Oh Ohio, You Totally Need A Rape Culture Makeover
I’m about ready to start suggesting Ohio changes its state flag to that of some sort of pro-rape logo and it’s new state song can be “Rape Me” by Nirvana and is there a bird that is known for being a rapist? Because that should be the new state bird. Now, I know, Ohio is a perfectly fine state and that many wonderful people reside in Ohio but between Steubenville and new information regarding the Miami University “Top Ten Ways To Get Away With Rape” flyer I’m starting to think it must really suck to be a woman who lives in Ohio.
Back in October I reported on this case, where a flyer was taped to a bathroom wall at Ohio’s Miami University with ways someone can get away with rape, including:
”if your (sic) afraid the girl will identify you slit her throat”
and
“practice makes perfect, the more you rape the better you are at it!”
The former student who made the list has escaped criminal charges, despite once pleading guilty. From Cincinnati.com:
After the student pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a Butler County judge sealed records in the case, keeping the student’s name secret. The Butler County prosecutor at the time issued a news release that is still posted on his website saying the case concluded with ”the principal author/offender entering a plea of guilty to disorderly conduct. His acceptance of responsibility is noteworthy ”¦”
But after The Enquirer challenged the judge’s move to seal records in the case, the student was allowed to withdraw his plea and Prosecutor Michael Gmoser asked to drop the charges. That allowed Judge Rob Lyons to correct a mistake he made sealing the case the first time. He sealed it again, something he said he routinely does for students.
With the original disorderly conduct charge, the former student would have had to pay a fine of up to $100, but now that the student has withdrawn his guilty please and the case is once again sealed, he can go about his happy rape-tips-suggesting life without worrying about future employers finding out about his “Rape Tips For Dummies” publication. From USA Today:
Jack Greiner, who represents The Enquirer on First Amendment issues, noted that the student was prosecuted as an adult and the name should be public.
“It goes to the heart of the public’s right to know. The public is denied the right to observe the proceeding,” Greiner said.
“The judge’s after-the-fact effort to rewrite history by allowing this individual to withdraw his guilty plea for no reason other than to allow the judge to cover up his initial illegal sealing order is appalling. It is why people become cynical about the system,” Greiner said.
Name and shame, that’s what I say, especially because he was charged as an adult. It may have been a joke, but it was a stupid, tasteless joke that only benefited the vile rape culture on campus and made a whole lot of female students feel afraid and offended. Ohio has a higher-than-average rape prevelance and it feels like lately there is a whole lot of victim-blaming and rape-excusing going on. Not that this doesn’t happen everywhere, but if I lived in Ohio, I’d be pretty pissy right about now.
(Photo: spirit of america /shutterstock)
