How fucking stupid is this? From the Charleston Gazette:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The rape of a 16-year-old girl by two football players in eastern Ohio– a case brought to light by social media — is being used by a federal prosecutor to educate athletes in West Virginia about being responsible when texting and making posts on the Internet.
Excuse me? Being responsible when texting and making posts on the Internet? How about being responsible when not raping someone?!
The rape case “definitely played a role in causing us to think, ‘Who do we need to focus upon?” Ihlenfeld told The Associated Press. “We thought, ‘Let’s start calling athletic directors and coaches to see if they’re interested. That investment of time, hopefully, will pay dividends down the road, not only because you hope the kids are going to stay out of trouble. Social media creates so many distractions off the field for coaches. Maybe we can help them avoid that situation, as well.”
Oh right – it’s not the rape that’s the problem, it’s the documenting of it on social media that’s the problem. If only attorneys and coaches can get together and teach jocks to do their raping in secret, then they’ll be helping those nice kids stay out of trouble.
Welcome to rape culture.
There’s an Ultra Violet petition you can sign.
You won’t believe this: In response to the Steubenville, Ohio teen rape case, West Virginia U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld is launching a program to teach high school athletes not to post evidence of rape online.
It’s called “Project Future,” and his goal is to teach teens how to avoid getting in trouble with the law by using cell phones, cameras, and social media “responsibly.” Instead of teaching teens not to rape, the U.S. Attorney wants to teach them not to get caught.
This is rape culture at work: The very people who are in charge of enforcing our laws look at a cruel, brutal attack on a young girl and think, “If only the teens hadn’t posted photographic evidence online.”
If we speak out now, we can make sure the U.S. Attorney scraps this horrible program and launches one that will actually help stop sexual assault. Can you sign the petition?
You can sign it and share it on social media.