(no subject)
A few announcements:
Please post links to pictures rather than pictures themselves. And lest anyone feel bad, this is in response to a number of incidents over the last week or so. Number one, it's going to appear in my email without warning no matter how unpleasant it is; number two, if you're worried that people won't look, well, trust me: curiosity will cause people to click a link more times than not. I would appreciate any picture being linked instead of posted in its entirety, but if I personally find it unpleasant in any way, I will definitely screen it, and it will be up to you to repost a proper link, because that's how the cookie crumbles in Cleoland, y'all.
As several people sent this to me: hamlethunt, a community dedicated to getting the New Orleans Facekicking Asshat arrested and prosecuted.
onyx_noir: "There are additional pics of him, including his tattoos, available at the noladarkside community on lj. His hair and clothes he can change, but not his ink." And given that his hair was shocking pink the last time I saw a picture, it is very likely that he would.
And I'll repeat what hamlethunt says: DO NOT go vigilante if you find this guy. When I said that we had a chance of "running into the guy," I meant so we could call the police. As all_ephemera says, What concerns me is the rampant vigilantism that's going on in this case - the police are involved and what SHOULD be happening is people keep an eye out and if they see him to contact the police. There's a disturbingly real chance that someone else will find him and take it upon themselves to enact a little hometown justice and then THEY'RE going to go to jail. People shouldn't kid themselves that "no one would convict someone for kicking this kids ass" because they will. Or - worst case scenario, this kid Will goes free because he gets a gifted and talented defense lawyer who can use this hooplah to get the trial repeatedly thrown out because the jury pool is tainted. [My note: if he's from Mountain Brook originally, he will have a good lawyer.]
I hope this kid gets caught, prosecuted and thrown in jail, and I hope the girl recovers. I also hope that people can rein in their emotional responses and be able to act like mature adult. Threatening to cut this kids balls off does no one any good except his lawyers.
Here's another reason I'd like to see this guy arrested and prosecuted: this kind of thing happens every day. A friend of mine had an abusive boyfriend in college. My mother had an abusive boyfriend in college. My father threw a small metal vase at her that I still have, and there is still a large dent on the brim where it hit her. Before he left for good, he kicked in screen doors and wood paneling, threw things at my sister and hit my dog--and when the law did finally come for him, it wasn't for physical abuse. Abuse happens every day, and it rarely gets reported. And you know why it happens? Because abusive men (and, when it happens, women) know they won't get reported. They'll wave it off and the police will let them. We need to prosecute abusers so people will understand that it is not something you can get away with. That's why this is important. Not because a pretty girl's face may have been damaged, as much as we might feel for her. It's important because we might be able to prevent it from happening again--prevent other victims from the same pain and suffering--if we find this guy and turn him in to the police peacefully and let the law get a bitchslap in for once.
And you know what the other important thing is? That everyone saw this and was outraged. That everyone saw this and cared. We need people to know that assault does not equal shame, and that people will support them if they come forward. That we will protect them when the abusers come back around. And we need abusers to know that we--as communities and as individuals--care, and that we won't let them do this: that it is not acceptable in the community or under the law.
Also, I hear he might be around Auburn.
