Woman raped at occupy Philadelphia

[Zebedeo]

Woman raped

;( :grr:

[msongs]

1. and how many women were raped in the rest of Philadelphia this week? nt

[undeterred]

3. Why are you asking that?

To diminish what happened at the protest?

[redqueen]

6. Of course not... it just seems odd, all the focus on these particular rapes.

Not to take anything at all away from these women... but the media pretty much ignores college rapes... even the very few that women dare to report.

[Cali_Democrat]

7. True

The media is focusing on the rapes @ occupy in order to discredit the movement and brand the protesters as a bunch of thugs.

[michreject]

22. I wouldn't think that the make up of people at occupy

wouldn't be any different that the general population.

So why would anyone be surprised at any shit happening? It shouldn't be news out of the ordinary.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

25. Jesus....

What a sad, sad statement.

[redqueen]

26. I don't understand...

it just seems realistic to me. The reality is sad of course, but it's hardly surprising.

[seabeyond]

28. sad, yes. so lets look into that. realistic to me, too. nt

[grasswire]

39. the news of needles being found at occupy camps...

...has the same statistical probability as in the general population too, no doubt, but that news is used to discredit the movement.

[michreject]

47. Probably so

But it shouldn't be alarming and make headlines.

[TheWraith]

15. Yep.

The other day I had someone flat out say that a teenage girl who filed a complaint about being raped at an OWS protest was lying and a paid shill "to discredit the movement" because she either couldn't or wouldn't press charges.

[seabeyond]

29. exactly. there was a disgusting thread on it with ONE man telling a rape victim what she should do

in order to be believed.

[MH1]

4. None near City Hall that were reported, other than this one.

Sure in Kensington and the like there were probably a few. But in Center City it would be newsworthy even if it wasn't 'Occupy'.

[seabeyond]

5. it is not saying anything about OWS. in these crowds, shit is going to happen.

people need to do the best they can, ensuring safety, ect...

but it is not a reflection on OWS

[NYC_SKP]

9. Whatever the number that is, it is precisely that number too many.

And for this occupy, it's one too many.

FWIW, the assailant was from out of town, has a record of mischief.

[seabeyond]

12. assailant was from out of town, has a record of mischief

yup

[Obamanaut]

44. Mischief? nt

[seabeyond]

48. i had read robberies... but just copied and pasted poster i replies to. nt

[bluestate10]

11. That is a chickenshit reply.

OWS can't afford violent crimes at their sites, shit like that is gasoline that the right will use to attempt to discredit the movement.

I would rather see the people involved in OWS turn their attention to vigorous voter registration and candidate vetting. Wiping out republicans in every election is the only way to turn things around and have use drive toward an personal freedoms and economically sane society.

[tblue]

18. That's not what they're about though.

They are operating outside the (ballot) box. I am glad they are not aligning themselves with either party. That actually strengthens their case. I don't have an answer, but I think what you're wanting just isn't at all what this movement is about. They feel they've tried the vote thing and look where it's gotten us.

[JackintheGreen]

36. None (reported), as far as I can tell

And I live here and read the paper. I might have missed something, but this *could* just be news.

Over the summer there was a serial rapist preying on victims in a really terrible part of the city that got reported plenty, even though the victims weren't all white and beautiful, if that's where you're going with this (and if not, I apologize for the assumption).

Now, how many women were raped on college campuses this weekend? Unfortunately, I bet it's a damn sight more. A lot of demographic similarities.

[MH1]

2. There are s***heads everywhere.

[tblue]

20. And are we sure it wasn't HERMAN CAIN?

Repubs are real good at excusing assaults on women.

[MH1]

8. Meanwhile, the GA apparently voted to block people from going to work.

By refusing to move to another area so that a long-planned construction project could start.

Between that and the rape and other troubling issues arising, the Mayor - who was initially very accommodating, I think - is about to have them booted. Too bad, but I don't blame him at all. If they would have moved to the other suggested area and let the planned work go on, they might have got past even the crime issue in the name of free speech. But you don't wanna mess with the construction unions in Philly.

[Modern_Matthew]

13. Fuck the mayor and the construction unions in Philly. nt

[MH1]

19. Oh so now you are excluding union workers from 'the 99%'?

so what are these guys supposed to do when work they were counting on gets put on hold?

Oh, and, Mayor Nutter is about as good a mayor as Philly's had in a long time, if you combine competence and liberalism. Do you remember when this all started, the police chief (Ramsey) had the precincts reading the 1st Amendment at the start of the shift? Do you remember all the tear gas and arrests ... that DIDN'T happen in Philadelphia (yet)?

Edit to add: According to your profile you aren't from the Philadelphia area. Have you spent any time here? Do you have any idea what a cool town Philadelphia is? If not, you can go do what you are suggesting for my neighbors to do.

[Codeine]

23. Wow. We're a "fuck the unions" place now?

Working men and women are the core of the 99%, so you can kindly take that sentiment and deposit it in your mud pump.

[HappyMe]

32. That's just the attitude that

will win people over. :sarcasm:

[nultdog]

62. construction unions

The union guys that are going to do this work have been laid-off for a long time and it will probably be the only chance of buying their kids christmas presents. You better put yourself in their shoes or you are sure to be stepped on. I support the movement 100%, but if you think you going to between a guy and his kids having a christmas you have a lot to learn. Negotiate with the unions. You both have valid concerns and won't have a hard time coming to some type of comprimise. I do agree that the building trades have been too slow to get behind this movement, but that's the leadership not the members.

[nultdog]

64. it wont be a problem

The work will get done, and if they feel the need to get arrested to make they're point than that's still a successful form of civil disobedience. I work in the building trades and I support the protesters. It won't be hard to come to an agreement. Actually I might go down tomorrow as a liaison between the 2 and try to get a deal done.

[TNLib]

10. From Reading the story it sounds like a criminal element was preying on female protesters

nt

[tblue]

14. Where are the police when that happens?

They're all over the place when the people are peacefully protesting.

[randome]

16. You can't possibly police a huge group of people camping out in public spaces.

If the police tried, there would be fewer resources available for the rest of the city.

[tblue]

24. No. What I mean is

the police are plenty available when they want to evict an Occupy group, right? No, they can't catch every criminal, but they weren't around when this poor woman was raped?

They should post one or two cops there round the clock I guess. I haven't thought this all the way through, but maybe that would be a good compromise. It would ensure some degree of order and guard against crime within the camps. The Occupy protesters deserve protection, too. The rest of the cops can go about their business throughout the rest of the city. What do you think?

[randome]

27. I'm sure they can spare some.

I hear what you're saying but they can't police the entire encampment. Especially not one or two.

Shit like this is going to happen. It's not a reflection on OWS but OWS increases the odds of it happening since there is no organization and no leadership. OWS needs to police itself as best it can.

[msanthrope]

17. Occupy Philadelphia is going to have to move, and soon. Dilworth Plaza is being renovated

and I suspect that the union workers who are going to perform that renovation will not be pleased to put off their jobs.

Love Park has the Christmas Fair.

[a simple pattern]

21. The comments on that article are so foul.

I remember when so-called "conservatives" used to pretend to have the moral high ground. More and more they seem to openly embrace and flaunt their evil.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[seabeyond]

31. you take rape awfully lightly to the point of seeing humor? nt

[HappyMe]

40. WTF?

[Courtesy Flush]

33. Is this policy uniformly applied?

If there is a sexual assault in a campground, is the campground shut down? If someone is raped in an apartment building, do they tear down the building?

I think the lure of vulnerable young people* will always bring perverts, be it at a protest, or a campus, or a concert. It's horrible, but it should not be used as a proxy to crush the First Amendment rights of others.

*Edited due to stupid responses.

[Zebedeo]

34. Only "pretty" girls get raped?

Rape is a crime of violence, not attraction.

[Courtesy Flush]

42. Way to twist my words.

No, what I really meant was only women get raped, or only young people, take your pick.

I made a valid point, and never said anything about "ONLY" anybody.

[Zebedeo]

43. Before you edited your post

you said "the lure of pretty college girls will always bring perverts." Your post showed your ignorance of the crime of rape. It is not a crime motivated by attraction to "pretty college girls." It is a crime of violence and sexual domination. It doesn't matter if the victims are pretty, or young, or in college, or even if they are girls.

[Courtesy Flush]

46. Sorry if I don't think like a rapist. nt

[Zebedeo]

49. What you should be sorry for

is perpetuating a harmful myth. I hope you have the capacity to learn from this mistake.

[TorchTheWitch]

56. what a coincidence! neither do I!

Yet for some reason I'm well educated on the particulars of why and upon whom rape occurs. How very extraordinary that the average civilized educated person has managed to learn these things as well without thinking like a rapist either! Clearly you are the only normal one who didn't mysteriously glean this information without thinking like a rapist. How the rest of us became informed without thinking like a rapist while you were the only one protectively shielded is truly a wonder of the ages. Perhaps it was chem trails or fluoride in the water.

[seabeyond]

41. i betcha ugly girls get raped, too...

just sayin

[seabeyond]

45. i like your edit. much more accurate

there is a reason for that. it takes rape to just being horny for a pretty girl. that is not what rape is.

[Courtesy Flush]

50. Yeah, that never happens. nt

[seabeyond]

53. we all get horney. too many of us don't take it to rape. it is not about horney. nt

[Courtesy Flush]

57. Wait just a minute!

So you're saying if a pretty girl is raped it's about sex, but if anyone else does it isn't? WTF? Now who's screwed up?

[TorchTheWitch]

55. clearly it hasn't in this case n/t

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RueVoltaire]

37. Who do they protect? Who do they serve?

If the police weren't so busy protecting the 1% from us innocent subversives, and the criminal justice system had not failed to protect us from this man as well, perhaps this would never have happened.

[Fire Walk With Me]

52. Truth. And Welcome to DU!

:hi::toast:

[RueVoltaire]

58. :)

Thanks! Happy to be here:toast:

[TorchTheWitch]

54. they protect and serve the whole fucking city

Do you really expect the police to pull officers from other areas to patrol a make-shift town of protesters who didn't have the foresight to take any steps at policing and protecting themselves? Philly is horrendously short of police officers as it is especially considering the slashing of budgets that's been happening year after year. There are many areas of the city that essentially don't have ANY police protection whatsoever since there just isn't enough officers to handle it all.

Sorry, but the citizens of Philly shouldn't pay the price of an even further lack of police protection because a bunch of protesters didn't have the foresight to organize an encampment that could police and protect itself instead of expecting the scant amount of city police to forgo protecting the citizens of the city that pay their taxes for that protection.

The protesters themselves need to realize that this isn't a fun and games slumber party, and they need to be cautious and aware of the real dangers of camping out in the middle of the city with a huge bunch of mostly total strangers. A whole lot of this sort of stuff can be eliminated by people just being aware of the vulnerable position they are putting themselves in and not camp out without known friends, don't camp out with strangers and use the buddy system at all times to protect one another. There also needs to be a perpetual group of protesters working to patrol the entire area and one that can police itself so that no rogue element within that group can have the opportunity to commit a crime under the guise of being a trusted protector.

This is what happens when there is a lack of organization and preparedness for dealing with not only protesting but doing so in a full time tent city. There needed to be systems in place to deal with trash, food, bathroom facilities, etc. and after this amount of time they still haven't gotten their act together, and it's hardly just Philly with this problem.

And how does it even square with the supposed theme of the protests in the first place when they refuse to move so that the union construction workers (many of if not most of which are desperate for work) to get to work on the site they're occupying? One of my neighbors was finally hired back for this project in particular after being out of work for over two years, and he's terrified that because of the protesters he's going to lose this job he finally got after all this time and when his family's coffers are empty. Refusing to move to the other location so that the construction project can get under way they are only hurting the 99%er union construction workers they're supposed to be advocating for! What the hell kind of fucked up sense does that make???

[nultdog]

63. plenty of cops there

There's 10 cops there 24/7. They sit on the same benches everyday and talk on their phones and crack jokes. I'm sure they're nice people, but they aren't actually doing anything. And these protests aren't gonna stop the union guys from doing the work they need to do, if we have to politely move their tents out of the work area, then that's what we'll do. No harm done. We'll still support the 99%, just disagree on one small issue.

[snot]

38. The last occupier march I participated in, there was 1 cop for every 6 protesters.

[ohheckyeah]

51. I'm glad they caught the s.o.b.

But I do have to wonder why we haven't heard anything about the approximately 1,800 other rapes that occur in this country DAILY.

[coalition_unwilling]

59. I don't often unrec threads, but I am doing it here for a couple

reasons:

1) the blind link that simply repeats the subject of the OP

and

2) the complete absence of commentary from the OP him- or herself.

EPIC FAIL and unworthy of DU's time and attention.

[Zebedeo]

60. My commentary is in my emoticons in the OP

And the link I gave was not a blind link. It took the reader to the story referenced in the subject line and in the link description just as it was supposed to. I followed the correct protocol of using the title of the news story itself.

Your unrec is therefore unwarranted.

Carry on.

[coalition_unwilling]

61. Your commentary is emoticons???? 'Nuff said and welcome

to my Ignore list.