Rape is no laughing matter

Sorry, but I have to get this off my chest. Recently, a student at North Platte Community College was raped in her dorm room. It is definitely an unusual case, but many people have been quick to judge this girl as a promiscuous whore who "asked for it." I'm a little peeved.

First, here's the story.

Here's my response in the "TalkBack" section below:

People, have any of you who are quick to judge the victim taken a step back and actually read what you have typed?

Firstly, I highly doubt any of us were present at the time of the alleged attack. Unless any of us have been to court to listen to the case firsthand, it is highly unlikely we are seeing the complete story. Not that I am accusing the Bulletin of shoddy reporting, but one would be dangerously naïve--or even willfully ignorant--if they believed the media reported all the facts, with flawless accuracy, all the time. Furthermore, how many of us can say we have investigated the incident, interviewed witnesses, and seen all the evidence?

Second, how many of us know what it is like to be raped? How many of us know the mind-numbing fear--of injury, death, pregnancy, STDs, or anything else--that paralyzes the victim? This can easily cause one to not cry out for help or mention there is a condom in the dresser. At that point, the victim’s main goal may have simply been not to get pregnant, let alone killed! How many people know how much courage it takes to overcome that fear and actually report the crime? Neither I nor any of you likely know these things!

Lastly, some may say her actions in the “frank” discussion before the incident made the rape “consensual.” I do not know about you, but I have certainly had a number of “frank” discussions with my friends, and none of us view those as an “offer” or “justification” to take things further!

Definitely, this is “(n)ot the classic rape case.” However, I am guessing you will find that rapes are very rarely “classic.” Until the court—and/or jury—decide otherwise, we should do the honorable thing and give this young woman support in her troubling time. Furthermore, we should rise above this petty bickering and actually try to have some good come of this. Namely, we should be trying to find out why people are driven to rape others, what can be done to prevent it, and what can be done to support the victims of any crime. It certainly does not speak highly of society to be treating the victim the way some have been. It most certainly will lead to more and more rapes going by without justice ever being achieved.

Not afraid to sign my name,

Nate Saathoff
NPHS, class of 2001
Student, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
natefrog21@hotmail.com

I swear, people have no compassion for their fellow human beings anymore. Maybe they never did...