If you haven't heard this story, Mama's get ready. If you're having lunch or dinner, I guarantee you're going to lose your appetite quick. Mine is pretty much gone for the day. Sometimes, I don't know why I bother to turn on the news.....Police in Richmond, Calif., believe that more than a dozen people may have either watched or participated in a vicious rape of a 15-year-old Richmond High School girl that lasted for more than two hours. -- ABC News
Where the hell does one begin? Gang rape seems to be a growing topic in the news lately... this story out out Hofstra University (which turned out to be consensual, but the simple fact that any of those young people though that a "gang-bang" was a great idea boggles the friggin' mind), and you may or may not have heard about this one...which literally left me sleepless for about a week.
Obviously, this type of brutality is not just a problem in the US. Rape has been used as a form of warfare in other countries for years and reading this recent story out of South Africa will make you cry. But we're not accustomed to hearing stories like this in the United States, though certainly many rapes probably go unreported due to the victim's fear of being stigmatized.
Why is this type of behavior among young boys becoming common place? As it turns out, I'm working on a presentation for the Long Island Academic Counselors Conference on how media shapes our kids' morality. One of the studies I came across explores how violence in music and media can skew boys' view of rape as an immoral act. In other words, if they're seeing/ hearing about violence perpetrated on women on regular basis, they may eventually begin to accept it as a normal thing.
Sound crazy? How's this sound?
"Aint no fun "--Snoop Dogg feat. Nate Dogg, Kurupt, Warren G [warning: explicit lyrics]
Rapelay Video Game -Players stalk and rape a mother and her daughter
Grand Theft Auto Video Game- players can have sex with a prostitute then(if they feel the urge) kill her.
All very well known, completely accessible to and just a taste of what kids are exposed to on a regular basis.
Despite the insanity of recent headlines, the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) reports that Sexual assault has fallen by more than 60% since 1993, which is great news, but I'd be interested to learn about how these recent events are impacting those numbers.
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7 comments:
I can't even finish reading this blog post or read into that article. Just the first sentence of it makes me sick to my stomach. How very very sad and so so horrible. :(
I haven't been able to read the story. I know I need to, to be informed, but I just can't. That poor girl and her family.
Yes, it is so unimaginable and sickening. My heart goes out to the girl and her family as well. How do we even beging to warn our daughters about something like this? It's insane.
Every day the news around this story gets worse. Now they're saying that people came and went during the rape, watched and did nothing.
welcome back, Mommy B! We've all missed you! So much to catch up on, I'll send updates on what's cookin' asap, but meanwhile...
Living in the Bay Area and having this horror broadcast 24/7 makes me compelled and comment pronto & add to your study & links for your talk...and yes it HAS been hard to confront with girls locally in dialog openly, esp. being Halloween night & the whole costume/toxic cues too for both genders too! (PimpCostumes.com will raise your blood pressure for sure)Anyway, I twittered a couple of 'em recently:
This one from Reuters: "Violence against women, female teens, surges on TV" http://bit.ly/38VYEk and this quote from one of the teachers in Richmond who summed it well, ""Women are portrayed on TV & music as pieces of meat; when are we going 2 take the challenge & step up & chg this?"
Also tweeted Jess Weiner's classic comment, "Why did we pay more attention to what Kanye did to Taylor than we are on what rapists and bystanders did to a 15 y.o. girl?!"
So in short, yes, I think it IS 'open season' in terms of the media corollaries and desensitization and we need to bring this madness to a screeching halt.
Way behind on everything (inc. your posts on S.Y.) but will get up to speed soon for Nov.
As we enter the month of Thanksgiving, I'll be the first to say, I feel thankful to have colleagues like you along in this battle. You, my friend, are 'well named' ;-) Thx for a great post, ttys, a.
Ditto Amy! I may be back from my blog break, but I'm still getting back into the swing of things, I would have probably missed that article about television violence had you not been so on the ball!
Thanks so much! I will definitely be including it in my presentation.
Pretty gross, huh? Thank you for sharing (though sometimes ingnorance is nicer, it isn't always good).
And thanks for following!
It's unbelievable to hear that news. In front of an audience she was raped. what did the other people do just watching her they did not help her or call a police. That's really unimaginable.
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