The news about the gang rape of a teenage girl in Richmond, CA, outside a homecoming dance while others watched and did nothing continues to get crazier.
A seventh suspect (the oldest so far at age 21) was arrested today, but even as details about the horrific crime continue to come out, one of the youngest accused rapists, who is 15, seems to have unlikely supporters: teenage girls on his MySpace page.
It's not clear if they think he's innocent, but they hope he's freed and that anyone who "snitched" on him gets theirs.
"F*uck the system. F*uck the snitchz. Free Cody," writes Vanessa.
What is going on here? Typical teen confusion? Are young girls oblivious to their own vulnerability? Are they repressing their knowledge of their vulnerability by supporting an accused rapist instead of a female rape survivor? Or do teen girls just learn to hate themselves and each other at an earlier age? Help me out — I am genuinely at a loss for words.
Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti
Calvin Klein
Casa
As a teen girl, I'm ashamed of the stupidity of my own kind. That's to say the least.
I don't think they're doing this because girls hate each other at a younger and younger age. (I hate plenty of other girls, I wouldn't do this.) I don't think it's because they don't understand their own vulnerability. (Because these are the types of girls who would cause all hell to break loose if they were raped - which they should, of course, it would just be very hypocritical.)
They are clearly just uneducated about this sort of thing. In the inner cities and in some more "urban schools" (for lack of a better term, what most people call "the ghetto") kids have a mob mentality. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and a lot of the time, they're in denial about their friends/boyfriends/girlfriends/whomever committing a crime this heinous.
I assure you that it's not a general teen girl thing. My friends and I would likely be the ones hoping the boys get locked up, certainly not telling him how much we love him.
1this is messed up. it reminds me of the teenage girls who were devoted to Chris Brown when he assaulted Rihanna and said she must have "asked for it" etc. despicable.
2I think that sex is so common for these young girls that sometimes they think well she's (the rape victim) making this a bigger deal than what it is. Some of these girls are doing things that probably in their mind they know it's wrong but still do it anyway even if they don't want to and they just don't tell anyone they didn't want to do it. I bet these guys manipulated this girl into thinking that if she did this they would like her more she'd be cool, but I don't know all the details of the rape so I don't know if she was assaulted as well, just a theory.
3I am a teenager and I hate to say it but stuff like this is said all the time. I know plenty of teenagers who have friends who commit crimes and no matter what the crime is they always say stuff like "Free (insert name)". They don't care if the person is guilty or not, all they care about is keeping their friend out of jail. Two years ago my brother went to jail. He committed the crime and pleaded guilty, still till this day his friends write all over his myspace "Free (my brothers name)". I also know of people who have KILLED people and their friends still say things like "f*ck the system", they don't think of the victims they only think of their friend.
4This happens all the time. ALL.THE.TIME
Think of any high profile rape case, especially where the guys were popular, and a lot of girls will rush to their defense
Robert Chambers, the "preppy killer", who raped and killed his on/off girlfriends had tons of fans and friends rush to his defense
In the 90s, when I was in high school, the next town over had the "Spur Posse" where some of the basketball players had a point system every time they "scored". In order to keep their numbers up, they would rape girls for the points. It was a huge scandal, and so many girls would say things like "these are the hot, popular guys. They don't need to rape girls".
Why do they respond this way? I have no idea. They obviously identify with the perps and not the victim. Maybe they all need to watch the Accused
5God, I wouldn't even want these kids in my soylent green.
6This entire story is tragic, and speaks wonders about today's youth. I'm shocked and sad at the events.
7this is disgusting!
8Those little girls are obviously clueless and immature. This is too sad but like somebody else said here, there are teenage girls out there who support "popular" guys. This is horrible.
9Sad but I don't think this is uncommon. I remember back in high school one of my classmates brutally murdered somebody (he got life in jail without parole even though he was only 15 or 16) and there were myspace pages supporting him and some of my friends were saying "he's just a kid" It sickens me that people can identify with a criminal so much and not let the legal system do its job.
10Uneducated people are sheep. And I don't mean educated in the formal way, but those who can think for themselves.
11These teenagers, their parents, anyone in the community supporting these RAPISTS are so ignorant and small-minded that it hurts. Disgusting.
12Studio16 [+] You should feel very proud of yourself you are very well spoken and intelligent. Ladies out there if you feel this is an important issue (the education of other young girls like yourselves) SPEAK OUT! Your voices are more powerful than you know. Educate yourselves and the ones you love and care for.
13Wow. Just WOW.
I can't even begin to list the many, many things that are so wrong with those girls.
I hope they grow up someday.
14These girls need therapy. Obviously something isn't right. Where are their parents? Where are their morals? This deeply saddens me.
15this story is disturbing and very tragic,like Sarahliz said these girls need serious therapy.
16wow. i agree with all the above posters. i worry for the future of women.
17It's stupidity. Out of all of the people in the world, at least some of the people making their opinions known are going to be stupid. I don't even consider it worth analyzing because I feel their opinion counts SO LITTLE because they are SO STUPID.
18ok so i ACTUALLY live in richmond i pass by that dam high school everyday and everyone i know has attended there. im actually surprised the story has gotten so bg because no one ever gives a crap when someone is killed not even local news. this story makes me sick and my friends know the rapists. these girls and other teens in my city are so freakin stupid. this whole city's mentallity is to not snitch and butt in if its not your problem seriously this is so wrong its unbelievable
19obviously none of these teenage buffoons thinks it can happen to them. it's the invincibility complex a lot of teens seem to have. they just don't give a damn unless it's them or someone they care about.
20Did anyone read the part about the boy being an accused rapist/suspect? There is always a possibility that he didn't have anything to do with it. "Innocent until proven guilty."
On the other hand, if he did, those girls are dumb. They clearly don't realize that it could happen to them, and I think they need to take a moment to realize the trauma the poor girl who was raped had to go through instead of worrying about whether their friend, who may or may not have partaken in the innocent, is freed.
21Beyond belief.
22omg!
23Completely awful that these girls just care about their friend being freed rather than what the friend may have done. Hoping the "snitch" gets his? Implying that they don't care if their friend did participate in a gang rape, the only crime here was that somebody told the cops that he did? That the act of snitching is more heinous a crime than committing gang rape?
These are "tough" girls (wannabe thugs) who aren't afraid of the law and police and don't care what happens because friends got to stick together and have each other's back. I find this kind of mentality/mob behavior sickening. I agree - they need help.
24Did these silly, ignorant girls decide to skip over the part where the poor girl they raped was laying half-dead under a bench by the time they got through with her?? This mentality scares me. It all boils down to this: right and wrong, and discerning the difference between the two, is not something with which these girls are familiar.
25can't believe this, what is wrong with some people.
26i think that in this situation, these girls aren't even thinking...they just like this young boy probably cuz he's cute and they're friends, and they are just rallying together for a cause, ANY CAUSE even if it's not in the right direction...and there's also the possibility that the poor victim is a girl no one liked or a girl deemed a slut or something....so these girls are just so insensitive and young that it doesn't occur to them that a victim is a victim and they're just rallying for the person who is their friend in this situation
27wow, this makes me sick to my stomach.. how can you not put yourself in the victims's shoes?!!!! Especially being a female... these girls need a huge reality check and some therapy, oh and maybe some good parents with morals. Good grief.
28Is it right for the media to be posting these minors' personal information for the mass public to view? Yes, I understand it's Myspace and all, but with the way everyone on here and other media sites are acting, I wouldn't be surprised if these kids got some unwanted attention.
Overall, I do agree this is pretty upsetting and those who stood by and watched this terrible act of hatred take place should be punished as well.
29
All the way around heartbreaking.
30I see this stuff all the time,it is the norm here where I live.
31It's one thing to understand our judicial system - that the State carries the burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
It's quite another to say "fcuk the system" and threaten snitches.
These girls are idiots, but I pity them more than I dislike them.
32I don't get this whole "snitch" thing. I'd be proud to be one personally. If you're doing something wrong you should be called out on it.
33I remember being in high school and sometimes my friends did stupid things that they got in trouble for and honestly I often felt the need to stand up for them. But their offenses never really hurt anyone and if they did I didn't consider that person my friend anymore. I couldn't imagine standing up for someone where there is proof of something like this. These girls need a backbone and they need to learn to speak up for what really matters.
If myspace is still around when I have kids I am definitely going to being aware of what they are posting on it and I don't care if they think it invades their privacy.
Keep in mind he is a suspect and these girls might think he is innocent. They might of been lied to by this suspect into thinking he was not involved. He might be guilty, he might be innocent.
Soooo... I wouldnt judge these girls because they might have no idea what happened. Or they might not care. Who knows. Not knowing what they are thinking/know makes it tough.
34Teenage girls are not a monolith!
35TO THE STUPID b*tchES WHO THINK THAT THESE ANIMALS DID NOTHING WRONG TO THAT GIRL OR SHE DESERVED IT HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO YOU THOSE ANIMALS THE ONLOOKERS THE AUTHORITY PEOPLE AT THE DANCE AND THE PARENTS OF THOSE EVIL DISGUSTING PIG ANIMALS WHO DID THIS TO THAT INNOCENT LITTLE GIRL DESERVE A LIFE SENTENCE IN PRISON AND SHOULD BE RAPED AND BEATEN EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES BUT THEY WILL BE PROTECTED SOMETHING THAT GIRL DID NOT GET YOU LITTLE GIRLS AND BOYS WHO THINK IT WAS OKAY ARE STUPID AND WOULD NOT THINK SO IF THAT HAPPENED TO YOU FOR 2 AND A HALF HOURS AND NO ONE DID ANYTHING
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