Posted on 02/24/2012 1:04:25 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
The trial of a former Rutgers University student accused of cyberbullying his gay roommate -- Tyler Clementi, who later committed suicide -- began on a dramatic note Friday as the prosecutor called the defendant's actions "mean-spirited" and aimed at humiliating Clementi by exposing his secrets to others.
"He and his friend ... viewed live images of Tyler Clementi and his male guest engaging in sexual activity ... kissing with their shirts off," Julia McClure told a packed New Brunswick, N.J., courtroom as Dharun Ravi went on trial. "These acts were purposeful, they were mean-spirited ... malicious, and they were criminal."
But Ravi's defense lawyer, Steven Altman, told jurors in opening statements that contrary to some early reports, Ravi never shared images of Clementi and a male date, which were captured on a webcam set up in the dorm room that Ravi and Clementi shared.
~snip~
Clementi was an 18-year-old Rutgers freshman, and a gifted violinist, when he threw himself from the George Washington Bridge in September 2010. His death prompted a national conversation on cyberbulling, and it initially appeared that Clementi had been "outed" by video taken without his knowledge by Ravi.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Ravi had a point: some people and their actions NEED to be held up to ridicule. And the guy had apparently told his parents he was gay the previous year, so it’s not like these folks were spilling his secret.
It is impossible for someone to cause shame in a person. Shame is an innate quality of a person’s own moral compass.
Correct. And shame is what caused Clementi to take a dive off the GW.
I would place all of the blame for Clementi’s suicide on Clementi himself. And if there is any other blame to go around... Blame the adult male perv who preyed on a young stupid boy who played the violin.
There is no doubt in my mind that Clementi was an underaged victim of a pedophile. And after a few years of being raped, he finally lost it and offed himself.
But do we see THAT being broadcast anywhere?
Placemark for pingout.
Clementi posted on a gay website after he found the camera - there was no shame, no despair, not even any great distress in his posts. He took the rational step of informing the Resident Advisor; he knew the university was going to take action; he invited his boyfriend back after turning off Ravi’s computer and searching for other cameras - he seemed annoyed more than anything - but there wasn’t any “when will they ever leave us alone? when will they ever let us live?” No “I can’t stand it if they find out.”
http://gawker.com/5651659/is-this-webcam-spying-victim-tyler-clementis-last-call-for-help
Clementi could have been far, far more upset than he let on, but something else might have happened in between that time and his suicide - a rejection, or perhaps drinking himself into despair. I’ve never seen a toxicology report.
Of course Ravi isn’t being charged in the suicide, and he SHOULD be charged with invasion of privacy - what he did was appalling. But bias intimidation is nonsense - Clementi wasn’t intimidated. If Clementi had been with a girl, or by himself, spying on him with a webcam would have been just as bad, with no possible bias charge.
Universities should really offer “no sexiling” room mate match-ups, just like they offer “no substance use.”
“That will show THEM!” the short sighted suicide thinks.
And then the Prosecution carries out their last wish.
True.
The other day there was a thread about a Marine who killed himself. The question is... Should the military pay out survivor benefits to the families left behind after a soldier kills himself?
I suppose it depends upon the policy. Most policies do not pay out for suicide. There is a reason they used to say that if you died in battle as a soldier you “bought the farm” - none too sure about “buying the farm” through suicide.
I think that they are racist for attacking an American of South Asian ancestry.
I thought that I had read that the guy who suicided had been posting nude pictures and films prior to this incident. That he had recorded sex with his computer before.
The first three charges are spurious (although they might go to intent). The last is easily substantiated or refuted. If the acts were criminal, what statute did they violate?
Now prove it.
Funny was recently in a meeting with some interns and a couple were from India, recent arrivals. The topic turned to homosexuality and one of the interns had never heard of the concept and was shocked by it. And shocked that the American culture was so accepting of it. Someone took her aside aferward and told her the PC worldview.
Why was a straight student forced to dorm with a gay student? This whole situation could have been averted.
That seems to be what Ravi was up to. Then, lo and behold, Clementi was found to be doing something OTHER than what he'd told Ravi he would be doing (to wit: studying hard).
It was, after all, Ravi's room and there was this other dude taking off his clothes in there ~ but he's NOT PAYING THE RENT.
Clementi should have been honest with Ravi, but who really expects that out of homosexuals these days.
By now there's probably someone on the jury who realizes that it was Clementi bullying Ravi.
Source for these documents? I find it hard to believe - people would be catching their roommates in a state of undress, picking their nose, scratching their butt, masturbating...not to mention if the webcam is on sound, it’s going to pick up private conversations, potentially record them - against state law.
The school itself advised students to keep their cameras on when out of the room.
Now, assuming even the gay blades understand this, as does the prosecutor (since those exact website pages are now "dark", but still available on Google.com), why the court case?
Well, that's simple. By prosecuting Ravi the "grieving parents" can then tune in to the university's deeper pockets with a civil damages suit ~ OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE without proof of harm.
Ravi is probably going to walk ~ later, if not immediately.
I reported on that months ago about a week ~ maybe less ~ after the dude jumped off the bridge.
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