I think this is my favorite fucking part:

Finally, while we can still uphold justice,

You seem to be arguing from the angle that rape victims get justice, like, on any kind of regular basis, which is so untrue as to be fucking laughable.

You seem to be arguing from the angle that life is fair, and that everyone gets a fair shot.

You seem to be arguing from the angle that when a rape case goes before a trial, the actual accused is on trial, instead of the rape victim.  Which is so untrue as to be fucking laughable.

Hey, I’m going to sit here in reality, where the “Devil’s Advocate” already gets way more attention than it fucking deserves.

The devil already has a voice. A loud voice.

And that voice ALMOST ALWAYS gets heard, and believed, and trusted, while the voice of the victim is drowned out.

And hey!  Surprise surprise!  Here we are again, talking about the Devil’s Advocate — instead of the victim. You’ve now made two comments and, SHOCK! the focus is not on the victim but rather on the accused. You are focusing on the fail trial THEY deserve. As if their words aren’t already believed more than the victim. You completely ignore the fucking fact that their IS no fair trial because the Devil’s Advocate is the one that will be believed. Not the victim. The victim doesn’t have a CHANCE to get a fair trial.

We’re talking about how the accursed rapist deserves a fair trail.
Not one word about how the VICTIM deserves a fair trial.
How *unusual*, huh?

Yeah, this isn’t a new discussion.  At all.

Fuck the Devil’s Advocate.  THE PROBLEM is that the Devil gets way too much attention as it is.

The post you fucking on that is just yet MORE proof yet you waltz in here acting as if the devil has no voice.
False.

Fuck the devil.

The devil’s advocate isn’t evil, they are the living embodiment of the burden of proof, and there is no justice without them.

What a bunch of nonsensical word salad, but thanks for the mansplain, dude!  I mean, as a woman who has been raped, I had NO IDEA that a man trying to argue from the point of the RAPIST deserved oh so much validated attention!

I mean, clearly, next time someone comes in being the devil’s advocate and Just Asking Questions about why oh why we *don’t* pay attention to what the victim was wearing or doing and maybe she’s lying?! and what about the boys who raped her? what about their “ruined” lives?… yep!

I’m totally going to give a shit about them!!!

No. Wait. As a rape survivor? FUCK THAT.SHIT The Devil’s Advocate when it comes to rape is already getting way more attention than the victim.  In every fucking case.  Did you even read the original post which you are commenting on? That is the evil devil’s advocate you are advocating for RIGHT THERE.  Oh, those poor boys!  I’m just playing the devil’s advocate. What about those poor boys and THEIR ruined lives?

Excuse me while I ignore the absolutely saturated level of “devil’s advocate” in favor of ADVOCATING FOR THE VICTIM for a fucking change.But thanks for advocating for the rape apologists.  Because clearly they aren’t getting enough support, amiright?

http://gabbysplayhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/vet.jpg

The thing I keep thinking is that this whole thing has been seriously good for the country-we got to talking a lot about just how messed up rape culture is, and we got to see/hear a lot of people around us come out and defend the rapists, and I’m glad to know who the fuck they are.  And none of this conversation would have happened if she and her family hadn’t had the backbone to press charges and not drop them.  I would give money, too, but agree that there are issues with that.  

it is the ability to dehumanize another person which allows things like rape or exploitation, or for that matter, large scale things like genocide or slavery to happen in the first place.

Treat a woman like a human being with her own free will, and rape is out of the question. Treat a victim like a human being with fears and pain, and there’s no excuse to exploit them for ratings. Treat people who disagree with you like human beings with their own experiences, opinions, and reasoning, and there’s a chance that you can understand why they think the way they do, even if you think it’s wrong.

Once you decide that they are in fact, not a person, but an object to be used, a story to get ratings, or an evil force to be beaten, then there’s simply no good reason not to have your way with them and throw them out when you’re done.

While it is certainly far less consequential to insult the author of a post on the internet than it is to ethnically cleanse a nation, it is in fact, the same principle at work. It makes no difference whether the object in question is a “good” person or a “bad” person- In fact, I would argue that it is MORE important to consider the humanity of a “bad” person. Once we deny another’s humanity, we lose our own, and can justify any transgression against them.

Finally, while we can still uphold justice, up to and including the death penalty, even a guilty man deserves someone to speak on his behalf at a fair trial before a jury of his peers. It is only by asking openly whether they were not responsible, were in fact justified- that we can be truly sure if they are not, and see that justice is done.

The devil’s advocate isn’t evil, they are the living embodiment of the burden of proof, and there is no justice without them.

And everyone should read this account from the woman who exposed this whole thing.  She deserves a freaking medal!
http://www.xojane.com/issues/steubenville-rape-verdict-alexandria-goddard

“ONE of the best things you can do…”
:)

Thank you for sharing the link!

http://www.themarysue.com/things-we-saw-today-239/

I hope all of us well wishers do donate. It’s a good cause, and it will show we care.

This is, in fact, your only comment in this thread.

Wow. Just wow.

“I would truly like to apologize to [redacted], her family, my family and the community,” Mays said. “No picture should have been sent around, let alone even taken.”

My first thought was “Is he really apologizing for the taking pictures part and not the rape part?!”  I realize that he must have said more after the above, but the quote does give the impression that that was the first thing he thought he should apologize for.

Slightly related, but something that people might find worthwhile to read:  http://bellejarblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/i-am-not-your-wife-sister-or-daughter/  It discusses how the line of thought that the victim could be your wife/sister/daughter/etc is rather dehumanizing.

What kind of bubble do these people live in?

Two bubbles hanging in a stretchy sort of sac?

I just hope that any public effort to help the young woman heal from this horrific event takes into account the family’s understandable desire for whatever measure of privacy they can still get.

38-year-old here. 20 years of post-high-school adulthood.  When it comes to athletes, nothing shocks me.

During the Paterno scandal there were several people commenting on this very site opining that it was a terrible shame that the coach was being asked to retire over abetting acts of child rape… because he had a real chance at bringing his football team to the Rose Bowl that year.