I had a text conversation with my best friend (I'll call him Jim) earlier today concerning the Steubenville rape case. I don't know why I feel the need to post it here; we are in accord on many things, including this, and there's no debate to be had, no new point to be made. Maybe I just hope to continue the conversation.
ME
I just realized that those two dicks in the Steubenville rape case had a rare opportunity to be heroes. They were star athletes at their physical peak. They saw a girl in distress and could easily have protected her, brought her home, kept her safe, been MEN. Instead they raped her.
JIM
Wait, what is this?
ME
Steubenville, OH. Two members of the high school football team found an unconscious girl at a party. They raped her, and carrier her around to other parties. Someone recorded it all. Another guy made a video bragging about how his friends raped her. The town put more importance on their football team than seeing justice done. The defense claimed it wasn't rape because the unconscious girl didn't affirmatively say no. The whole things is a grab bag of filth.
JIM
Hole. E. Shit that is fucking stupid. So I suppose it's okay to rape a dumb (mute) person or maybe even a baby since they can't actually say 'no'? You just don't argue semantics when rape is involved in a case like this.
ME
That someone could make that argument and not immediately devolve into a gibbering slug is proof that there is no God.
JIM
I'm sure it's a case of "dem boys got their whole lives ahead of 'em. We just can't convict them of rape. It'll ruin their lives." "But what about the girl who was raped? Isn't her life ruined?" "Well that's different. You see, they play football."
ME
There's a collage I'll link you to when I get home. After the conviction that's all the news outlets were talking about: the impact of this conviction on the rapists. No mention of the impact of the rape on the young girl who will never have her peace of mind again, who will never feel safe again, who will never fully trust or feel quite whole again. Just "Oh how they must feel, these former star athletes who now have to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives. Poor them."
My niece is going to grow up in a town like that! What if something happens to her? Will she become a pariah? Will the area put the prowess of the fucking Wildcats over the safety of their own daughters? Holy fuck.
JIM
It's just a kid's game! I hate how much some towns care about high school football.
ME
Hank Hill, on the importance of high school football over academics: "No one will remember what a triangle is in twenty years. But you win state, and that goes up on the water tower!"
And that was the end of our conversation. Unfortunate that it ended with a joke, but humor is sometimes the only way to remain sane while processing the madness of the world.
The collage I mentioned can be found here by the way: http://www.facebook.com/...