Do you guys have any idea how utterly difficult it is to flip the bird at your computer and hold a cup of coffee at the same time? Because that is precisely what I just did while reading this amazingly inflammatory article about the Steubenville rape case trail in the Columbus Dispatch this morning. Ever since the case of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly raped at a party during the night of August 11th and the morning of August 12 has attracted media attention, it seems like Steubenville and its residents, save for some of the people who reside there who actually think that rape isn’t cool, have been doing everything to whine about their own victimization and how awful it has been that their town has gotten this media attention and wah wah wah, the amount of victim-shaming and utter disregard for the victim in this case is one of the most shocking aspects about it. We have had adult women compare their plight of living in Steubenville and the attention the town has received to the atrocities committed against concentration camp prisoners. We have had women appear on national television to complain about some imaginary desk city where children (and yes, adults were actually letting the kids be this freaked out because for some reason, no adults were present to lead them to the restroom) vomiting and urinating all over themselves. We have witnessed peaceful protests were girls as young as twelve have stood up and spoke about rape and people have driven by and screamed “fuck you” while the little girl attempted to talk through her tears. And now we have this from the Columbus Dispatch:
Now, what outsiders know about Steubenville centers on a drunken night of partying last summer.
The town is vilified as looking the other way to protect an outsize high-school football program, of condoning a player “rape crew†whose actions were the stuff of brazen jokes on Twitter.
Um, no. Listen, I follow every single Twitter account who has been involved with the Steubenville rape trial. Whether it be protest organizers, some residents who also want justice for the victim, other writers who have covered the case, and ordinary people who just really don’t like rape. You know who made the “brazen” jokes on Twitter about the “Rape Crew” and their actions? The “Rape Crew” themselves. I have NEVER seen a single joke about the rape or the victim or the case from anyone unless you count the tweets the (self-proclaimed, let’s not forget) “Rape Crew” made themselves.
This “Rape Crew” belongs to you Steubenville. These are YOUR kids that YOU have raised.
City Manager Cathy Davison has had to divert time to defend her city of 18,500. “This has been hurtful. Our community has closed together to protect each other,†she said.
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