The Richmond High School gang-rape--Like many others, I'm disgusted that nobody called for help.

[raccoon]

And yet, in a way, I'm not surprised.

Before you hit that unrec button, please read to the end of this post.

In high school especially, everybody hates a "snitch." The majority of h.s. students would never "rat out" their friends/classmates.

I don't believe this is something new. I believe if the incident had occurred 50,60 years ago, the vast majority of students would not go for help or report the incident.

Such is the power of the pack mentality. No, I don't approve of it. I don't like it. I would've hoped at least one person would have had the courage to go against the pack and call for help. Even if they felt they had to do it in secret, so they wouldn't be harassed and labeled "snitch."

[Captain Hilts]

1. Yes. With all those cellular phones...nt

[Blue_Tires]

2. you may have a point....

this is from the UConn incident:

STORRS — A University of Connecticut student who police say made threatening Internet comments directed at witnesses of the fatal stabbing of football player Jasper T. “Jazz” Howard is facing several charges related to the postings.

The man, Christopher Mutchler, 18, of Wethersfield, was charged Thursday with committing an act of terrorism, first-degree hindering prosecution, interfering with police, second-degree breach of peace, and second-degree threatening, UConn police said.


Police say they were alerted to two online postings Oct. 20. One of the postings was on a blog created through the ESPN U Sports Network dedicated to news about Howard’s murder. The second was on the Facebook wall of a group titled “RIP Jasper Howard.”

“STOP the snitching and post the names of anyone you know who gave information to the cops,” read one profanity-laced posting on the ESPN site. “jazz didnt deserve do die the person who killed him didnt intend to kill HIM anyone who snitched should face the social consequences.”


http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2009/10/30/crime_and_courts/doc4aeaf4d08df2b241549770.txt

[Jennicut]

9. Terrible. The person still killed Howard even if they "didn't mean to."

Too late for I didn't mean to do it. I am from CT and this death was very shocking and sad. I watched the football team on tv the other day have a moment of silence for their teammate, I was definitely close to crying for those college kids.

[derby378]

3. What kills me is that the adults in charge didn't do a damn thing, either

Me, if I happened on something like that with 12 guys standing around and cheering, I'd want to be armed so that they don't turn on me and put me in a shallow grave in order to shut my mouth. But this was a school campus, where guns are forbidden and the administrators are supposed to run a tight ship.

They failed that poor girl.

[Eric J in MN]

4. It wasn't on a school campus. It was blocks away.

As far as we know, there weren't any school officials who knew about the rape before the police were called.

[Mz Pip]

7. That answers my question

I used to work at Richmond High and it had pretty tight security. THere was always security around and the Richmond Police had a visible presence. For an activity like a Homecoming Dance there would have been faculty, staff, chaperones, security all over the place. When the report said "outside the school," I read it to be on school property. However off campus is another thing entirely. Heavy gang presence in that area and it's been that way for a long time.

[whathehell]

12. I'm not sure it was that far away....The school had ordered lights and monitors

for the area, but they hadn't yet come in. That sounds like it was on the campus.

[Eric J in MN]

13. Update: "campus courtyard"

===================
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_13662965?source=rss


Police say the victim left the dance about 9:30 p.m. and walked north on 23rd Street, intending to phone her father for a ride home. But before she did, a classmate called to her from behind a chain-link fence that separates a campus courtyard from the street.

"Her friend called to her, then hopped the fence and escorted her" up Emeric Avenue to a low gate that led into a campus parking lot, Lt. Mark Gagan said.

They joined a group of teens and young adults hanging out and drinking in the poorly lit courtyard.

=====================================

[whathehell]

15. Update: It says "campus parking lot"

"Her friend called to her, then hopped the fence and escorted her" up Emeric Avenue to a low gate that led into a campus parking lot, Lt. Mark Gagan said".

Where does it stipulate "blocks"..It could have been one or less.:shrug:

[Eric J in MN]

16. I was correcting myself with the update. NT

NT

[derby378]

17. Saw the other responses, too...

This was a horrid situation all around, and I hope that girl's going to recover. She needs all the help she can get.

[lukasahero]

5. I still can't believe not a single one of them did anything

I was a shrimp in high school and I routinely broke up fights between students. Was I well-liked? Who cares? I sure as hell didn't and if we were raising our kids to know right from wrong, we'd be teaching them that fucking names aren't going to hurt them and their precious egos can withstand that blow.

I am disgusted that not one of those kids or adults had the moral fortitude to stand up and do what was right.

They're afraid of being called a snitch? How scared should they be that the next time something like this happens it's going to be happening to them and no one is going to do a damn thing about it.

[petronius]

6. I suspect you're right about the snitch thing - the 'no snitching' mantra gets

more pop culture exposure these days, but it was the code of the schoolyard back when I was a kid as well (although I doubt/hope any of us would have extended it to rape).

What I think has changed is that it's possible some passersby who didn't look closely may have thought it was consensual - I doubt anyone would have made that assumption in decades past...

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. I had a first hand experience with this non snitching mentality a few weeks ago

I was assaulted by an 8th grader in class. I went down to the office and was filling out paperwork to report the assault. One of my students, also in 8th grade, had followed me and was very concerned and asked if she could help. I said yes and asked her what was the last name of the boy who assaulted me. She said "Now, you know I can't snitch". I said well I can just get up and walk over to the file and look it up or you can tell me. She leaned over and whispered his last name to me.

Blew me away.

[LeftinOH]

10. There are surely kids who wouldn't have hesitated to do something

(call for help -or even intervene), but those kids were not part of this particular 'clique'. A crowd of like-minded 'follower' types usually doesn't have any independent thinkers. Most of us would like to think we'd have done something to help (when we were that age), and we probably would have. However- most of us probably weren't hanging around with *that* particular crowd. I remember *that* crowd, and I stayed faaaaar away from them.

[whathehell]

11. I'm not sure fear of "snitching" is the main reason...

The cops said that there were about twenty people watching....Sounds less like "fear" to me than enjoyment of the "show".

[Vinnie From Indy]

14. I believe that there was a snitch in this case

I think I read that the attack was reported by another student while it was still in progress.

[Odin2005]

18. Myabe it's my Asperger's, but I have NEVER, ever understood such sheepish BS.

The sad thing is that this BS is ENCOURAGED by adults, people that try to do the right thing get in trouble for being "tattle-tales".

I don't get it, I really don't.