...WTF.
Well, there goes my good mood for the day.
NYTimes, the bastion of quality reporting, reported on the gang-rape of an 11 year-old girl in Texas that's led to charges against 18 high-school boys so far - all well and good so far, right? Shit like this NEEDS publicity to raise awareness.
Only problem is, they repeated - without refutation or critical commentary - the claims that the girl brought the rape on herself because of the way she was dressed.
Choice Quotes:
“It’s just destroyed our community,” said Sheila Harrison, 48, a hospital worker who says she knows several of the defendants. “These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives.” As opposed to the victim, who's gonna bounce back lickety-fucking-split, right?
Residents in the neighborhood where the abandoned trailer stands - known as the Quarters - said the victim had been visiting various friends there for months. They said she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground, some said. TOTALLY BEGGING FOR IT.
THIS IS RAPE CULTURE, PEOPLE.
Now, what's being said and done in this community is bad enough, but the NY Times should be fucking ashamed of themselves right now.
Here's how to contact NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/membercenter/emailus.html
Form to email them.
letters@nytimes.com
In case you want your email to be published as a letter to the editor. Make sure you include your name, address, and telephone number.
Also consider this nifty Change.org petition asking the NYTimes to apologize for their victim-blaming.
[EDIT]
Regarding the lack of cut text in the original entry - the issue has been addressed and a cut/trigger warning has been added since. It was never my intention to sound like I was looking down on the survivors of sexual violence and I realize that's how it's been interpreted by more than one person. I also realize it's my fault for not thinking of that. All I can do is apologize, which I do wholeheartedly. The "deal" part was meant for those who have never fallen victim to sexual assault and would normally blame the victim or try not to think about it, never for those who are recovering from their own experiences. I wanted them, not sexual abuse survivors, to "deal" with their discomfort and take a good look at what's happening.
Again, I apologize for the stupidly reckless way I initially worded the post. It was idiotic and harmful on my part, and I regret that more than I can say.
NYTimes, the bastion of quality reporting, reported on the gang-rape of an 11 year-old girl in Texas that's led to charges against 18 high-school boys so far - all well and good so far, right? Shit like this NEEDS publicity to raise awareness.
Only problem is, they repeated - without refutation or critical commentary - the claims that the girl brought the rape on herself because of the way she was dressed.
Choice Quotes:
“It’s just destroyed our community,” said Sheila Harrison, 48, a hospital worker who says she knows several of the defendants. “These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives.” As opposed to the victim, who's gonna bounce back lickety-fucking-split, right?
Residents in the neighborhood where the abandoned trailer stands - known as the Quarters - said the victim had been visiting various friends there for months. They said she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground, some said. TOTALLY BEGGING FOR IT.
THIS IS RAPE CULTURE, PEOPLE.
Now, what's being said and done in this community is bad enough, but the NY Times should be fucking ashamed of themselves right now.
Here's how to contact NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/membercenter/emailus.html
Form to email them.
letters@nytimes.com
In case you want your email to be published as a letter to the editor. Make sure you include your name, address, and telephone number.
Also consider this nifty Change.org petition asking the NYTimes to apologize for their victim-blaming.
[EDIT]
Regarding the lack of cut text in the original entry - the issue has been addressed and a cut/trigger warning has been added since. It was never my intention to sound like I was looking down on the survivors of sexual violence and I realize that's how it's been interpreted by more than one person. I also realize it's my fault for not thinking of that. All I can do is apologize, which I do wholeheartedly. The "deal" part was meant for those who have never fallen victim to sexual assault and would normally blame the victim or try not to think about it, never for those who are recovering from their own experiences. I wanted them, not sexual abuse survivors, to "deal" with their discomfort and take a good look at what's happening.
Again, I apologize for the stupidly reckless way I initially worded the post. It was idiotic and harmful on my part, and I regret that more than I can say.