Steubenville Ohio

Over the last several day's I have started no less than 4 posts having to do with the Steubenville, Ohio rape case. Initially I planned to recount the story in its entirety but I have since decided that I am not up to that task and others have already done so at length. If you have somehow managed to remain in the dark about this story I highly encourage you to start with the December 16th New York Times article (click above). After that I encourage you to visit this site.

My first feeling after reading several articles about the case was not anger; I was tremendously and overwhelmingly sad. I don't care that this isn't an especially eloquent way to express this next sentiment but my second feeling was that the world we live in is an incredibly horrible fucked up place that doesn't make any sense at all. Of course I am not so naive to think that terrible people don't exist but what's worse is that people who generally aren't terrible so frequently choose to look away when it matters.

Why this situation has garnered so much attention is always incredibly discouraging. It involves Football. The fact that several teenagers stood by and watched these things happening to this girl and in some cases recorded it and photographed it is disgusting enough but some went even further and put it on social media sites. Then because there was a president of police corruption and an unwillingness of witnesses to come forward, an independent crime blogger had the presence of mind to save screen shots of what was put online before the perpetrators could erase them.

What's plain to me is that this young girl was incapable of making sound decisions, defending herself and by any and all means granting these boys consent to sexually assault and abuse her. How is that not clear to everyone? How can anyone say that this girl "deserved" this? How can defense attorneys use that same bullshit line that the boys behavior was justified because the girl, before that night in August, had posted provocative comments and photographs on her Twitter account???? Like what? I hope to be sexually assaulted while vomiting?

Victim blaming goes deep and it doesn't help when the perpetrators have the much desired skill of being able to throw a football- especially in an economically depressed has been town in Ohio where these boys provide one of the only means of entertainment and town pride.

One of the volunteer assistant coaches of the High School Football team (who is a former player) said this about the victim: “The rape was just an excuse, I think. What else are you going to tell your parents when you come home drunk like that and after a night like that? She had to make up something. Now people are trying to blow up our football program because of it.”

Yes, because your football program is so incredibly sacred that those involved in it should be excused from maintaining any sense of basic human decency.

If you'd like to learn more about the case in Steubenville, as I have merely scratched the surface, I suggest the following articles:

The Daily Beast

Time

CNN

Daily News