Jasmyne Cannick hits another one out of the ballpark with her piece "Why No Outrage over Kelly?"
...Last time I checked, a dog was not human, but a 13-year-old girl was. And regardless as to whether or not she willingly engaged in the act, she was the minor and he was the adult. That's really the bottom line. And since most of us saw that video over the Internet or bought it on the street somewhere, we can't act like that wasn't R. Kelly. Unless you support this type of behavior, you should be as shocked and appalled as I am at the silence from our organizations on it.
Well we can’t be hollering one minute that Black women are queens and are to be respected and protected and then turnaround and cast a blind eye towards R. Kelly, but want to be quick to jump to the defense of people like Michael Vick and Barry Bonds. Well, you can’t if you expect to be taken seriously. Jasmyne Cannick
Of course they are going to turn a blind eye because in the eyes of many people (US), a Black girl isn't capable of being violated. Statutory rape apparently only applies to non Black girls. Because of course folks seem to conclude that if these Black girls weren't so FAST, they would not have been violated by a grown man/ older boy in the first place.- Despite the fact that in most states a girl under a certain age does not have the legal capacity to consent have sex with older men and boys.
You can't have "consensual sex" with an underage girl. She can't give consent. A 15 year old girl can't even consent to getting her ears pierced or getting a spray-on tan. Obama is a Harvard Law grad, I know they went over statutory rape in his criminal law course. Why is he trying to make out Genarlow Wilson to be Steve Urkle? Barak Obama got it wrong on this one.
Maybe somebody needs to prepare a PSA on that small little fact and while you are at it, somebody needs to pull folks aside and explain that in many states an intoxicated or drugged 17 year old can't have "consensual sex" either!
That is why I stayed out of the whole Genarlow Wilson debate. Almost NOBODY complaining about the sentence said a word about his VICTIMS ( Yes I said VICTIMS (plural)), young Black girls except in passing. (Watch a Video of a Discussion of a Description of the Incident with 17 Year Old)Imagine if Genarlow Wilson and his buddies were replaced by 5 or 6 White Lacrosse players? Would we still be marching then?
Folks just recount the facts of what happened in that hotel as if it was a collateral issue... Because of course, it was the girl's fault; the fact that they might have been intoxicated, one possibly gang raped, and turned into unwitting porn stars is just a small fact. I know I am going to catch hell for committing heresy and not following the party line on Genarlow Wilson, but that is the problem; when it comes to the sexual exploitation of young girls in the Black community, we turn a blind eye - the plight of the accused Black male defendant will always trump the plight of his alleged victims if they happen to be young Black girls. For those complaining about his continued incarceration, Mr. Wilson and his lawyers held the keys to his jail cell, but decided to roll the dice with a 10 year sentence instead of taking a deal which would have let him out for time served and a relatively clean record.
That is why people are still two stepping to R. Kelly. It just isn't possible for a young African American girl to be a victim. Plus some folks think dog fighting is more serious than rape.
What I want to know is who marched for these young Black girls? How betrayed must the 17 year old feel? What about her? Oh I forgot, to some folks she's just a young Black chick who should have known better. Was she going off to college? Did she play a sport? Was she on the Honor Roll? Did she have a bright future? How was her life changed by being video taped having sex acts performed on her by 5 to 6 boys? What about her future? Oh yeah, I forget.... She is just a young Black girl so her violation is a small matter to some folks.
The whole NAACP holding a press conference to defend a multimillionaire who has the financial resources to come to his own aid is laughable when you consider the cases of tons of indigent criminal defendants without Michael Vick's financial resources who the NAACP can't muster up the courage to send out a letter to help. Yeah, defending rich, spoiled athletes, that is a noble cause. Somewhere Thurgood Marshall is rolling over in his grave.
UPDATE (8/04): I haven't talked about this on this blog because quite frankly it depressed me too much to even articulate the HORROR in writing. Thanks Tracey for laying it out there.
Tracey said...
Gina,
Where is the outrage about black woman and her son that were robbed and beaten in their own West Palm Beach home? Making matters worse - she was gang-raped and her son was forced at gun-point to participate. He is just 10. This crime was committed by at least 10 young black males. The police have only captured 3 of them - ages 14-18. When reporters went to this housing project - FEMALE residents were unmoved by the crime. I have not seen this incident reported on not one black blog or spoken about by one black activist.
Why the HELL isn't the NAACP holding a press conference on behalf of this poor black woman instead of a RICH Black man who is more than capable of defending himself? Why aren't folks marching on this housing project demanding the identities of the remaining seven rapists?
UPDATE: We are not alone. Someone else is talking about the Florida rape case. More details here and they ask where in the world is Rev. Al? Folks to we need to have another SHARPTON WATCH up in this piece? Has Jesse Jackson offered this victim a college scholarship?
UPDATE (8/5): Wonderful Editorial on the Dunbar Village rape in West Palm Beach, FL and why we ALL need to worry about what happened there. This may very well be one of the most horrifying crimes I have ever heard of. Not just because of what was done, but who did it. When it was over, not a single resident of the housing complex lifted a finger to help this woman and her (now blinded) son. THEY HAD TO STUMBLE TO THE HOSPITAL ON THEIR OWN! Raze this "community" to the ground and salt the earth so that NOTHING will grow there. We can't allow pockets of hell like this to exist in this country.
