Like much of the country, I've followed the Steubenville, Ohio rape case with something horror and shame, but also, something like fascination. The whole plot sounds like something right out of a Lifetime movie, where high school is portrayed as a booze-soaked, indulgent time in which football players are smalltown heroes, and parties hosted by permissive (and neglectful) parents are standard fare. I'm not too many years out of high school, and I never attended one party where parents were willingly giving away alcohol (under the halfhearted 'I'd rather them do it in the house' platitude), nor did I ever witness someone being abused while under the influence. However, I do know it happened. I grew up in a small, mostly poor town remarkably like Steubenville, and I heard things that were similar to the Steubenville rape case. I think that Steubenville, unfortunately for the town, has now become a stage for which a horrifying portrayal of modern teenagers, and the whole world has taken their seats to weigh in on the drama.
Not much is known about the victim, except that she is 16 years old and was extraordinarily drunk during the event. She had no memory of it. In fact, the perpetrators (Trent Mays and Ma'Lik Richmond) were friends of hers, and it is quite likely that they'd gotten drunk together many times before. We don't know her name- we know her merely as the thin girl in shorts who was photographed and Instagrammed being carried by Trent and Ma'Lik (one holding her by the wrists and the other by the ankles, while she dangled helplessly between them) like a casualty of war being carried off the battlefield. A bystander took the photo, and casually labeled it "Sloppy." There was no secret that this was a huge joke to everyone involved. No one stopped them. No one called the police. No one attempted to help the teenage girl, who was so clearly in need of help. To everyone around, not just the boys themselves, this was a joke akin to writing the word 'penis' on someone's face while he's asleep. In fact, they were arrogant enough to brag about what they did- not just to each other and to the world via social media, but to the victim. When she awoke the next morning, she had no memory at all of her attack. It was Trent and Ma'Lik themselves who told her about it- they sent her pictures and videos they'd made of themselves raping her with their fingers, and joking about paying others to pee on her. They were bragging. It was a joke. And they had no clue what a catastrophic error they'd made.
I don't say all this about the rapists to excuse them. There is no excuse. At their age, they are quite old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, and they were unforgivably wrong. This girl will never live down this catastrophe. She will get therapy and be able to move on, hopefully, and have a successful life. But the internet doesn't forget. In 30 years, my children will be able to search for details on the Steubenville rape case and the same image I just googled will pop right up, along with the video and all the articles the internet has to offer. She will be remembered forever, and the tragedy of that night will haunt her for the rest of her life.
Much has been made over CNN's coverage of the rape case- many of the anchors describe Trent and Ma'Lik as 'clean cut, generally good kids' with 'promising futures,' rather than as arrogant rapists who felt entitled to do what they wanted with a girl who couldn't help herself. They are being painted as victims in this case too, for a crime they perpetuated themselves and with full knowledge of what they were doing. They are being called 'children,' and even Ma'Lik's father took the stand and admitted that he was deeply sorry, and that he felt that Ma'Lik's crime was his own fault, for not being a good father who was active in his son's life. They are being portrayed as victims of circumstance, not criminals.
I think it comes to Steubenville having to come to terms with the consequences of its own sins. This small, football-crazed town is a poor one, with little industry except the football team. They have cultivated a level of arrogance with their star football players, and have treated their star players as if they are above the law. The parenting is permissive and neglectful, the academics lacking, and the discipline irrelevent. These boys were pampered princes who didn't think they would ever have to face consequences for their actions- or really, that they had any consequences to face. They probably thought of 'rape' as something a stranger does when he jumps out of an alley and forcibly attacks a woman on the street. That they would be charged with rape for what they did was probably inconceivable. Now, they will go to juvenile prison, and be labeled sex offenders for the rest of their lives. Their lives are over, and the life of the victim has been irreputably damaged. But it goes beyond the boys and the girl. This is a whole town that has been turned on its head, and is now being judged for the sins they've committed.
I can't imagine what today will be like for students at Steubenville High School. Those who were at the party may face charges as accomplices to their crime. Those who weren't there probably have 100 questions to ask, and the teachers and students will likely have to find a way to deal with the problem. Overall, rape is not a personal problem, it is a cultural problem, and as Steubenville has shown us, culture begins (and ends) at home.
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