Derry, Northern Ireland

Derry, Northern Ireland
A book I'm working on is set in this town.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Justice is still perverse and prejudiced.

I wrote a book about male on male rape and how destructive it was to the victims ("Bobby Carapisi"), but it also pointed out that the criminal justice system is just as destructive to the victims thanks to prejudices and unwillingness to accept that everyone is supposed to be protected by the law. I had a couple of people insist things aren't like that, anymore.

Well...I call bullshit on that, now. Here's a story about a 16 year old girl who was fed what sounds like a date rape drug and sexually assaulted by two older boys. And from what I've read about it, the prosecution deliberately blew the case with the assistance of the judge...then to make things even nastier, the judge ordered the girl not to discuss the plea deal the boys who raped her were given, or give out information about them.

The girl basically flipped the system of justice off and Tweeted the boys' names, thus at least giving other girls a warning about the two little shits, and now she's facing jail time. And her attitude is, "Fine, put me in jail." And the boys' attorneys are trying to get that very thing done. Obviously, these attack dogs are very well paid.

I have a moment in "Bobby Carapisi" where Eric, the gay man who's raped in the book, is confronted by his attacker's lawyer, and he knows what the man is all about. He's like Pit Bull whose sole intent is to protect his client, and if that means clamping his jaws on the neck of a 5 year-old, well...that's what it means. His client is his sole concern and if you happen to get in his way, it's your own damn fault you don't move before you get trampled.

What's really appalling is how some of the commenters at the bottom of the page think the girl was wrong to ignore the judge's disgraceful order. They discount the fact that she was, first off, victimized by two randy brats who couldn't control their dicks and were given a slap on the wrist for it, and second, was refused the right to tell her own story, thus being victimized by the system of justice, itself. There are strong suggestions a good-ol'-boy thing was at work here, on top of it.

And she's a WASP girl from a good family. Imagine how women without her advantages or skin color or background are treated. Then consider how men who have the audacity to admit they were raped are viewed by our so-called system of justice. Attitudes about sexual assault haven't really changed all that much in the last 50 years; they've just been muted.

Rape can be a soul-destroying experience. Even in my books told from the rapist's viewpoint, I make clear how damaging it is to the victims. But now when anyone suggests my view of how the system of justice is just as abusive as a rapist is overdone, I'll point them to this story.

Amazing...she's stronger at 17 than I've ever been.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was living in miami,supposedly safer for gays.I was raped coming from church,by15 black Men.They said I was to pretty to be a male 7 they were going to fkup my face so noone would ever want mysnooty ass. They beat me so badly,My family didn't even recognize Me 3 yrs later when I came home to Pa..The worst part was how the female nurses got big kicks frm My pain.The only sympathy I got was from the plastic surgeon who used My before pics to earn over 1million dollars worth of buisness & wouldn't even give Me a % off.He cou;ldn't fix Me back.I never modeled again.they wouldn't even return My calls,I was sued for talking about How they treated Me.I still have panic attacks when on the street & I see a group of black Men approach Me! Thank You for listening. Daelon

Unknown said...

I was doing some research on jail rape and ran across an Internet site that had remarks of the victims of what occurred in prison. The amount of rape in prison is astonishing. No one is left alone, no age group, no ethnic group is untouched by rape. It is brutal, vicious, physically and psychological damaging to the victim. And it occurs constantly throughout the prison system. What is worse though, is that it is ignored.

Rape in prison is used by the guards to punish prisoners and reward them. It is thought of as a tool rather than a crime. Chiefly because males don't look at sexual assault on another male as rape for the most part.

And it will continue as long as we treat prisoners with the belief that they are there to be punished. It is looked upon by society as a 'Just Reward' for their crimes. And when those punished get out of the prison system, they are filled with hate, revenge and loathing. A perfect storm for committing more crimes.

JamTheCat said...

No kidding. I know of cases of jailhouse rape being set up against male inmates by the guards in San Antonio, San Quentin, and Washington DC, and all of those "men" kept their jobs while the victims were vilified.

JamTheCat said...

Daelon...I feel for you, buddy. That sort of pain is on-going and I hope you're getting some form of counseling to help you through it.