Remember, I'm a homophobic h8-er! (Dharun Ravi sentencing)

[jmervyn]

Remember this guy? His name was Tyler Clementi.

Now, remember these two? The "geeky" one is Dharum Ravi and the "pretty" one is Molly Wei.


Guess what? Dharum Ravi was sentenced to just 30 days prison time, and he's going to appeal even that sentence (likely NSFW). Little Molly "I so hottie" Wei copped a plea and won't even face charges.

Now, I think that the supposed category of "hate crime" or "bias crime" is a vile canard. You don't consciously commit a crime against someone without meaning them harm to some degree. During the sentencing, Judge Glenn Berman basically claimed there was a difference between the two varieties of canard as his justification for giving an unrepentant Ravi essentially a slap on the wrist rather than the 5 to 10 that should have been his due.

Beyond that, those of you who have been here a while, or had the misfortune to review the Guild Wars OTF, are likely to remember me being a homophobe, a homophone, a wannabee-queer-basher, or myself a closeted queer rebelling against my suppressed desires. For my part, I consider homosexuality a sin, certainly not a horrible one but neither do I think it is negligible nor am I at all supportive of someone wanting me to play catcher.

BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THESE FILTHY LITTLE VERMIN SHOULD GET AWAY WITH THIS!

The equivocating, lying little feckers didn't actually manage to turn Clementi's pitiable sex life into an Internet showing. Why does that somehow excuse their behavior? Wei didn't actually take any of the actions, but rather was a willing accomplice in contributing her Mac to "the cause". Does that mean she bears no moral burden for this sad little queer killing himself because of what she and Ravi plotted? Hell, I know I was threatened for taping someone (my boss) without his knowledge (I told him I would) because of New York State privacy laws; can New Jersey be so much more lax?

I'm finding it kind of hard to imagine I'd shed a tear if either or both were violently gang-raped and shiv-ed in the neck after. Hate? Yup. So I'm a monster, on top of all the other bad names. Right?

[SaroDarksbane]

I can't believe he got 30 days for being, in the judge's words, "insensitive".

The new America, I guess.

[jmervyn]

I can't believe he got 30 days for being, in the judge's words, "insensitive".

The new America, I guess.

Whereas invasion of privacy, illegal surveillance, lying to the police, and conspiracy to destroy evidence all were apparently ignored...

[BobCox2]

All I'm saying is if I was *** getting allowed in the military would not be a personal priority.
The Married part either .

I would have been such a slut.
Overnight Internet Porn Star with a Privacy and *** rights issue lawsuit.

He had everything to live for.


Civil lawsuit to follow?

[jmervyn]

All I'm saying is if I was *** getting allowed in the military would not be a personal priority.
The Married part either .

I would have been such a slut.
Overnight Internet Porn Star with a Privacy and *** rights issue lawsuit.

He had everything to live for.

Pretty funny when I'm more "sensitive" than you are, Bob.

Civil lawsuit to follow?

God, I hope so. I want these two beggared, if not buggered. Wei claims that she left Rutgers, but there should be a perma-stain in their record.

I read a lot of commentary saying what I think Saro hinted at - that these two didn't actually commit a crime. I think that's horse-pucky, and the Judge apparently couldn't even dodge that one. Thing is, the Judge delivered the slap-o-the-wrist sentence with a condemnation of Ravi's apparent lack of remorse, as if the fact that Ravi's a heartless little gobshyte what what he deserved the 30 days for.

Worse yet, I read some little turd's allegation that the EEBILL Vast Right Wing Conspiracy really shared the blame for this because they're against queer marriage! She thought it was great to see widespread condemnation of Ravi and Wei until she read one commentator's "likes" and saw Glenn Beck and other conservatives. Really? I mean, REALLY? That's the quality of thought people are reduced to at this point? Rutgers certainly isn't known as some sort of seething hotbed of conservatism; I'd lay even money that Ravi and Wei are typical brain-dead leftist kidz - fact is that bullying is quite the bipartisan exercise, and smearing for homosexuality is just as much a specialty of the Left as it is of the "right".

[MixedVariety]

God, I hope so. I want these two beggared, if not buggered. Wei claims that she left Rutgers, but there should be a perma-stain in their record.

I read a lot of commentary saying what I think Saro hinted at - that these two didn't actually commit a crime.

The punishment should fit the crime. What was the crime, again? Spying? Webcamming? Being an A-hole? Lack of remorse? Honestly, I think 30 days is too much. No premeditation here, no violence other than self-inflicted by Clementi. The whole thing is sad, a tragedy, but sending a couple of dipsh** kids away for years, for basically being mean, would set a Draconian precedent.

[Felix]

Personally I can understand how you could easilly grow to resent a person who insists on having homosexual sex in the room you call home. So he gets thirty days for setting up a webcam and spying, the sentence presumably mild because he did it in his own home so to speak.

Now the guy kills himself. He must have felt he had been exposed in some cardinal sin, regardless of other peoples stance on that matter. Commiting suicide on premises like this, is not only emotionally ignorant, towards those that love him. It's also an attempt to have his spying roommate sentenced for murder when all he did was to spy in his own home.

As a Christian, I hope and believe Mr Clementi shall stand before the Good Lord, and the two of them will in depth dissect the event and get to the bottom of the emotional reasons behind the tragedy.

[krischan]

This is a typical case of emotions versus The Law. The first tells us "10 years jail for that bastard!" and the other tells us that the suicide was of the choosing of the victim while the crime actually was a violation of the victim's privacy... a rather severe violation.

It's not forbidden to be an arsehole, so that cannot serve as a reason for a punishment which exceeds what is intended as the punishment for what has been done.

[Felix]

This is a typical case of emotions versus The Law. The first tells us "10 years jail for that bastard!" and the other tells us that the suicide was of the choosing of the victim while the crime actually was a violation of the victim's privacy... a rather severe violation.

It's not forbidden to be an arsehole, so that cannot serve as a reason for a punishment which exceeds what is intended as the punishment for what has been done.

I think on the emotional level, we are always infuriated with trespasses that we feel could be directed at ourselves. For example being humiliated on youtube. Youtube is part or our life, we can relate and we are infuriated by the thought.

The understanding of being someone close, to a person that has commited suicide, is foreign to us. We can't relate and don't understand the hurt he has caused on people close to him.

It's like jealousy, if we think a girlfriend cheats on us, or it happens to a friend, we wish her the burning hells. If we open a newspaper and read about a murder, we are pretty much indifferent. One thing we can imagine happen to ourselves, the other one doesn't strike our imagination.

Being put on youtube makes us rage, cause that's too close to home.

[jmervyn]

The punishment should fit the crime. What was the crime, again? Spying? Webcamming? Being an A-hole? Lack of remorse?

There were 15 <actual> criminal charges, including multiples on invasion of privacy, something about invasion of privacy for purposes of intimidation, the bias/hate charges, witness tampering, and hindering prosecution. Ravi was found guilty of many of them.

Honestly, I think 30 days is too much. No premeditation here, no violence other than self-inflicted by Clementi.

Untrue, Ravi and Wei did this with malice aforethought. Read the (rather soft-ball) New York piece; Ravi and Wei set this up with the intent to all but sell popcorn.

The whole thing is sad, a tragedy, but sending a couple of dipsh** kids away for years, for basically being mean, would set a Draconian precedent.

You'll remember, I'm all about the dragons. We can't pillory Ravi or chain Wei nekkid in the town square, so the next best thing would be for them both to get the 5-10 years they deserve. Obviously, the Judge decided instead that they already learned their lesson... uke: Maybe he'll arrange for a false handshake and apology with Clementi's corpse next?

Personally I can understand how you could easilly grow to resent a person who insists on having homosexual sex in the room you call home.

I don't, and as already mentioned, I'm supposedly a queer-basher. Your dorm room is not your home in a multitude of legal concepts.

So he gets thirty days for setting up a webcam and spying, the sentence presumably mild because he did it in his own home so to speak.

More to the point, he set up surveillance from the room which Clementi had asked for temporary privacy in, and conspired with Wei to publicize the event for all viewers.

It's also an attempt to have his spying roommate sentenced for murder when all he did was to spy in his own home.

What? Clementi planned to get Ravi on murder?

As a Christian, I hope and believe Mr Clementi shall stand before the Good Lord, and the two of them will in depth dissect the event and get to the bottom of the emotional reasons behind the tragedy.

Thing is, neither Ravi nor Wei appear remotely Christian. We have a disease in our secular society wherein Christian principles are granted - nay, DEMANDED - for people who exhibit the most Satanic and malevolent motivations. Ravi and Wei are perfect examples of the sick little sociopaths which our higher learning facilities churn out.

Maybe they'll go on to be lawyers.

This is a typical case of emotions versus The Law. The first tells us "10 years jail for that bastard!" and the other tells us that the suicide was of the choosing of the victim while the crime actually was a violation of the victim's privacy... a rather severe violation.

Quite so, except all of you seem to be ignoring the obvious - it is a reverse of valid sentencing. Even with Wei taking the weasel route to run from justice, Ravi's guilty verdicts were supposed to get 5-10 years. The Judge decided to not impose them. We have perfectly decent kids getting tossed in jail for at least that long on charges of drug possession, or people who cheat on stock trades, so how can the judge consider this active and malicious criminal plot as just kid stuff?