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New York, 1:07 PM
Fri Dec 18
65 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of mariamariamaria mariamariamaria
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    And what of the shame brought to the families of the rapists. Surely they must be burning with the shame of their sons raping an 8 year old. Mustn't they?
     Reply
    mariamariamaria was starred mariamariamaria was unstarred
    Image of deeemer deeemer
    07/26/09

    @mariamariamaria: I am so beyond livid at the thought of such little children raping someone else. Gang raping. I mean, the mind boggles. Where were these boys PARENTS. How did they grow up to think this was okay?
     Reply
    foodandshoes promoted this comment deeemer was starred deeemer was unstarred
    Image of CherriSpryte CherriSpryte
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    Oh holy hell. If anyone knows of somewhere to donate to that would ensure this girl gets all the counseling and care she both needs and deserves, will you please post it?

    Also, if anyone's interested in women's rights in Liberia, there is a fantastic local NGO called ZODWOCA that is working, one community at a time, to spread the news that rape IS a crime now, and you can report it, and that as a woman, you have rights. So, there is good progress being made, albeit slowly. If you want more info, go here: http://allafrica.com/stories/200904271186.html
     Reply
    CherriSpryte was starred CherriSpryte was unstarred
    Image of PoisonPixie PoisonPixie
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    Someone go get that baby and put her in a loving home where they understand a baby girl cannot "lure", and doesn't have the capacity to be at fault for this. Also, what these boys must have witnessed in Liberia to make them into these little monsters breaks my heart. No children as young as they are should even have an idea about how to behave in this manner.
     Reply
    foodandshoes promoted this comment PoisonPixie was starred PoisonPixie was unstarred
    Image of TallyCola TallyCola
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    How is TELLING the caseworkers you don't want your child after she's been raped NOT neglect?

    Jesus Christ this makes me sad. At least the boys are all being charged and the 14 year old is being charged as an adult? I really hope this little girl finds someone who will take good care of her. :-(
     Reply
    femputer promoted this comment TallyCola was starred TallyCola was unstarred
    Image of TildeMarks TildeMarks
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    I live in Arizona and have watched this unfold all week. I'm glad Jez is covering the story.

    Seeing the statements of the family of this victim, at least those who have talked publicly, is sickening and heartbreaking. The sister (young herself) completely denied that this happened. "She's too little, she can't do that." I think the wording there is important. SHE can't do that. There was no mention of the boys, except from their families, and those statements were much the same.

    My take, from the beginning, has not been in line with Keita, at all.

    Either way, and no matter what the meaning is behind the actions of her family, it's a travesty that this poor girl was not met with understanding.
     Reply
    TildeMarks was starred TildeMarks was unstarred
    Image of dizzywulf dizzywulf
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    This is so awful. I'm just graduated and I still don't have a job yet but I really want to donate/help out in some way.
     Reply
    Sanfo promoted this comment dizzywulf was starred dizzywulf was unstarred
    Image of Nadra Nadra
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    Clearly, this is a heartbreaking story, but some of the comments here are dangerously closing in on racist, such as referring to the child's family as "ignorant" and "dumb" and reminding them to remember that they are in a "civilized" society, as if they are uncivilized. There's no disputing that shunning the little girl is horrific, but we have no idea what thought processes are running through the parents' head nor the emotional baggage that may have led them to shun their daughter. I have no problem with calling the parents neglectful or selfish, but when you use terms such as dumb and uncivilized, you're using a Western, white supremacist point of view to judge these parents.
    Also, why are we assuming that there are no laws against rape in Liberia? It may very well be illegal to rape a child or an adult there. The parents' shunning of the girl doesn't indicate that rape is legal in Liberia just that rape victims are a source of shame for families. One could very well argue the same thing occurs in the U.S. Rape is illegal but rape victims are persecuted.
     Reply
    Erode promoted this comment Nadra was starred Nadra was unstarred
    Image of Erode Erode
    07/25/09

    @Nadra: Please don't be so quick to play the racism card here. It's ridiculous that the second anyone says something critical of someone who happens to be a different race, suddenly they are racist.
    These parents are dumb and ignorant. Know why? Because their EIGHT YEAR OLD DAUGHTER was RAPED and instead of being there for her, they told the police they didn't want her. I don't care what country you are from, how you were raised, what race you are, how old you are, etc; if this is your response after an event like this, you are ignorant and dumb, regardless.
     Reply
    Erode was starred Erode was unstarred
    Image of My_Latest_Incarnation My_Latest_Incarnation
    07/25/09

    @Erode: Damn skippy! They are fucking ignorant and so is any culture, in any place that says an 8 year old or anyone should be ashamed for being raped. Fuck that noise!
     Reply
    Erode promoted this comment My_Latest_Incarnation was starred My_Latest_Incarnation was unstarred
    Image of somedisaster somedisaster
    07/25/09

    @Nadra: Thank you for saying this. What happened to the girl was heartbreaking and terrifying, but villifying an entire continent as "uncivilized" or "backwards" does nothing to help that. American children are raped every day and their American parents react with the same kind of ignorance and poor judgment. This isn't a problem with some other part of the world. It's a problem with rape culture, and our country has to deal with it, too.
     Reply
    Erode promoted this comment somedisaster was starred somedisaster was unstarred
    Image of Erode Erode
    07/25/09

    @somedisaster: And those American parents are just as ignorant and dumb as these parents. Just because they are of a different race doesn't mean pointing out their stupidity is racist.
     Reply
    Erode was starred Erode was unstarred
    Image of somedisaster somedisaster
    07/25/09

    @Erode: The words "uncivilized" and "backwards" have incredibly racist and problematic connotations, especially when used with regards to African countries. While I don't doubt that Jezzies would hesitate to point out the stupidity of American parents doing the same thing, I doubt they would use the same kind of words. Words like "uncivilized" and "backwards" have been used to justify the incredible horrors our country has perpetuated against other cultures, and I really wish people would think twice about using them and playing into the same racist narrative.
     Reply
    somedisaster was starred somedisaster was unstarred
    Image of Erode Erode
    07/25/09

    @somedisaster: I'd use those words in a heartbeat. If shaming your EIGHT YEAR OLD DAUGHTER and disowning her after she is GANG RAPED and having no qualms about doing so isn't backward and uncivilized, I don't know what is.
     Reply
    Edited by Erode at 07/25/09 10:42 PM Erode was starred Erode was unstarred
    Image of Dagneymedea Dagneymedea
    07/26/09

    @Erode: You are right!!!

    It IS uncivilized. Those stupid boys are uncivilized. And places that accept this sort of behavior as some kind of jacked up "cultural norm" are uncivilized.
     Reply
    That_little_attention_whore promoted this comment Dagneymedea was starred Dagneymedea was unstarred
    Image of whynotshesaid whynotshesaid
    07/26/09

    @Nadra: Actually, the AP story says that rape was only outlawed in Liberia in 2006.
     Reply
    whynotshesaid was starred whynotshesaid was unstarred
    Image of paintedangel paintedangel
    07/26/09

    @Erode: YES! I am so tired of idiots pulling the race card any time a person who is not white is justifiably condemned for their heinous actions. Stop making excuses for people simply because they are not white. I think "dumb" and "ignorant" are too kind to apply to these people...black, white purple or green.
     Reply
    paintedangel was starred paintedangel was unstarred
    Image of paintedangel paintedangel
    07/26/09

    @Dagneymedea: Any time excuses are made in the name of "cultural norm" its just another way of saying "oh you poor people just don't know better..." If that isn't racist nothing is.
     Reply
    That_little_attention_whore promoted this comment paintedangel was starred paintedangel was unstarred
    Image of incurable paranoiac incurable paranoiac
    07/26/09

    @somedisaster: you are out of your mind if you think western European/American attitudes towards rape aren't VASTLY different than those in most developing nations, most especially African developing nations. this isn't about race or cultural bias, and (i say this as a college-educated liberal) it's attitudes like yours that lead to idiots like bill o reilly, who claims that students are taught moral relativism in university, gaining a following- which fuels an anti-intellectualism in our culture.

    any culture where women are shamed and blamed after being attacked sexually IS BACKWARDS.these attitudes used to prevail over western cultures, too, but WE HAVE PROGRESSED out of them. this is a fact, not a racist statement.
     Reply
    incurable paranoiac was starred incurable paranoiac was unstarred
    Image of somedisaster somedisaster
    07/26/09

    @paintedangel: I refuse to have a conversation about racism with someone who uses the phrase "the race card" without irony.
     Reply
    foodandshoes promoted this comment somedisaster was starred somedisaster was unstarred
    Image of somedisaster somedisaster
    07/26/09

    @incurable paranoiac: I'm sorry, but you are delusional if you think that American women aren't shamed and blamed for their own rapes. I'm pretty sure within the three most recent pages of this website, you'll find at least one story about the public response to a woman bringing suit against a male athlete for rape. Almost all of the mainstream media coverage has been shaming and blaming.

    It's inaccurate and frankly laughable for Americans to characterize our country as progressive or different with regards to sexual assault, and it's horrible to use racist buzzwords to condemn non-Western countries for their attitudes towards rape. We're not, as a country, forwards thinking or progressive with regards to rape. And we're clearly not forwards thinking with regard to race, because throughout this conversation, people have been repeatedly, almost gleefully, using problematic words with hugely racist connotations and refusing to acknowledge these connotations. I would expect more from a supposedly feminist website.
     Reply
    somedisaster was starred somedisaster was unstarred
    Image of Erode Erode
    07/27/09

    @somedisaster: What I think is horrible is that a family is shunning their little girl because she was gang raped.
    What you fail to understand is that these reactions (and possibly even this story) have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with race. Nothing. The people were from Liberia, but I don't give two flying fucks about that; I even had to scroll up to even make sure I had the name right, since I didn't care enough about it to pay attention the first time around.
    What happened here is that a mother and a father (parents, REGARDLESS of color, country, etc) have decided to disown their daughter, not because of anything she did, but because four boys lured her away with the promise of gum and GANG RAPED her. She is hurt, abused, and raped at the age of 8 and these people who claim to be her parents are not only absent at a time when she needs them the most, but have decided they want nothing more to do with her. Now, if that's not the most backward fucking thing you've ever heard, please explain to me the right context to use that word.
     Reply
    Edited by Erode at 07/27/09 1:32 AM Erode was starred Erode was unstarred
    Image of Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith
    07/27/09

    @Nadra: Thank you. I read this as article as I was getting ready for work this morning, and was so incensed by some of things that were said, that I had to stew over it all day.
    Thank you for voicing what I was too worked up to say earlier.
     Reply
    Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith was starred Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith was unstarred
    Image of fetishizedarmadillo fetishizedarmadillo
    07/27/09

    @Erode: You wouldn't have used the word "backwards" if it had been a European-American family. And it's not nearly as simple as you're making it seem. This kind of outrage doesn't help anyone or any situation.
     Reply
    Erode promoted this comment fetishizedarmadillo was starred fetishizedarmadillo was unstarred
    Image of Erode Erode
    07/27/09

    @fetishizedarmadillo: I absolutely would have. And it's simple to me; the only way it's not simple is if people drag race into it. I read this article, saw that two parents had essentially abandoned their eight year old after she was raped, and decided that their actions were horrible, backward and inexcusable. What other people seemed to do was read the article, decide that because they were from another country, their actions can be horrible and inexcusable, but somehow stating the fact that they were also backward is somehow racist. It's bullshit, plain and simple. This is what happened:
    1: Girl was raped
    2: Parents abandoned her
    This is what should have happened:
    1: Girl was raped
    2: Parents SUPPORT HER and do everything in their power to make the situation better

    What they did is completely backwards to what they should have done. Their actions were inexcusable because their daughter needs them. They are ignorant because they don't seem to see a problem disowning their daughter because she was raped. Notice how none of that has to do with race?

    I don't care what country they are from, how they were raised, what the environment was like wherever they lived before, whether it's acceptable where they lived before, etc. I COULD NOT POSSIBLY CARE LESS ABOUT ANY OF THAT SHIT. What I do care about is that little girl. And what I see are two parents (who would still be considered parents regardless of race,color,creed,etc) had something horrible happen to their daughter and, instead of being there to support her, they disown her. That is backwards, no ifs, and's or but's about it.

    Just because they are a different race doesn't mean they can't be called on their bullshit. And implying there is underlying racism with anyone who calls their actions out for what they are isn't helping the situation, either.
     Reply
    Edited by Erode at 07/27/09 2:46 PM Erode was starred Erode was unstarred
    Image of incurable paranoiac incurable paranoiac
    07/28/09

    @somedisaster: i certainly did not say that america is particularly PROGRESSIVE in terms of its sexual politics or policies. it is, however, MORE PROGRESSIVE in both those arenas than any country in Africa that i can think of. And race has nothing to do with it. Rape happens all over the world (obviously), but it is practically ubiquitous in Liberia. And "backwards" is not a "racist buzzword" so much as an "accurate description" of the event we are speaking of.

    why on earth would anyone be "gleeful" about anything we're discussing here? are you implying that making the obvious connection between the little girl's cultural background and the way that her family is dealing with this tragedy is racist? are you implying that the fact that they are a liberian refugee family is irrelevant? talking about cultural differences is not a form of racism. and neither is saying that I thank god every day that my queer, loudmouthed, sexually active and unashamed self was born into a developed nation. for all our culture's flaws, women are far safer in this country than they are in most of the rest of the world. fact.
     Reply
    Edited by incurable paranoiac at 07/28/09 4:01 PM incurable paranoiac was starred incurable paranoiac was unstarred
    Image of whynotshesaid whynotshesaid
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    This story horrified me when I first read about it earlier this week. The fact that she was a little girl gang-raped by other kids was so disturbing, but then to hear that her family kicked her out...it's too much.

    That family thinks they have been shamed because of what happened to their little girl? I am sure it is nothing compared to the shame they are feeling now.
     Reply
    whynotshesaid was starred whynotshesaid was unstarred
    Image of My_Latest_Incarnation My_Latest_Incarnation
    07/25/09

    @whynotshesaid: What's worse is they were completely supportive of the boys who did it. All week we've been listening to them rant on air about how awful she is for being raped and getting the boys arrested.
     Reply
    femputer promoted this comment My_Latest_Incarnation was starred My_Latest_Incarnation was unstarred
    Image of MySymphony MySymphony
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    Maybe I'm missing something here but if she was gang-raped while are the boys only being charged with sexual assault? Why not rape?
     Reply
    femputer promoted this comment MySymphony was starred MySymphony was unstarred
    Image of My_Latest_Incarnation My_Latest_Incarnation
    07/25/09

    @MySymphony: That is rape. That's what they call it now. They don't call it rape because it biases juries against the defendant so they can't get a fair trial. In some cases they don't even call it sexual assault. It allows rapists a fair trial. *Yeah, I know....*
     Reply
    femputer promoted this comment My_Latest_Incarnation was starred My_Latest_Incarnation was unstarred
    Image of raspberrykisses raspberrykisses
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    Just the fact that an 8 y.o. girl got gang raped made me cry while reading this. The parents shunning her because of this crime just makes me sick and angered. My nieces just turned 9, and if something like this ever happened I would be going on a Rambo like rampage on these boys. I would also try to get as much help for my girls. I would love to write a letter to this young girl and tell her that she has my complete support and if she needs some love I am here for her. I'm a go for adopting her.
     Reply
    brendahamLincoln promoted this comment raspberrykisses was starred raspberrykisses was unstarred
    Image of Highsmith Highsmith
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    Wow. If I were that little girl's mother, I'd go medieval on the asses of those 4 boys. MEDIEVAL in a HARDCORE sorta way.
     Reply
    brendahamLincoln promoted this comment Highsmith was starred Highsmith was unstarred
    Image of Pandorasvoicebox Pandorasvoicebox
    07/25/09

    @Highsmith: Well, the family does appear to have gone medieval in their reaction to the rape, but in the less cool sorta way.
     Reply
    brendahamLincoln promoted this comment Edited by Pandorasvoicebox at 07/25/09 7:09 PM Pandorasvoicebox was starred Pandorasvoicebox was unstarred
    Image of envirodesigner envirodesigner
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    So instead of the girl bringing shame into the family, the parents did it themselves.

    Oh Karma.

    And I agree, the parents should not get their daughter back. They should learn from their mistakes and all people should get counseling.
     Reply
    foodandshoes promoted this comment envirodesigner was starred envirodesigner was unstarred
    Image of SarupraniHolodyne SarupraniHolodyne
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    That is not what people mean when they talk about applying foreign law. They're talking about it to ratchet up our standards of decency ("150 countries bar the death penalty for juveniles") not down ("Other countries don't care about rape; why should we.")
     Reply
    That_little_attention_whore promoted this comment Trulymadlyme approved this comment SarupraniHolodyne was starred SarupraniHolodyne was unstarred
    Image of lola82 lola82
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    Ugh. Rape wasn't a crime in Liberia until 2006.

    The child should not be returned to her family - even if the family is shamed into asking for her back. Seems likely that if she goes back they will never treat her the same, they will probably make it clear that they view her as "damaged" or marked by shame. Shame on them!

    http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/24/liberia.arizona.juvenile.assault/
     Reply
    Sanfo promoted this comment lola82 was starred lola82 was unstarred
    Image of CraftyBroad CraftyBroad
    07/25/09

    @lola82: Good grief! I was going to say you've got to be kidding me, but obviously you aren't. This shit is not OK anywhere, be it AZ, Liberia, Russia, China or anyplace else on this god forsaken globe. Damn it but this shit makes me ranty!
     Reply
    Sanfo promoted this comment CraftyBroad was starred CraftyBroad was unstarred
    Image of Pandorasvoicebox Pandorasvoicebox
    07/25/09

    In reply to Eight Year Old Girl Shunned By Her Family After She Is Raped By Several Young Boys
    Anyone else weirded out by the BBC headline calling her "US Rape Girl"?
     Reply
    Sanfo promoted this comment Pandorasvoicebox was starred Pandorasvoicebox was unstarred
    Image of RainbowBrite RainbowBrite
    07/26/09

    @Pandorasvoicebox: Ugh, yes, incredibly weirded out, disturbed, sickened and pissed. Unfortunately this isn't the first time I've seen a rape survivor be called "rape girl" or something else disgusting. I guess I'd have thought the BBC would have been above that.
     Reply
    RainbowBrite was starred RainbowBrite was unstarred
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