Opinion - Steubenville ~
By lucypho_ 7:38 PM 2013, news, opinion
I would like to state first off that this is my opinion and my opinion alone about this topic. If you disagree with the opinions expressed, please remember that these opinions are my own.
Okay, now with that being said I would like to move into the topic at hand. I don't know how much you know about this topic but I shall give a quick overview. Steubenville is a small town in Ohio with a strong football culture. The issue at hand is that last August, there was a raping in the town involving a 16 year old girl and 2 footballers from the local high school. The girl was unconscious and was raped by the 2 students with fellow students taking photos and videos of the rape. In the photos and video, it can be seen that fellow footballers laugh as they move her from location to location and in one instance, she is also urinated on. The girl was obviously unaware and found herself naked the next morning but if that isn't humiliating enough, once she went onto social media such as Facebook and Twitter, the rape and evidence of it was posted and available for anyone to see.
The trial for this case just recently ended and a guilty/delinquent (as it was a juvenile case) verdict was handed down to the 2 male students who initiated it. What amazes me is the reaction of the verdict. The town sees the 2 male students as victims of the crime and are standing by them even though the facts of the crime have been presented. I understand that the town loves football but can you love a sport so much that it blinds you in seeing who the true victim is. That girl was ridiculed, told that she was ruining the lives of the 2 star footballers through hundreds of texts and the source of hatred in the town but yet the majority of the town cannot see that. How can they not see that this instance will stay with her for the rest of her life? The memory of waking up to find yourself naked, not knowing what happened and finding out the events through social networking where you are branded a slut and a dead girl.
Many, along with certain people in the CNN network, have said that the verdict along with the two students being listed as sexual offenders for the rest of their lives was harsh. Hence making the two students seem the victim. Is this how society has come to view rape? As the offenders being labelled the victims and the person who was raped seen as the perpetrator? The victim who is at times selfless, unconscious, under the influence of date rape drugs or other drugs or unable to defend themselves has now become the person who we blame the crime on. This view on rape victims is what angers me. I believe that this view on rape and their victims is what stops the majority of victims not coming forward and reporting the crime, and allowing the rapist to think that they can get away with the crime. This crime has illustrated and highlighted the way which western societies view crime and their victimes to me. I sincerely hope that we can change this way of thinking but to be honest, I don't know if I have much faith.
Sorry about the long, wordy post but I had to get it off my chest.
Okay, now with that being said I would like to move into the topic at hand. I don't know how much you know about this topic but I shall give a quick overview. Steubenville is a small town in Ohio with a strong football culture. The issue at hand is that last August, there was a raping in the town involving a 16 year old girl and 2 footballers from the local high school. The girl was unconscious and was raped by the 2 students with fellow students taking photos and videos of the rape. In the photos and video, it can be seen that fellow footballers laugh as they move her from location to location and in one instance, she is also urinated on. The girl was obviously unaware and found herself naked the next morning but if that isn't humiliating enough, once she went onto social media such as Facebook and Twitter, the rape and evidence of it was posted and available for anyone to see.
The trial for this case just recently ended and a guilty/delinquent (as it was a juvenile case) verdict was handed down to the 2 male students who initiated it. What amazes me is the reaction of the verdict. The town sees the 2 male students as victims of the crime and are standing by them even though the facts of the crime have been presented. I understand that the town loves football but can you love a sport so much that it blinds you in seeing who the true victim is. That girl was ridiculed, told that she was ruining the lives of the 2 star footballers through hundreds of texts and the source of hatred in the town but yet the majority of the town cannot see that. How can they not see that this instance will stay with her for the rest of her life? The memory of waking up to find yourself naked, not knowing what happened and finding out the events through social networking where you are branded a slut and a dead girl.
Many, along with certain people in the CNN network, have said that the verdict along with the two students being listed as sexual offenders for the rest of their lives was harsh. Hence making the two students seem the victim. Is this how society has come to view rape? As the offenders being labelled the victims and the person who was raped seen as the perpetrator? The victim who is at times selfless, unconscious, under the influence of date rape drugs or other drugs or unable to defend themselves has now become the person who we blame the crime on. This view on rape victims is what angers me. I believe that this view on rape and their victims is what stops the majority of victims not coming forward and reporting the crime, and allowing the rapist to think that they can get away with the crime. This crime has illustrated and highlighted the way which western societies view crime and their victimes to me. I sincerely hope that we can change this way of thinking but to be honest, I don't know if I have much faith.
Sorry about the long, wordy post but I had to get it off my chest.
