Tell NYT to Apologize for Blaming Child 18-person Gang Rape

[CapitalistSwine]

Despicable. An 11-year-old girl, was gang-raped by 18 men, yet the New York Times blames the victim for what she wore and the community member interviewed said the poor rapists will be affected for the rest of their lives. Seriously?? Shame on you, NYT. Share this. Sign this petition, make them apologize, close to the 30,000 needed. (This was sent to me by a female friend of mine):

Says this is the petition's purpose for those that don't wish to read it all:

"Tell the New York Times to issue a published apology for their coverage of this incident and publish an editorial from a victim's rights expert on how victim blaming in the media contributes to the prevalance of sexual assault."

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-the-new-york-times-to-apologize-for-blaming-a-child-for-her-gang-rape?comments%3Fopt_new=t&opt_fb=t#?opt_new=t&opt_fb=t

"Five suspects are students at Cleveland High School, including two members of the basketball team. Another is the 21-year-old son of a school board member. A few of the others have criminal records, from selling drugs to robbery and, in one case, manslaughter. The suspects range in age from middle schoolers to a 27-year-old."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110310/ts_yblog_thecutline/ny-times-responds-to-backlash-against-portrayal-of-11-year-old-rape-victim

Edited March 10, 2011 by CapitalistSwine

[Black Wolf]

Where does it say in the article that he blamed the victim for what he wore?

[CapitalistSwine]

Where does it say in the article that he blamed the victim for what he wore?

Apparently hyperbole by my friend, I copied the text what she sent me. I read the article over and while the tonality of it is something I can find issue with I agree that there was no overt blame placed by the author, whether or not the details of what she was wearing or who she was hanging out with is relevant or was an attempt at some point I am not sure, but I find it odd that this story focuses on the effect on the community and particularly the perpetrators and pretty much not at all on the actual victim. I would remove that part of the comment from the original post if I could but its locked out.

[SapereAude]

I received this petition from someone as well and I would advise strongly against signing it without reading the whole thing.

I don't believe there was anything inappropriate in the article. The reporter is doing what reporters are supposed to do- he's reporting the news. He's reporting that these things are being said by people in the community associated with the perpetrators. Personally I wouldn't want the reporting of these attitudes by people in the community where the crime occurred to be whitewashed, censored out, whitewashed or otherwise ignored.

I suggest a careful read by anyone intending to sign this (maybe you'll feel different than I) but I've worked with rape victims and shared this with others who have or still do as well and so far they have been unwilling to sign it for the reasons I stated.

[CapitalistSwine]

I received this petition from someone as well and I would advise strongly against signing it without reading the whole thing.

I don't believe there was anything inappropriate in the article. The reporter is doing what reporters are supposed to do- he's reporting the news. He's reporting that these things are being said by people in the community associated with the perpetrators. Personally I wouldn't want the reporting of these attitudes by people in the community where the crime occurred to be whitewashed, censored out, whitewashed or otherwise ignored.

I suggest a careful read by anyone intending to sign this (maybe you'll feel different than I) but I've worked with rape victims and shared this with others who have or still do as well and so far they have been unwilling to sign it for the reasons I stated.

I agree, I would have deleted the petition link and just made this a story but my editing privileges were gone by then. The friend who gave this to me is not one for hyperbole and that along with my quick skim of comments and the large number of signatures I basically made a false conclusion. Going to make sure I properly vet thing before posting them on here from now on. I am however a bit annoyed that the author chose to highlight sentiment from the residents that point out what she was wearing and who she hung out with "at the playground" which alone does not show the author takes that point of view. The author chose to quote a resident who expressly calls the mother out. There is not a single negative word said about the accused.he author is not obligated to be negative towards the accused in any way, but the fact that he would include negative statements towards the victim and her family but none against the accused is shocking. Pair that with the following paragraph near the beginning of the article and I feel he is writing this from the perspective that the victim is at fault. ("how could their young men have been drawn into such an act") While I would have written this story much differently, I still believe this petition is making this out to be more than it is.

Edited March 11, 2011 by CapitalistSwine

[Element]

I read the article. There is something messed up here, but it is the community not the author. It seems like that the people living are just starting to realize how barbaric they are.

[blackdiamond]

The basic problem in this community is collectivism.

When the lady said, “These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives,” she was basically saying they won't be normal members of her community, and that's a logical concern for someone who values her "community" above the individual. Obviously the girl won't be normal either, but in this lady's mind, there is greater concern for the bigger number (the rapists) of community members because that's a bigger loss for the community.

In short, her primary concern is not even for these boys as individuals, but only as slaves of the community. The full sentence in that report was:

“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.”