What we’re learning from the Steubenville rape trial.
We’re learning that there were text messages. Lots of text messages.
A state forensics investigator, Joann Gibb, methodically quoted from text messages that she said came from the phone of one of the defendants, Trent Mays, 17, and from the phones of friends and classmates. The messages described the inebriated girl as “dead” or as a “dead body” and stated that Mr. Mays acknowledged penetrating the girl with his fingers.
Because that’s what you do. If there’s a girl at a party who passes out from drinking too much, you stick your fingers up her.
The texts read from the witness stand by Ms. Gibb suggested that Mr. Mays and his friends grew concerned about how many pictures were being shared on social media, how the episode would affect his role on the football team, what the reaction would be from the girl’s father and, ultimately, that if charges were ever pressed, whether the authorities would examine Mr. Mays’s cellphone messages.
One text sent from Mr. Mays’s phone to an acquaintance stated that “if they press charges, they are going to look at all my texts,” according to the testimony of Ms. Gibb.
“Delete them,” the acquaintance responded.
Interesting what they grew concerned about. Not the possibility that they’d done a shitty thing to the girl, and a whole series of new shitty things by texting about it; not the possibility that the girl had been harmed; but the possibility that their doing a shitty thing and then bragging about it might turn out to be detrimental to them.
They sound like really great kids. I hope their football team is proud.
On the witness stand, Ms. Gibb also described text messages suggesting that the 16-year-old girl did not know what had happened to her that night, and that she grew angry and vulnerable as she learned more.
“I wasn’t being a slut. They were taking advantage of me,” stated one text message sent from the girl’s phone, according to Ms. Gibb’s testimony.
To a friend of Mr. Mays, the girl wrote in another text message: “Who was there who did that to me?” She added, “You couldn’t have told them to stop or anything?”
“I hate my life,” the girl also texted, stating at another point: “Oh my God, please tell me this isn’t” true.
Yes but she’s not on the football team, so who cares about her.
I feel sickened reading about what they did to that poor girl. And that no one tried to stop it. I’m glad she and her parents insisted on pressing charges.
“I wasn’t being a slut.”
Because it would be different if the girl was acting ‘like a slut’?
“Interesting what they grew concerned about. Not the possibility that they’d done a shitty thing to the girl, and a whole series of new shitty things by texting about it; not the possibility that the girl had been harmed; but the possibility that their doing a shitty thing and then bragging about it might turn out to be detrimental to them.”
They weren’t concerned that they’d done a shitty thing — they *knew* they’d done a shitty thing. Also, I know it’s a rhetorical flourish, but “interesting” isn’t the word for it.
If you really want to be disgusted, you should watch ESPN’s Outside the Lines report on the case. (Because, of course, your greatest desire in life is to be disgusted. Sorry.)
I think I need to stop myself from reading any more about this case. It’s making me fantasize about murdering people…
I don’t care if a person is promiscuous, that is, they like sex and are unashamed. Good for them. I don’t think there is such a thing as a slut. It’s just a way to belittle women. Or in the misogynist terms of my youth ‘a slut is a girl who has sex with others, but not you’. It’s all bullshit to lessen a female, when a guy who does like sex with any female available, is just sowing his oats, playing the field, getting in some practice, etc, etc. Fuck that.
But this girl wasn’t available, wasn’t interested, and wasn’t consenting. It was rape, and those dudebros only care about their rep, not about her. (If they cared about her, this wouldn’t have happened, obviously).
I don’t think I want to read more about this case, as I’ll join number 4 and fantasize murder. Then again, by reading the vile truth, I can’t pretend that there’s no problem. The easy path – fingers in the ear la la la – is the path of the privileged, like me.
Yeah, being unconcious doesn’t mean you’re unable to consent apparently. Disgusting.
SHE DIDN’T GIVE CONSENT!!!!! THEY FUCKING SAID THEY WERE FUCKING RAPING HER IN THE FUCKING VIDEOS YOU GODDAMN PIECE OF SHIT DEFENDANT LAWYER SCUMBAG FUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
briane… I’m not avoiding this story from here on out in order to avoid/ignore the problem. For absolutely no reason I’ve ever been able to figure out, I have issues with rape, beyond the usual. I can’t watch it in movies or read about it in books and so on. This case (and the Delhi case) have made me angry enough to seriously consider murder. I need to just stop because “pissed off” just doesn’t cover it.
“I have issues with rape, beyond the usual. ”
No Nate, your reaction is totally normal. But you live in a world where there are actual people who think there’s a line a woman or girl crosses that justifies sexually abusing her. These people probably consider themselves good and decent. That might make it seem as if your concern is beyond usual.
Even the victim felt she had to make it clear that she was not a ‘slut’.
Of course my experience may not be representative, but when/where I grew up, even the most sexist macho bullies (of which there plenty…) seemed to agree, as a matter of male honor, that you never hit a woman and that every rapist on the planet deserved to be killed. So they kind of got that part
rightless than entirely wrong, even it it was for all the wrong reasons. Is it just me, or have things really changed that much since the late 80s/early 90s?Let’s give the girl a break on saying she wasn’t a being a slut– I’m pretty sure she meant *this was without her consent*. Not that if she had let one guy touch her, it would make what the others did okay. Only that people would think she was a slut for hearing she let a lot of guys get their jollies off on her at the party, and she wanted to make it clear she didn’t LET them do anything.