This is a really disturbing trend, but people who want to say "It's not real" so no harm was done clearly don't understand the brain science that indicates just how much both our bodies and our psyches can and do respond to things that we only see or think about. Athletes do visualization training and people jump in scary movies or cry in sad ones because of how our brain processes information. It really is just looking for a way to abuse others and not take responsibility for it.

Good piece, as always.