steubenville follow up

hmonkey

i was surprised the two guys were convicted.  i thought they got off light with one and two year sentences, but then i remembered they were both tried as juveniles.

btw, when i was in college, i left a party blind drunk in the company of two football players. they walked me to my dorm room, put me in my bed, took off my shoes, put a garbage can next to the bed and left.  as a direct result of their actions, they live their lives without having to register as sex offenders and with no jail time in their past.  i also attribute their actions to a culture that revered them as a bio major and econ major, and not just two dudes who were good at making sure the guy carrying the ball doesn't go past them.

loveshine1

I'm very pleased that they were convicted.

There were plenty of times in college that I was way too drunk or high to be able to make appropriate decisions. I was lucky that there were friends, both male and female, arou. nd to make sure that I got home safely. Even during college age, it is rare that someone is thinking further ahead than the current day and the consequences they may have to face due to their actions.

ReturnOfKuus

I wish your anecdote would become a popular internet meme.  Can we make that happen, hmo?

Wzz

it's not even about thinking ahead; it's just about being a decent person in the present moment. people can actually be decent without there being a reason. maybe they're just decent.

hmonkey

YES, WZ.

VarunaTT

Wz put succintly what I've been trying to post.  That's what makes me so mad.  It shouldn't matter if anyone is blasted out of their mind or not.  Being inebriated isn't an open invitation.

ReturnOfKuus

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_steubenville-follow-up?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:e2916af5-7e90-49b4-8cc2-d2c87f85649dPost:f0021881-e8c5-48cf-9fab-0c4550aa8205">Re: steubenville follow up</a>:
[QUOTE]Wz put succintly what I've been trying to post.  That's what makes me so mad.  It shouldn't matter if anyone is blasted out of their mind or not.  Being inebriated isn't an open invitation.
Posted by VarunaTT[/QUOTE]

Right.  And IMO this ties in so closely to the abortion debate, since overall it's a question of who women's bodies belong to.  Are they open for public use unless the woman is actively fighting it?  The obvious answer is no, and yet, the ubiquity of situations like this reveal the fact that a helluva lot of people think the answer is yes.

Wzz

well, IMO they shouldn't have gang raped a woman just because they may ruin their futures if they are caught. they shoudn't do it solely because they just shouldn't. it shouldn't be about consequences, it should just not be done. period.

to me this is because there are people who feel like if no one catches them doing something wrong, it's okay. i can shoplift from the gap, and it's okay as long as i don't get caught. i can park at a hydrant, and as long as i don't get a ticket, it's perfectly fine. the ticket is supposed to be a deterant, but there's a legitimate reason to not park at a hydrant. the deterant should be the legitimate reason, not just because you could get into trouble. it's not the same thing, but the principle is similar.

it's about having a sense of entitlement - i guess, entitled to the woman's body, but really entitled to whatever they want just because they want it. there's too much instant gratification.

hmonkey

steubenville and so many other college and professional athlete raping stories (and penn state) make me so glad i went to a school where athletics were a hobby (as they should be).  i am also glad i didn't grow up in or marry into a sports-mad family, nor will i be raising one, damm!t.

notamrs

I wish there were a "like" button for every post in this thread.

NOLABridesmaid

h, this could have easily have been a frat instead of football. i think major amounts of alcohol, low morals and group think are bad combinations.

Peledreamsofrain

This kind of stuff is why I went waaaay out of my way to attend a college without frats and sororities, and without organized sports.

It was the most boring 4 years of my life, and I'm totally fine with that.  I was there to get a degree, and I think a lot of American culture has lost sight of that purpose with college.  For some reason it's been warped into a fancy-free 4 year rager with no consequences.  Even the media (CNN) is outraged that a college 'slip-up' is going to ruin the boys' lives.

Makes me mad

TheMrsC23

I just read an article that said 27 people that were identified as football coaches were interviewed in the Grand Jury invesitgation.  

Twenty-momofarking-seven...I hope some of those were volunteer coaches.  Even so, that's quite the bloated staff for a HS football team. 

VarunaTT

This just showed up in one of my feeds: