sale on January 31, 2008 in Lawrence, Kansas and through Sebelius' personal website, and is considered to be similar to Monopoly in its gameplay."

Wikipedia entry discovered in the context of researching my post "On the new 'Late Show' last night, Stephen Colbert facilitated an anal rape joke told by Elon Musk."

January 2008 — that was just as Kathleen Sebelius was going up for confirmation. The Washington Post had an article — "Game Changer: John Sebelius" — quoting him: "We both recognize she has a job to do and I have a job to do. It’s reciprocal of being prideful of your family and making sure everyone knows where my intentions were with the game. There was no ill will when the game was created; that’s why the support was there. It’s definitely reciprocated. I don’t see her having a problem getting confirmed."

16 comments:

Steve said...: "because the game is very blue"

I am sure it is....; 9/10/15, 10:40 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: Actually makes the Get Out Of Jail Free cards worth something.; 9/10/15, 10:45 AM
YoungHegelian said...: We both recognize she has a job to do and I have a job to do. It’s reciprocal of being prideful of your family and making sure everyone knows where my intentions were with the game. There was no ill will when the game was created; that’s why the support was there. It’s definitely reciprocated. I don’t see her having a problem getting confirmed.

Who the hell talks like that, especially to a major newspaper? I think we've got more problems here than dubious tastes in suitable topics for PC game development.; 9/10/15, 10:47 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: On this issue, Althouse continues to "dig herself into a hole" -- no pun intended.; 9/10/15, 10:49 AM
Nonapod said...: It's weird that our society has decided that the only form of rape that can be funny is male on male rape.; 9/10/15, 10:52 AM
Leslie Graves said...: I am officially asking the blog hostess to switch to a rainbows and unicorns theme for the next little bit here.; 9/10/15, 11:06 AM
mikee said...: I, for one, expect at least a "reach around" if I land on the equivalent of Boardwalk.

And thank you, Lee Ermey, for introducing that phrase into my life via your improvised speech to the new maggots in Full Metal Jacket.; 9/10/15, 11:07 AM
Scott said...: Prison rape is serious shit. How has the Obama administration addressed the issue?; 9/10/15, 11:27 AM
Sigivald said...: As I often point out, the only "rape culture" I ever see - where culture, especially mass, popular culture supports or condones rape - is rape of men, in prison.

(That it's an extrajudicial punishment is only one problem with it.)

Of course, that doesn't count, because it's only men, and icky criminal ones, at that.; 9/10/15, 11:31 AM
Jaq said...: You know what would be an interesting post from a law blog? A discussion of the fact that a Federal Judge has allowed Boehner's lawsuit against Obama to move forward.

Naah!; 9/10/15, 11:32 AM
Laura said...: Thanks to advances in technology, modern media can vet 2008 candidates and government officials in 2015, and even sooner if they disrupt the preferred narrative. Progress.; 9/10/15, 11:59 AM
Static Ping said...: John Tuffnell: Actually makes the Get Out Of Jail Free cards worth something.

Heh. In fact, going to jail in Monopoly is beneficial by the mid-game as it keeps one from having to pay the other players rent. I remember seeing a list of ways to cheat at board games and finding a way to stay in jail forever was on the list.; 9/10/15, 12:37 PM
Wince said...: Well, his mother helped Obama fuck the entire country up the ass with ObamaCare.; 9/10/15, 3:37 PM
khematite@aol.com said...: Althouse wrote:
January 2008 — that was just as Kathleen Sebelius was going up for confirmation.

Actually, the game went on sale the year before her confirmation. Sebelius was nominated to head HHS in March 2009 (after Tom Daschle had withdrawn his nomination to the post) and confirmed in April 2009.; 9/10/15, 9:19 PM
Gene Mierzejewski said...: Ahem ... In January 2008, Kathleen Sebelius was still governor of Kansas. And Hillary was still the favorite to win the Democratic presidential nomination. Just saying'.; 9/11/15, 8:29 PM
Ralph Gizzip said...: Also remember that Grandpa (Kathleen's dad) was John Gilligan. The one term Ohio governor that gave us the state income tax. A pox on them all!; 9/12/15, 8:48 AM