Fear Strikes Out
TW for discussion of violence, rape, sexual assault, rape apologia, victim blaming
The first stretch of the 2011 season has generated plenty of blogworthy stories (Manny flames out once and for all; my team’s terrible; Boston’s team is worse and with fewer excuses….), but here in SoCal, there’s less talk of baseball proper than of the horrific assault that left a Giants fan brain-damaged after he was attacked by two Dodger fans in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on opening day.It’s not the first time, of course, and it’s not a surprise to anyone who’s experienced the seamier side of Chavez Ravine. A Giants fan was murdered by a Dodger fan after a 2003 game-the first Dodger-Giant game I’d ever attended, in fact. I’d been warned to expect a degree of ugliness that would make the Cards-Cubs rivalries of my childhood seem like puppy tussles by comparison, but, naively enough, I hadn’t thought anybody would actually die.
Since the most recent attack, the local and national media have rightly rallied around the rights of fans-no matter which team they support-to enjoy a safe and pleasant outing at Dodger Stadium. Column after column has lamented the death of our innocence. Frank McCourt and his spokespeople have been blasted for their initial tepid response to the crime. The LAPD presence at games has been (with no shortage of fanfare) dramatically increased. The victim, Bryan Stow, has become a tragic martyr for the cause, while the still-unidentified perpetrators have come to symbolize all that’s wrong with a culture of thoughtless violence and dangerously twisted loyalties.
Here’s what hasn’t been in the news:
“Well, if he didn’t want to get beaten, he should have known better than to wear a Giants jersey at Dodger Stadium.”
And of course it shouldn’t be. Because that sort of victim-blaming, the mere suggestion that apparel justifies assault, would be unthinkable.
…..Except when, for example, the crime is a gang rape, and the victim is an 11-year-old girl who, according to a Florida state politician, “was dressed like a 21-year-old prostitute.” Except when a Canadian judge declines to imprison a rapist because he determines that the victim’s clothing (tube top, high heels, makeup) suggested that “sex was in the air.” Except when a British rapist goes free because a court finds that his 10-year-old victim was “dressed provocatively” and passed for 16.
More at the Source.