"If prosecutors had been able to charge Ravi with shiftiness and bad faith—if the criminal law exactly reflected common moral judgments about kindness and reliability—then to convict him would be easy. The long indictment against Ravi can be seen as a kind of regretful commentary about the absence of such statutes. Similarly, the enduring false belief that Ravi was responsible for outing Tyler Clementi, and for putting a sex tape on the Internet, can be seen as a collective effort to balance a terrible event with a terrible cause."posted by hermitosis at 10:43 AM on January 30 [2 favorites]
In assessing Ravi’s actions on September 19th, one could perhaps mount the argument that sexual contact was not expected, that he did not tape anything, that the transmission was extremely limited in time and reach, and that nobody saw sex or intimate body parts. On the twenty-first, however, Ravi tried to set up a viewing.I'd love to see the argument that a reasonable person could not expect sexual contact when a gay roommate asks to have the room to himself so that he can have private time with another man.
If prosecutors had been able to charge Ravi with shiftiness and bad faith—if the criminal law exactly reflected common moral judgments about kindness and reliability—then to convict him would be easy.When I was reading the article, I was struck by the fact that, although Ravi's words and actions were completely abhorrent, they weren't necessarily all that different from something you'd expect to hear from a 16-20 year old guy in similar curcumstances (or from Regina George; that movie is a terribly accurate portrayal of the ways that teenagers are horrible to each other). This needs to be taken into account during the trial, and subsequently addressed at a much higher level [and I'm heartened to see that New Jersey is making a good-faith effort to do just that].
“As a parent, what it says to me is that what you think you know, you don’t know,” Joseph Clementi said. “And that’s a hard thing, because we all think, I know what my kid’s up to. You don’t.”The parents of Dylan Klebold (one of the Columbine shooters) say something very similar about their own son - they knew he was getting into a bit of trouble around the neighborhood, but he had seen or was seeing a therapist. They had no idea he was depressed or suicidal.
“What we want to see is justice,” Joseph Clementi said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean the punishment has to be harsh.”Again, if I had any power, we'd start to recognize that jail isn't the only tool at our disposal.
I can't imagine his attorney advising refusing it unless there is a part of it not being reported, like being added permanently to a sex offender list or something.My guess would be that it's the immigration stuff. "An effort to protect him against deportation" doesn't sound like a guarantee, and I wonder if a criminal conviction could cause problems if he ever decides to apply for citizenship. He really doesn't sound like a kid who would be excited about the prospect of spending the rest of his life in India, where he hasn't lived since he was a toddler.
Such a solid waste all over, Tyler with his talent for music, Dharun with his apparent ease with technology.Oh, for fuck's sake. Tyler because he was a fucking human being.
“Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.”to all of his Facebook contacts.
"...one of my closest friends is gay..."), especially in light of the way he would later try to change history by whitewashing his Twitter feed (“Everyone ignore that last tweet. Stupid drafts.”).Jason Tam told me that he’d never known Ravi to have a girlfriend.I know the self-hating homophobe is an overused cliche, but couldn't that be what's going on here? Perhaps then
"In fact one of my closest friends is gay and he and I have a very open relationship."might be taken in a different context, i.e. Ravi coming to terms with his own, possibly confused orientation. Just a thought. Or he could simply be lying, as said friend doesn't seem to exist (or is a secret sex partner?)
In one exchange, he wrote, “I’m not really angry or sad idc.” The friend replied “What if he wants you, won’t that get awk.” Mr. Ravi answered, “Why would it be awk.”Perhaps a rare letdown of his public veil, but the homophobes I know (and I know plenty) would never say that, even in private.
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posted by Renoroc at 10:15 AM on January 30 [5 favorites]