Verdict in Steubenville Case

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Cody Saltsman's parents started a lawsuit claiming slander against the blogger who exposed this possibly being a set-up, instigated by him.

Days later, the suit was dropped.

Blaming the victim for rape condones the rape and excuses the rapists.

Blaming the victim of a beating condones the beating and excuses the bullies.

Blaming the victim of theft condones the theft and excuses the thieves.

It all comes down to who actually committed the crime - THAT person should be blamed.

So who would you blame if Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond get raped in prison?

Not the judge, not the prosecutor, not the victim or her lawyers, but the people who actually commit the crimes.

How about the jailers who let it happen? Or the system that knowingly places people into an environment where rape and assault are likely?

The rapists, of course.

Not the judge, not the prosecutor, not the victim or her lawyers, but the people who actually commit the crimes.

Let the punishment fit the crime.

Blaming the victim for rape condones the rape and excuses the rapists.

Funny. Previously, on "Verdict in Steubenville Case": Oh, and this...Problem?

No problem at all. I believe that punishments should fit crimes. Mays and Richmond are not victims ... yet. But again, if no crime is committed against them, then they will not be victims, and there will be no attackers to be punished accordingly.

BS to the 157th degree.

I guess your no-nonsense attitude doesn't apply when you are the one on the receiving end.

The only remotely sane interpretation of your "Let the punishment fit the crime" statement (and I even called you out on it to make sure that you really meant it. Remember?) is that you condone the rape of individuals convicted of rape. Don't insult my intellect by claiming otherwise.

Which makes your "Blaming the victim for rape condones the rape and excuses the rapists" a candidate for the most hypocritical statement on WP this year. And it's only March.

To you, perhaps; not to others.


I've been a victim. That's how I earned my no-nonsense attitude. I've also sought revenge. That's how I know it works.


I never intended to claim otherwise. I believe that every convicted criminal should somehow be punished in the same way that they assaulted their victims - murderers should be shot, stabbed, poisoned, bludgeoned, choked, or electrocuted, according to how they murdered their victims. Rapists should be violated, as well. Thieves ... well, if they have nothing of value to take away, then we'll just have to settle for stealing a few years of their freedom.


How so? I won't blame the rapists for getting raped, and I wouldn't excuse their rapists raping them. As for condoning ... being in favor of capital punishment has already made me a hypocrite, hasn't it?

And it's a good thing that there is no law against hypocrisy.

Well, at least you are honest about being a piece of sh**...

Such eloquence. .

No. It can happen anywhere, but some places are more likely than others. In his world?? A woman does not go out at night. A woman ideally should not go out alone. It eventually becomes understood that a woman must, sometimes, go out "alone," at least in a country that does not practice shari'a.

I have to take the kids to the dentist/doctor during business hours on weekdays-- I go, and I come back. I have to go to the grocery during the day-- I go, I come straight back. I do not a gun-- in Pennsylvania, I'm not allowed to own one as I am considered potentially dangerous (I took myself to the hospital when I could no longer fight suicidal urges). I do not carry pepper spray or any other weapon-- that might be interpreted as aggression.

If you go to a party, make it a respectable party, and go with your spouse/partner/SO. Stay with them unless you are in the bathroom. Lock the door when you go pee, and don't take too long. Not everyone who seems respectable is respectable; no place is actually safe.

We used to go to New Year parties at the home of one of his friend's parents. Stuffy upscale condo community. The room was full of people drinking cheap champagne and making stupid smalltalk-- GPAs and grad school plans and papers they'd written and awards they were nominated for. Politely dressed bragging and self-promotion. At first, I excused myself to the parking lot to smoke when I started getting disgusted and overwhelmed. That was not acceptable-- then he had to leave the party to babysit me. I eventually learned to pour my drink down the bathroom sink so it would appear I had drunk quite a bit, lean into the back of the couch, and pretend to be asleep. I am glad that the friend has moved to California, that the group has broken up, that we have had too many children for such gatherings, and that we don't go to those parties any more.

I used to think he was really well-intentioned, but immature and insecure. I used to cut classes and sneak off to get some time to myself. Then I used to think he was a paranoid, controlling ass. I used to think that people should simply understand that there are some things you don't do to other people, that no one deserves to be hurt.

Now I understand that he was right, and I was naive.

I was a bleeding heart and an idealist. Maybe it should be that way, but it isn't. This world may be a sh** hole, but it's the sh** hole we're in. Accept it, live in it, live with it. The alternative is suicide. Idealism is nice. I wish we lived in a more idealistic world. It would be nice.

Idealism is also a trait of autistic pathology, and a form of delusion.

Sorry, sad but true. I'm sorry this stupid kid got hurt. Sad for her. Not sad that the a**holes that did it are going to jail-- and I hope they get a dose of their own medicine. Not sad that the b*****s who threatened her are going to get in trouble too. I actually hope they catch ever f**** that passed those posts and messages on and charge them all with distributing child porn and obstructing justice.

Doesn't change the fact that she shouldn't have been there, shouldn't have been drinking, shouldn't have been taking risks. If you're going to stick your hands in a fire, don't complain when you get burned.

For the record, I'm teaching my DD11 the same thing. That I will crucify her if I catch her participating in anything like that-- even if I find out that she so much as laughed at a text and then deleted it without sending it on. That if I find out she is participating in bullying, I will make her life a living hell.

And that, if she invites something like that to happen to her, she can expect me to drive her to the doctor, the therapist, the obstetrician or the abortion clinic as she preferrs. I am not my husband-- I will not threaten to disown her, send her away (what my grandparents did when my aunt got raped by a black guy-- you couldn't get an abortion in West Virginia in the 60s), or make her listen to me tear my hair out screaming what shame she's brought on the family (what my grandmother did when I was stupid enough to be open and honest and my stepmom's sister started spreading lies about me).

What she cannot expect, is any measure of sympathy whatsoever. Burn your ass, sit on the blister.

Are your and your family's opinions about rape and rape victims something dictated by the state and region of the country you are originally from? I ask, because I wonder if the disconnect between yourself and us other posters on this subject might not be cultural and regional. -Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer