There is a rape case in Ohio being played out in the media and courts, and I wanted to take a moment to comment on the people who just hung out and watched as this event took place. Making jokes, tweeting about an attack rather than involving themselves in order to stop it, it is a sad indication as to where we are as a society when it concerns moral aptitude and the initiative to do right in the face of a wrong, and I wonder if this could be indicative of events yet to come.

Statistics have shown that we are not safer in groups, and in fact, when presented in such a way- there is a mob mentality that forms against the victim many times. The study that I read was about a man who was beating a woman up on a bridge in New York City while a group of bystanders just stood and watched. He ended up throwing the woman off the bridge and killing her while people just gawked at the situation, and it was concluded that unless someone is brave enough to go against the group and stand up for the victim, that generally it ends just like what we have seen in Ohio. Taken to the extreme, this attack in Ohio became nothing more than a joke, fodder for endless tweets of gossip and sick humor as it hit the social network, exemplifying how this country treats not only victims, but women in general.

If our media has shown us anything, it is that if we are unlucky enough to become stranded on an island with other people, our only hope is to run to the other side or start swimming, as eventually it will all turn until a “Lord of the Flies” situation occurs. Unfortunately group dynamics are such that a scapegoat is not only acceptable- it is desirable, thus our society has become one full of intolerance and bullying- esp. among our children, who have either become victims of the bullies, or worse, the bullies themselves. Promoting a survival of the fittest, we have seemingly embraced a strange form of social Darwinism that not only allows bad behavior against our fellow humans, but encourages it- and anyone unlucky enough to find themselves a victim is often considered the only one to blame for their situation. It is this philosophy that is being promoted by our media that is helping events such as what happened in Ohio to occur, and though we can all be shocked at the soullessness that was shown at that party, we only have ourselves to blame.

We all need to stand up and bring back some sort of respect for life and each other or I fear our society is going to keep declining. Moral imperatives must be brought back to the forefront and taught to our children, and a love for each other should be promoted, rather than this frustrated sense of rage that is encouraging us to attack each other in new and improved ways. Rape must become a thing of the past, let alone the apathy that surrounded this specific case in Ohio and others like it in the world. We MUST get a renewed sense of our own humanity or we are going to sink into dark ages the likes of which I doubt any of us can imagine. We have the power to change our course- but first we must all GET INVOLVED. Forget fear, forget doubt- when you see an injustice- shine a light on it, and always keep in mind that we are our brother’s keeper. That means when you see someone getting abused or hurt, don’t just sit and watch- but rather, get off your behind and get involved. I realize this is a novel idea, but as a society we really do need to start helping the victim- and supporting each other rather than justifying bad behavior through apathy and disconnect.

Anyway- that is my rant for this morning.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/04/justice/ohio-rape-online-video/index.html?hpt=hp_t2