Some Gay Advocates Opposed Jail For Ravi } This Publication Believes They with Ravi Should Do Jail
The My San Antonio Blog reports below that some gay activist oppose jail for Ravi. When did we turn to spineless puzzi?
What this young man did cost the live of a good kid, It’s beyond bullying. This is not the time to turn the other cheek, particularly when the cheek does not belong to us. It Belongs to Tyler Clementi and he is dead.
This is a time for the gay community to demand justice and make an example of that type of episodes or similar ones or
semi similar. It has to be made clear that this will cost somebody their liberties. I am learning that in this nation we have some so ‘activists' that are just looking for themselves and the bridges they built are not for the gay community no in the best interest of the community. We have to take a second look to these people the so called ‘activist.' To my amusement I’ve learned that a bunch of mouth pieces' that are supposed to be talking for the gay community are talking about what is best for them and their careers as “mouth pieaces’. The following posting made me hit the roof. I heard this was happening but now I can’t look the other way. I figure there are always people that are never happy, but is not like that here. These are the people that supposed to be speaking for the community or at least representing them. Im sure I will be writing more about this issue. adamfoxie*
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In the two months since he was found guilty of using a webcam to spy on his roommate, Dharun Ravi has gone from being a symbol of anti-gay bias to being something of a folk hero, with rallies of his supporters urging the court to “free Dharun.”
What might be most surprising is how many of those arguing in his defense are prominent gay rights advocates.
With Ravi scheduled to be sentenced today, many of them have argued against the prison term prosecutors have recommended. They say that Ravi is being punished for the suicide of his roommate, Tyler Clementi, although he was not charged in it, and that pinning blame on him ignores the complicated social pressures that drive gay teenagers to kill themselves.
As repugnant as his behavior was, they say, it was not the blatantly bigoted or threatening actions that typically define hate crimes.
While Clementi's suicide in September 2010 galvanized public attention on the struggles of gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers, the question of how to punish Ravi has revealed the deep discomfort that many gay people feel about using the case as a crucible.
“You're making an example of Ravi in order to send a message to other people who might be bullying, to schools and parents and to prosecutors who have not considered this a crime before,” said Marc Poirier, a law professor at Seton Hall University who is gay and has written about hate-crimes legislation. “That's a function of criminal law, to condemn as general deterrence. But I think this is a fairly shaky set of facts on which to do it.”
Ravi set up a webcam to spy on Clementi three weeks into their freshman year at Rutgers University, after Clementi asked to have the room alone so he could be with a man he had recently met on a website for gay men. Clementi’s suicide three days later prompted an outcry.
The jury convicted Ravi on all 15 counts, including invasion of privacy, hate crimes and tampering with evidence after he tried to cover up his Twitter trail.
In a memo this month, the prosecutor, Julia McClure, urged that Ravi be imprisoned as a deterrent to anti-gay bias. And many gay rights advocates have argued against leniency, to reinforce the message that Ravi’s behavior should not be written off as teenage foolishness
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