This is what Rape Culture Looks Like.
I’m all for giving people second chances.
We all made foolish choices in high school, and some of us may have even hurt people.
But this?
This is inexcusable. This is worse than the boys taking pictures while they abused this girl.
This is a society-wide statement that we are willing to sanction rape.
Sadly, The Onion predicted this type of media reaction a few years ago.
Is this who we are, as a society? Have we decided it’s better to sweep things under the rug and allow our children and teens to be violent bullies? Are we ever going to start teaching our boys that rape isn’t okay instead of teaching our girls how to stay safe?
Please speak out against the mainstream coverage of this trial.
“Your Steubenville verdict coverage was terrible and offensive. These boys committed a very serious crime, and they were held accountable. The verdict that the judge handed down was justice–not a “tragedy.” The tragedy was the rape. Please apologize and make this right.”
We are better than this.
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We ARE better than this. You're right.
Indeed ! The problem is deep. Systemic. Time for CHANGE.
Abuse (violation) is woven into the fabric of our society. From rape, to bullying, to media intrusion, to corrupt financial systems and politicians and the 'rape' of the planet…
Until we learn to love *ourselves* we will always hurt each other.
Rape is just the tip of the iceberg. If you look at how the feminine (including women) is treated, especailly globally, you realize we have an awfully long way to go before we are truly 'civilized'.
I completely agree, Ben!
Brilliant, Kate – thanks for writing this.
It's extremely hard to believe that this is OUR culture. Maybe not yours and mine specifically but our country's. Our media. It's hard to fathom how often this happens and really the fact that had this not been blown so wide open nationally these boys would probably be free right now with the judge saying, "Boys will be boys." There was a time when America was to be an example for the world. A positive one. I think a lot of the time you've got to hit rock bottom and see a cataclysmic event first hand to clearly see a need to improve. The only question really is how much further down as a culture do we have to go before we can start back upward?
I have a son – I teach him to love himself, to always listen to his heart, to never do something that doesn't feel right, to look out for others, and to offer help whenever possible. I am not blaming the parents, but I would like to think that if the man that raped me many years ago would have been taught the same, it may not have happened in the first place. Teach your kids love – teach your kids to listen to their heart….