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London Zoo: Injustice in the heartland (of America) and why it pisses me off!

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthorjmmurrow
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2011 edited
     (9936.1)
    I was bumming around on ComicAlliance.com and saw an article about a girl from Texas who was raped by a star member of the local schools sports team. Instead of a he-said, she-said situation, there were actual witnesses. Now, one would hope that the town and her school would rally to her defense. Instead, they kicked her off the cheerleading squad after she refused to cheer for her attacker, and she has just lost the case against the school. (oh, as a side note, a todler evidently was coached by a loving parent to go up to her at a parade and call her a bitch).

    Jason Ho is doing some artwork that's going for $20 a pop to help her and her family make up the legal fees they now owe. Seriously, some times I wish that I could channel the spirit of Mr. Ellis because I just don't have the vocabulary to describe how disgusting and horrible this is.

    Here's the link...


    http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/06/08/cheerleader-texas-rape-sketches/
    • CommentAuthorFan
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2011
     (9936.2)
    Yeah. You know, she has a legitimate grievance (if I can say that without being offensively understated), but her place on the cheer-leading squad isn't the right platform for her to voice that.

    If she had a "human right" to be on the squad, without any corresponding obligation to cheer, then obviously I and presumably the court as well would be on her side in this (narrow) case. The cheer-leading squad is, apparently, not the place for her to express her own opinion, no matter how just her opinion.
  3.  (9936.3)
    One might equally argue she has a right to continue the pursuit she loves without being compelled to cheer for her attacker by the school that should be protecting her best interests.
    • CommentAuthorFan
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2011
     (9936.4)
    That's presumably exactly what she did argue.

    Places like Texas have laws/conventions like "at will employment": which mean that you don't have the right to compel someone to employ you for a given position. I don't know why her alleged rapist is still on the team, but that's another (although presumably at least as relevant) story.
    •  
      CommentAuthoroldhat
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2011 edited
     (9936.5)
    @Fan, even money? He's a good player. That's why he's being protected.

    It should be mentioned that the particular cheer that she refused to cheer to her rapist was "Put it in". For fuck's sake.
  6.  (9936.6)
    Texas is why I am proud to live in Manhattan.
    •  
      CommentAuthoroldhat
    • CommentTimeJun 8th 2011 edited
     (9936.7)
    Just...DAMN.

    [edited due to drunken rambling and generalities]
  8.  (9936.8)
    I went to American public school. There was not a single experience with the administration of any school I went to that failed to clarify the same truth: justice isn't a principle schools ever defend. Schools defend "fairness". "Fairness" in public school -- I mean I had experiences analogous to this over and over -- is exactly defined as treating worthless pieces of shit like victims when anyone refuses to cheer them. Additionally, we're really, really, really, really not known for our vigilant attitude toward sexual assault committed by school sports players. Basically I don't understand why no one stopped this family from fighting a clearly losing battle.

    Given that they did, the school system needs to be reimbursed that money. That's how it buys the three textbooks and one replacement PhysEd whistle strap per year that Texas budgets allow it to buy. The lawsuit caused the district to spend money that it needs to teach shit.

    What I'm trying to say is, there's a lot that needs to be fixed with American schools with regard to unbecoming a grotesque Kafkaesque nightmare of twisted values and souls raped in broad daylight while pinned and strapped by the cowardice of staff and shallow heartlessness of voting parents, but the fucking cheerleading squad of a Texas highschool is not going to be the front-line for change. School sports as an ingrained community (asshole old people) phenomenon rather than a hermetically sealed young-people zone is one big source of the problem. You shouldn't join the cheerleading squad if you don't want to support the blind perverse values that lead to this type of shit. Read between the lines, it's already clearly the "cheer for the fucking of our country's future" squad.

    That said (and I said it back in May already in the Around the Net thread), I think this is an important thing to help the family come back from, even if it was stupid of them to try to milk justice out of a rock. Also I get the impression that a portion of the $45k amount was punitive, beyond what the district actually had to spend. I've kicked in a hundred to the fund directly at the link from the link above.
  9.  (9936.9)
    Seems the Alleged Rapist pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. So he didn't admit to raping her, but he did admit attacking her.

    So, that's enough of a reason to not cheer for the asshole.

    Truth be told, I think the problem was in treating this like a freedom of speech issue.

    I think this should have been handled as a wrongful termination(not sure if that is the correct term, considering she's a student and not an employee). Not a lawyer, but I find it strange that they would have kicked her out of the cheerleading squad for it. Sending her home, appropriate, suspending her for a week, tolerable if harsh, but outright kicking her out, that is suspect.

    It suggests that the people who dismissed her had chosen sides in this matter. That there was bias towards the player and against her and they used their power to punish her based on their bias. That I think is where they have a case.
    • CommentAuthorRenThing
    • CommentTimeJun 9th 2011
     (9936.10)
    @Boodoffstage

    Seems the Alleged Rapist pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. So he didn't admit to raping her, but he did admit attacking her.

    I believe he plead down the charges from rape to misdemeanor assault because they (both the prosecutors and the accused) didn't want a trial.
  11.  (9936.11)
    Yeah. I understand that there are innocent people who plead guilty to a lesser charge just to avoid a trial, which may be the case here, but in the end he pleaded guilty.
    The superintendent and principal should have taken this into consideration and should not have kicked her out, punished yes, not dismissal.

    Which I think indicates that the people who made the decision chose a side . WHcih if I remember correctly is a big no no.
  12.  (9936.12)
    ...considering there were witnesses... I'm inclined to say it Did Occur, or at the very least an attack.

    I think the school was in the wrong in how they handled this; and that they could have allowed her to continue to do her cheerleading stuff.
    Have her alternate do the cheer she didn't want to. End of drama. Put her on the sideline for a bit if you must, but... eh.

    Even though the school SHOULDN'T take sides, it seems like they did, and I can understand the motivation for doing it (Winning at sports can bring in money and be used as a 'look how awesome our school is' point.

    I'd be worried about keeping the attacker and victim in close proximity; they might have a charge for endangering her there/causing undo stress, or something of the sort. I know there's some sort of charge rape victims can bring up if they have to deal with their aggressor too often afterward.

    There also may be the perception of cheerleaders=sluts which might be coloring the views of those around her. She's a cheerleader, wearing a skimpy outfit, therefore she Asked For It kinda mentality. Even though it doesn't fit the science, it does fit the popular culture's idea that how you dress impacts how people see you, and dressing provocatively = You Wanna Be Raped. I think it's damn stupid, but some people get that idea in their head, and damned if I know how to get it out again. Heck I heard something on fox news talking about campus rape the other day while walking by the tv, and the announcer was pretty much going for that defense for rapists.

    Rather sickening.

    ;/

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