NY Times Blames Victim For Rape *Public*

[shannon_elaine]

It is immensely important that the NYTimes apologies for this article. In the few short paragraphs of the piece, the paper sympathized with the numerous perpetrators of this horrific gang-rape (“they will have to live with this for the rest of their lives”) and firmly placed the blame for the rapes in the 11-year-old victim (“she wore make-up and

Comments

[dbaxdevilsfan]

Oh I'll be firing off an email to the NYT. I don't care how old she looked, that does not make it acceptable and appropriate for ANYONE to lay their hands on her. Period.

Wanna lay blame? Where the hell were the mothers of these boys? Did they not teach them to keep their hands to themselves?

OMFG this just enrages me so bad.

[porcelain_ocean]

This whole event from start to finish has been disgusting. Shame on James for trying to spin this, shame on every single one of those douche canoes for thinking rape is okay, and shame on Sheila for propagating the victim blaming.

I will be sending an email to the NYT, and am seriously considering where I put my money once my subscription is up in a month.

[n5iln]

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I'll bring it up here too. I think author Spider Robinson had the best idea regarding such episodes. Do NOT charge the man with rape.

Instead, charge them with indecent exposure.

Think about it for a second.

Both charges are felonies, and once convicted, the guy still has to register as a sex offender. The defense can't bring up how the victim was dressed, how much alcohol anyone had consumed, how much suggestive language or body posturing there was, or any other such nonsense. And what's the defendant going to say? "It's a filthy lie, Your Honor, I raped that bitch!" And, as Paul Reubens can testify, weenie-waggers do harder time than anyone in the prison population except for a child-molester.

But meanwhile, NYT needs to be rounded on severely.

[stephen_c]

Actually, the article does not do what the online petition claims. It does not try to explain away the actions of the alleged rapists. It does, however, show that an 11 year old girl was a frequent visitor to a really rough part of town, and lacked any kind of parental support, which had her dressing inappropriately. It also has quotes from neighbors asking where her mom was and why didn't she try to protect her daughter.

I don't see at all how McKinley's article insinuates that the rapists were justified.

[shannon_elaine]

Yes, it does. It puts all of the blame on the girl and her mother.

The case has rocked this East Texas community to its core and left many residents in the working-class neighborhood where the attack took place with unanswered questions. Among them is, if the allegations are proved, how could their young men have been drawn into such an act?

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.

“Where was her mother? What was her mother thinking?” said Ms. Harrison, one of a handful of neighbors who would speak on the record. “How can you have an 11-year-old child missing down in the Quarters?”No one is blaming the boys. Just blaming and judging the girl and her mother. Regardless of where she was or how she was dressed, it didn't give those boys the right

[stephen_c]

I think believing that she's being blamed for what's happening based on what McKinley was attempting to write in his article is to apply very narrow, black and white standards to something which originated in a lot of gray

[eicnan]

I was talking to my husband earlier today about this - sadly we both agree this poor little girl will never have a "normal" life. This just doesn't sound like something that therapy can help you at least put it in the back of your mind and go about your day.

[shannon_elaine]

True. Not only will SHE have to live with this forever, she's been blamed for it happening. Which adds to the issues most rape victims have. They blame themselves and now her community has blamed her as well. She'll probably never be able to have a healthy relationship with a man. This will affect her life far more than any of the men who chose to rape her. Yet they are the ones getting the sympathy. I just don't get it.