so, the Steubenville rape trial and verdict
Two boys were found guilty, sentenced to one year (Ma'lik), and two (Trent, the extra year for posting a nude photo of the unconscious rape victim on the floor). Here's something I have to disagree with:
"The victim was not in the courtroom when the ruling was read, but her mother gave a statement after the judge's ruling.
'Human compassion is not taught by a teacher, a coach or a parent. It is a God-given gift instilled in all of us," the victim's mother said after court was adjourned. "You displayed not only a lack of this compassion, but a lack of any moral code.'"
Well, if it's a God-given gift, then it makes sense to me to BLAME GOD for not instilling it in these boys.
Of course you learn it from the culture around you! Parents, teachers, religious leaders. And then you have to hang with a same-age cohort that's been taught the same as you have.
(Of course, one can reject what one has been taught. My Italian grandmother brought me to church on Sundays. I rejected Catholicism as weird (and priests as weirder), but I got hooked on stained glass, gothic architecture, candles, castle-like structures. More bizarrely, at around age 11 I got sucked in by the local Baptist church lady, went to Bible camp one summer, took Christs as my savior -- so I'm "Born Again" Christian -- and then rejected all that a year later. It's like trying on clothing to see if it fits. Or not.)
Believe it or not, I can feel for these boys. It's an age where things can get out of hand, especially where alcohol is involved. That's a reason, but not an excuse. They do deserve the punishment, and maybe even then some when they get out. Good luck finding gainful employment, dudes.
"The victim was not in the courtroom when the ruling was read, but her mother gave a statement after the judge's ruling.
'Human compassion is not taught by a teacher, a coach or a parent. It is a God-given gift instilled in all of us," the victim's mother said after court was adjourned. "You displayed not only a lack of this compassion, but a lack of any moral code.'"
Well, if it's a God-given gift, then it makes sense to me to BLAME GOD for not instilling it in these boys.
Of course you learn it from the culture around you! Parents, teachers, religious leaders. And then you have to hang with a same-age cohort that's been taught the same as you have.
(Of course, one can reject what one has been taught. My Italian grandmother brought me to church on Sundays. I rejected Catholicism as weird (and priests as weirder), but I got hooked on stained glass, gothic architecture, candles, castle-like structures. More bizarrely, at around age 11 I got sucked in by the local Baptist church lady, went to Bible camp one summer, took Christs as my savior -- so I'm "Born Again" Christian -- and then rejected all that a year later. It's like trying on clothing to see if it fits. Or not.)
Believe it or not, I can feel for these boys. It's an age where things can get out of hand, especially where alcohol is involved. That's a reason, but not an excuse. They do deserve the punishment, and maybe even then some when they get out. Good luck finding gainful employment, dudes.