The Public Shaming blog and Twitchy.com have been doing the world a service by documenting some of the worst rape apologist nonsense that sprouted up on Twitter in the wake of the Steubenville rape verdict. I thought I would add some more screenshots to the growing pile.
TRIGGER WARNING for some really horrible rape-apologizing bullshit.
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Atheist author Michael Crook had many opinions on the matter, some already cited by Public Shaming. Here are some more:
For more of Crook’s awful thoughts on the case, see this terrible post on his blog. Let me put another TRIGGER WARNING on top of the TRIGGER WARNING I posted above; Crook is really a piece of work, and his post is one of the worst things I’ve read since I started this blog.
Someone calling himself Reality Talks had even more opinions on the subject:
Bill Peace III thinks the whole thing is hilarious — except for the part about the rapists being punished:
A fellow named Tyler figures that the victim “got [what] she deserved.”
A teenager calling himself Space Cowboy shows how the attitudes that define and perpetuate rape culture are absorbed at a pretty young age:
Amazingly, after being called out on his bullshit on Twitter, Space Cowboy seemed to realize that he had been wrong to blame the girl, and deleted his victim-blaming tweets. Assuming he wasn’t being sarcastic when he tweeted that “the girl is an angle, [sic] the boys are to blame entirely,” it’s a heartening development, and evidence that rape culture can be unlearned as well as learned. If he was being sarcastic, his deletion of the offending tweets at least suggests that he now realizes that blaming rape victims is not socially acceptable in all social circles.
The misnamed Truthwatcher, meanwhile, blames everyone but the boys, with his Tweets basically serving as a sort of Rape Culture FAQ.
These are just a few snapshots from the Twitter stream. There’s a lot more nastiness out there.
But these comments are really nothing compared to the crass tweets, and pictures, and videos posted by or otherwise passed around by the rapists and their accomplices and their enablers. Or the threats, some of them made in the wake of the verdict, against the victim from anonymous internetters — and, more to the point, by other students at her school. I can only hope there will be more indictments, not only of the students who participated in the victim’s ordeal but of the adults who knew and did nothing or even worked to cover it up. The whole thing just sickens me.
I could cope with an island of the coast of Calif. I can do lots of stuff. 🙂
“paul: ‘Nobody can really say who’s to blame’
I can… the rapist.”
Idk about any one else, but I’d be perfectly happy to hear that a million times. We probably need it said about ten times as often as “nobody can really say…” just to make up for all the years of the “maybe she’s lying” bullshit.
And yes, the passive voice of the news pieces is making me want to subject the writers to my Latin teacher.
Ooh, the Channel Islands? Miniature foxes for everyone!
You know society sucks when rapists get shorter prison sentences than people who illegally download music.
http://gawker.com/5991175/this-two+year+old-onion-story-perfectly-predicted-cnns-shocking-steubenville-rape-trial-coverage
…just don’t read the comments.
I’ve been sitting here reading all the comments and crying for all the brave people here who have suffered at the hands of rapists and I really admire how brave you are to share your stories (Kate and ostara321). I’ve been there myself, but don’t really like to talk about the specific experiences much, but I have no sympathy for rapists and am vocal about how wrong rape apology is.
I was so disgusted by the media responses to the verdict and the victim-blaming and the slut shaming that I had to shut down my computer and go away for a while for the rage I felt. Rape apology and victim-blaming has got to stop and it only will if people speak out, but sometimes the anger is so strong that I think I’m going to burst. So what if the girl was drunk? It doesn’t give ANYONE the right to rape her. It’s not her fault, it never was and it never will be. It is the fault of the two little wastes of space that raped her (they got off too lightly, in my opinion) and all the other shit stains who stood by and let it happen and thought it was funny. Those are the people who should be shamed and punished, not the victim. I’m just glad to hear that others are likely going to be held accountable and threats against the victim are being taken seriously.
As someone else stated, I greatly admire the bravery of the victim in this. It took a lot of courage to follow through and see this to the end and I too hope she can find healing and peace. I wish the same for anyone who has lived through such trauma and pain. I know from personal experience one never really gets over it entirely, and it stays with you for the rest of your life.
@bengalcatmum
Hugs if you want them. I’m so sorry. (I have some really nice tissues with lotion, too, if you like that sort of thing.)
Bengalcatmum – hugs if you want them.
Cassandra – “Summer is that one day in July when it hits 70.”
Charles I is supposed to have said once that the English summer consisted of three fine days followed by a thunderstorm. Significantly, he didn’t mention Scottish summers (and him an expat Scot, too). 😉
Cute ponies! Cute fox! Cutenesssssssssss!
I too fled the Scottish weather. The unremitting grey drizzle was too much. Breathtakingly beautiful winter days but bitterly cold.
My one lengthy visit to Edinburgh (thirteen years back) featured lots of misty rain and chilly days, but put on a raincoat or rain poncho and it was instant sauna time. Very odd.
For outright cold, though, the daytrips took the prize. Can’t remember where it was, but at one viewing stop it was so windy people had to hang on to things just to stay in one place, and I saw a bird flying backwards. Urquhart Castle was perishing cold, too – no wonder, the wind ripping off the loch.
Kitteh, lol. It may well be a made up story, and I’ve never checked it, but I was once told there is significant land mass between Edinburgh and Siberia. So when the wind whistles in from the east, it carries Siberian chill with it.
NO significant land mass, dammit.
@Cassandra:
Like, Vancouver Vancouver? Or Vancouver Island? Because there actually is some pretty nice weather on the island. And Vancouver itself is nicer than most of the country, assuming you really hate sunlight. Perfect for vampires!
Still, if we’re living on a communal dream island of Manboobz fun I think I’d rather leave this frozen wasteland of a country. Let’s go somewhere warm, please! It’s snowed every day since Saturday here and I DO NOT WANT.
Ooh hey, we (me and partner) are planning on visiting Scotland this year! We’re thinking probably September, because the flight costs are just so much higher in summer. I figure, it wouldn’t be fun to travel around in the depths of winter, but we tough Canadian stock (XD) can handle a September that sounds very much like our own, except rainier and less erratic.
Scotland sounds like a colder Seattle. Makes sense, as the weather in London when I was there was almost identical to the PNW.
On the notion of Manboobz Island…
Bah, I say. Rather than fleeing to an island, I propose we claim the entirety of the North American continent (lots of different climates to choose from, then) and drive the MRAs, PUAs, rape-apologists and all the other misogynistic lackwits into the sea, like St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland.
Sibera has a fair bit of land between it and Scotland… Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, France. That, actually, is why the winds from Siberia (such as the Mistral) is so cold. The same winds in Calif. are either hot, or cold,. depending on time of year, because they come over the desert.
Our cold winds (when it’s cold, it’s really fucking cold) in Central TX are directly from Canada. Thanks, guys!
This won’t interfere with the sailing will it? I’m dreaming of sailing off Manboobz Island. With a ship’s cat, of course.
This won’t interfere with the sailing will it? I’m dreaming of sailing off Manboobz Island. With a ship’s cat, of course.
It will improve the sailing! The water’s density will rise and make everything float better. ^^
Pfft, Hellkell. The winds from Canada have had plenty of timre to warm up before they hit Texas.
=p
Out here, the cold air comes straight off Lake Michigan. Along with snow. We regularly get an extra inch or three from lake effect.
@Bagelsan Nah, it should just mean the fishing will be pretty good, what with all that chum floating around.
As long as you clean the fish really good; I don’t want any trace MRA particles in my food!
On the other hand, Dean Norris (Hank Schrader from Breaking Bad) clearly does not fuck around when it comes to talking about current issues.
http://i.imgur.com/MKpIpXs.png