Steubenville Verdict is in...

[Scotsgit]

Maybe it's just me being oblivious, but what's going on these days?  There seems to be a LOT more rape apology and blaming the victim mentality than their used to be.  For a while it seemed to be going the right way, now all of a sudden it seems to me that suddenly a bunch of nuts are jumping out of the ether defending, supporting, and joking about rape.

Other reasons:
1. Trolls
2. With easy access to the internet/social media prevalence, it is easy for assholes to spread their message when in the past, they couldn't.
3. Misogyny
4. Refusal to blame a member of a group one is also a member of, no matter how general
5. Obsession with "masculinity"

6.  The inane belief, propagated by the media, that sports types can do no wrong.

[MadCatTLX]

I guess you all do have a lot of points.  Especially the fact that social media and the internet has made it easier for the assholes to get all the grease they want for their squeaky wheels.

It was getting better before the social media boom.

The only difference between now and then is that now it's a lot easier to hear the stupid.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

CNN, Fox News and MSNBC aired the underage victim's name.

[TheUnknown]

CNN, Fox News and MSNBC aired the underage victim's name.

And she's apparently getting death threats now, or at least that's what I'm hearing on various tumblr posts.

[Art Vandelay]

I thought it was bad enough that the rape happened, but to see people actually defending the rapists... arg! 

To quote AM: "Hate. Let me tell you how much I've come to hate you since I began to live. There are 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in wafer thin layers that fill my complex. If the word 'hate' was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of miles it would not equal one one-billionth of the hate I feel for humans at this micro-instant. For you. Hate. Hate."

Don't quote AM unless you plan on turning these rape sympathizers into shapeless, faceless, immortal gelatinous blobs.

Not until they start killing each other just to escape your torment.

[Flying Mint Bunny!]

CNN, Fox News and MSNBC aired the underage victim's name.

And she's apparently getting death threats now, or at least that's what I'm hearing on various tumblr posts.

WTF! Isn't it illegal to broadcast rape victims names?

I'm assuming they wouldn't have had her permission.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

CNN, Fox News and MSNBC aired the underage victim's name.

And she's apparently getting death threats now, or at least that's what I'm hearing on various tumblr posts.

WTF! Isn't it illegal to broadcast rape victims names?

I'm assuming they wouldn't have had her permission.

No permission was involved; the victim was addressed by name in court and three major news networks failed to censor it.

[Osama bin Bambi]

CNN, Fox News and MSNBC aired the underage victim's name.

And she's apparently getting death threats now, or at least that's what I'm hearing on various tumblr posts.

WTF! Isn't it illegal to broadcast rape victims names?

I'm assuming they wouldn't have had her permission.

No permission was involved; the victim was addressed by name in court and three major news networks failed to censor it.

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to put any minor's name in the public media without the parents' or guardians' express consent.

Media, you dun goofed this time, and hard.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

You know what? All the media outlets sucked here.

[Shane for Wax]

It is indeed against the law to release minors' names like this. Great. Good job, news.

[nickiknack]

CNN, Fox News and MSNBC aired the underage victim's name.

Oh look, it's another game of "How Low Can We Go", by the media.

[Scotsgit]

CNN, Fox News and MSNBC aired the underage victim's name.

Oh look, it's another game of "How Low Can We Go", by the media.

Bloody low, if the phone-hacking scandal is any judge.

[DiscoBerry]

She was unconscious!

And this was just one of so many posts with a similar message. What the hell is wrong with these people?

I seriously want to know how this fucking dude is going to say his post was taken out of context.  That seems to be the universal excuse for almost anything horrible said in public.  Seriously, someone try...like this is the FOX News game, I am too angry to try.

[Osama bin Bambi]

I bet they'll cover their ass with "Free speech!" when the family threatens to sue.

[TheUnknown]

I saw this article on my tumblr dash, which talks about this case and theorizes why shit like this happens.

The comments at the bottom (as of writing this) start to go into "hey, quit alienating us guys" territory, but this one struck a real sour note with me:

You know it's very sad when you, Shadow Knight, are way more insightful and an interesting and productive read than the article writer's comment.

Just for the record, I'm doing my best.
My sister was raped years ago and literally the only thing that got her out of it was to tell her to get out of it, that it wasn't the horrible thing society told her it was, that she was way more okay than society told her to be after such a you-won't-ever-recover event.
In the end, she wasn't physically traumatized, and the only way to get through it is to believe, to know, that "it wasn't that bad", not as bad as losing a limb, or a sense, certainly not as bad as society told her to feel.

To me, this smacks of, "rape is only bad because the victim makes it bad, and if they just stop making a big deal out of it, they'll get over it and move on without any problems."  Hey rape victims, what happened to you wasn't that horrible!  Don't be a victim of society, which tells you this is a horrible crime!  Just buck up and get over it, and if you can't, then it's you're problem!  If you're not physically traumatized, than it doesn't count!  All that mental and emotional trauma is in your head, so it's not real!  Rape isn't a big deal, guys!  Rape isn't a big deal!