I agree with your argument as far as "fuck" is concerned, but not "rape"; "shit" is analogous to "crap" and "excrement", and yet it is deemed more offensive and strong, because, let's say, its "power". That doesn't mean it should be - in a decade or two, it will probably not raise many eyebrows, but by then, new terms will come up, because people want to express themselves in the way the people who initially started using the word shit did.

"Rape" isn't irksome because of its power, but its meaning; if there were or are synonyms, they would be just as bad (assuming they weren't euphemistic to the point of complete obfuscation).

To see American news channels use terms like the "F-word", "N-word", "C-word", etc., when they are reporting on what someone said, it becomes farcical. It reminds me of the Fry and Laurie sketch in a courtroom where Hugh Laurie quotes a heated exchange, but has to replace all the profanities with words that aren't offensive to the court, which obviously distorts the picture and thereby completely destroys the purpose of it.

They already say "rape" outright when reporting on it - which they should - because that's more of a quantitative word. The word "rape" shouldn't be banned or anything like that, but people shouldn't become oblivious to the meaning and ramifications of the word.