Wednesday, October 29, 2014

My Response to: "Why Didn't Anyone Do Something?" by J.T. Cardwell

If you haven't check out the original entry "Why Didn't Anyone Do Something?" by J.T. Cardwell.
"Why didn't anyone do something to stop him?" my best friend looked directly at me and asked with overt disgust and incredulity as we sat on the couch in our living room. The expression in her face and voice was a plea for the justice that was missing from the story. Her eyes bored through mine. I began to open my mouth to answer but ... I couldn't.
Honestly I don't think I can answer this either.  People are evil and it makes me sick sometimes how evil they can be.  I didn't really follow the story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case, but the perversion of people never ceases to amaze me.  I'd like to think that if I were put in the same situation as the many many bystanders, I would have stepped in and stopped the tragedy.  I know, I have a completely different perspective than those involved.  I've been trained to see things like that and intervene.  The people involved (the bystanders) were probably all kids.  They probably knew nothing about how to step up and intervene when they saw the perpetrators taking advantage of the victim.

I think that is actually worse, if one can really put a measurement on such evil, that is the reaction to the bystanders had.  Would you know what to do if you were a sixteen-year-old kid at a party and saw a young woman being carried around partially clothed and passed out?  I would hope that my children will never be in a situation like this, but if they do ever see anything like this I want them to step up and stop the violence.  The reactions are again, even worse.  Many in the community commented on the pictures of the incident with evil spite and claims of her impropriety as if she somehow wanted this to happen?!  Really people?  I can kind of forgive young kids for not intervening, but what about the adult reactions later?!  These are supposed to be adults, they should know better. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steubenville_High_School_rape_case
Looking at my best friend's disgusted and incredulous expression, I recognized the real emotion she felt: betrayal. And I realized I didn't have an answer for her.
"Betrayal" is right!  Betrayal of an entire town of this poor young woman.  Especially in their "defense" of the perpetrators.  I think the most disgusting fact in the whole situation came from the media coverage:


If anything, the "punishment" did not fit the crime!  These boys knew what they were doing.  They knew that it was wrong.  They should have been punished to the fullest extent of the law!  Their lives were rightfully ruined!  They ruined the life of an innocent, they deserve to be punished.
I didn't know why coaches and school administrators were impeding the investigation and attempting to conceal information.
I didn't know that either!  Those administrators and coaches should also be punished to the fullest extent possible.  There is some truth to the idea that an immature brain cannot make decisions on the same level as an adult, but what were they thinking?!  These are adults.  They should be thinking through their decisions.  How could they impede the investigation?  Did they think they wouldn't get caught?  Did they think they were somehow doing the right thing?  What kind of world are we living in where school leaders would stand up to illegally defend rapists rather than a victim.  One could almost forgive them if they had broken the law to defend the victim.
Empathetic enough to open my eyes wide enough to finally recognize the complexity of the truth: rape culture isn't just an over-sensitive exaggeration college girls claim exists to get attention, as is often asserted. No. It was as American as apple pie. And it was now Steubenville, Ohio's legacy.
It's tough, but we need to find a balance between seeing a rape culture in the entire US, and acknowledging there's a problem and seeking ways to address it.  We will never eradicate this disease completely, but there are definitely steps we can take to help.  There needs to be a balance between maintaining gender identity and gender roles, while promoting gender equality and educating about rape and the evils thereof.  http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_culture

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Reblog: Informal Logic 101: How to Think and Argue Better, Part 9

Part 9: Apples, Oranges, and Character Assassination
“When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.”  — Socrates
Only two fallacies on the docket today, but they are biggies!

Category mistake/error

I’m sure you have heard the term, “It’s apples and oranges.” Maybe you have used it, yourself. When Person A says this to Person B, it might be the case that Person B has made an explicit comparison between two things, in which case Person A believes that the things in question are not sufficiently alike to warrant Person B’s comparison in support of his case. A timely example of this might go as follows:

“Person A: How can you be against same-sex marriage? It’s like being against mixed-race marriages, which everyone knows was bigoted and unconstitutional. Miscegenation laws were repealed and so should bans on same-sex marriage. 
Person B: That reasoning doesn’t fly. It’s apples and oranges. 
Person A: Why do you say that? 
Person B: First, there are no federal bans against same-sex marriage in the U.S.; there just isn’t any legal provision for it. But, more to the point, same-sex marriage and interracial marriage have extremely little in common. There is no difference between a black and a white human being (or any other color), because skin color is biologically and morally trivial. There is an enormous difference, however, between a man and a woman. Race or ethnicity has no bearing on marriage. Sex, on the other hand, is fundamental to marriage, in regards to both reproduction and child-rearing, which constitute the primary, societal purpose for marriage.”

Another way one can commit a “category mistake” fallacy is by implicitly assuming — as evidenced in one or more statements — that a thing belongs to a particular group with certain characteristics, when in fact the thing in question does not belong to said group — at least, not in the proper context (e.g., within the relevant worldview or under the specific set of circumstances being discussed). Therefore, it should not be expected to have those characteristics, and the argument fails.


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Again, sorry for the lack of content.  I wasn't able to take classes this semester so I might be able to take some time to write more.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Guest Post: "Why Didn't Anyone Do Something?" by J.T. Cardwell

"Why didn't anyone do something?"

From Facebook: 15 October 2014 at 09:27

"Why didn't anyone do something to stop him?" my best friend looked directly at me and asked with overt disgust and incredulity as we sat on the couch in our living room. The expression in her face and voice was a plea for the justice that was missing from the story. Her eyes bored through mine. I began to open my mouth to answer but ... I couldn't. 
My friend was referring to the news story from Steubenville, Ohio where a female teen was carried around unconscious and at times naked or exposed, as if a sex doll, by another student throughout the night ... to multiple house-parties ... with dozens of witnesses. Despite being at parties or in a car surrounded by people, some of whom knew both her and the perpetrators, no one did anything to stop the ongoing victimization. Worse: several people photographed or recorded her being penetrated (raped) and posted pictures with "rapey" and lewd comments about the unconscious girl on social media. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steubenville_High_School_rape_case

Looking at my best friend's disgusted and incredulous expression, I recognized the real emotion she felt: betrayal. And I realized I didn't have an answer for her.


I didn't know how it was possible that those things happened in such a public manner and no one present did anything to stop it.


I didn't know how the community could defend the teen perpetrators, pointing to their bright future as football players, identifying them as the victims, and dismissing their behavior as simply 'boys being boys.' (Three CNN correspondents also expressed similar opinions)





I didn't know how the community could blame the girl for what happened to her while she was unconscious.



I didn't know why coaches and school administrators were impeding the investigation and attempting to conceal information.



I didn't know that my ignorance of these answers and my inability to explain my best friend's empathetic feelings of betrayal would cause me to be ... curious.

Sincerely and passionately and empathetically curious.


Sincere enough to stop, question, and re-evaluate the things I thought I knew.


Empathetic enough to open my eyes wide enough to finally recognize the complexity of the truth: rape culture isn't just an over-sensitive exaggeration college girls claim exists to get attention, as is often asserted. No. It was as American as apple pie. And it was now Steubenville, Ohio's legacy.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_culture


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Once again I must apologize for my lack of content.  I've hit a serious wall of writer's block.  I'll attempt a response to this soon.  Thanks for reading.