What If Steubenville Had Been a Murder Trial?

How often do you read a news story about a crime that’s told from the criminal’s perspective?

Have you ever heard a report of a robbery, mugging, or murder that started with  an account of how the suspect, rather than the victim, found themselves in that situation?

No, that would be silly.

Except when we talk about rape. Reporters, even the ones who clearly condemn the crime, tend to tell the story from the perspective of the accused.

Is it simply lack of information about the victim? Or are we just more comfortable siding with the accused than with the victim?

When the crime is rape, the word “accused” is thrown around more often than usual. We don’t call accused rapists “suspects.”

As if we don’t suspect they did anything wrong at all. As if we suspect the victim’s accusations more than we suspect the accused.

Image from http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/

CNN’s shocking coverage of the Steubenville rape trial has come under a lot of well-publicized scrutiny. I’ve written about this kind of coverage before, and I think it’s pretty clear why it’s unacceptable.

But, just for kicks, let’s do an experiment.

Let’s pretend that CNN was covering a similarly serious crime: murder.

I’ve altered the transcript from CNN’s controversial broadcast, replacing any mention of “rape” or sexual assault to “murder.”

I’ve cut short sections that allude to the victim still being alive, only where necessary to convey that these boys killed her instead of raped her.

My edits are in bold. You can watch the broadcast in the video above, or read the original transcript here.

I encourage you to try this substitution game on any media coverage about rape that you come across. I’m afraid you’ll find the results usually sound just as ridiculous as this:

Photo via The Guardian

Two star football players in Steubenville, Ohio, have been found guilty of murdering a West Virginia teenager. The story has attracted national attention. The judge just ruled a few minutes ago. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE THOMAS LIPPS, HAMILTON COUNTY FAMILY COURT: In this case, you know, regarding the charges of murder, both defendants Ma’lik Richmond and Trent Mays are committed to the Department of Youth Services for a minimum of one year and a maximum period until you’re 21.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Again, this case was played out in juvenile court, that is why there was a judge, no jury. He decided on the verdict, as well as, you heard there, talking about the sentence.

We want to go now to CNN’s Poppy Harlow. She is in Steubenville, and has been covering this trial.

I cannot imagine having just watched this on the feed coming in. How emotional that must have been sitting in the courtroom.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I’ve never experienced anything like it, Candy. It was incredibly emotional — incredibly difficult even for an outsider like me to watch what happened as these two young men that had such promising futures, star football players, very good students, literally watched as they believe their life fell apart.

One of — one of the young men, Ma’lik Richmond, when that sentence came down, he collapsed. He collapsed in the arms of his attorney, Walter Madison. He said to me, “My life is over. No one is going to want me now.”

Very serious crime here. Both found guilty of murdering this 16- year-old girl at a party back in August, an alcohol-fueled party. Alcohol is a huge part in this.

But Trent Mays was also found guilty on a second count and that is of felony illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material because he took a photograph of the victim laying dead on the floor that night. Trent Mays will serve two years in a juvenile detention facility. Ma’lik Richmond will serve one year on that one count that he was found guilty for.

I want to let our viewers listen because for the first time in this entire trial we have now heard from the two young men. Trent Mays stood up, apologizing to the victim’s family in court. After him, Ma’lik Richmond.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRENT MAYS, FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER IN JUVENILE COURT: I would really like to apologize to (INAUDIBLE), her family, my family and community. No pictures should have been sent out or should be taken. That’s all. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything you’d like to say, Ma’lik?

MA’LIK RICHMOND, FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER IN JUVENILE COURT: I would like to apologize. I had no intention to do anything like that and I’m sorry to put you guys through this. (INAUDIBLE) I’m sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: I was sitting about three feet from Ma’lik when he gave that statement. It was very difficult to watch.

You know, something that came up throughout this sentencing. Ma’lik’s father had gotten up and spoke. Ma’lik has been living with guardians. His father, a former alcoholic, gotten to a lot of trouble with the law, been in prison before.

And his father stood up and he told the court, “I feel responsible for this. I feel like I wasn’t there for my son.” And before that, he came over to the bench where his son was sitting. He approached him, he hugged him and whispered in his ear.

And Ma’lik’s attorney said to us in a courtroom, I have never heard Ma’lik’s father before say, I love you. He’s never told his son that. But he just did today.

This was an incredibly emotional day. These two juveniles being carried out and they will be committed today, Candy.

CROWLEY: Poppy Harlow in Steubenville, Ohio, for us.

I want to bring in Paul Callan, our CNN legal contributor.

You know, Paul, a 16-year-old now just sobbing in court, regardless of what big football players they are, still sound like 16 year olds. The other one, 17. A 16-year-old victim.

The thing is, when you listen to it and you realize that they could stay until they’re 21, they are going to get credit for time served. What’s the lasting effect, though, on two young men being found guilty in juvenile court of murder , essentially?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, Candy, we’ve seen here a courtroom drenched in tears and tragedy and, you know, Poppy’s description, I think, you know, sums it all up. But across America scenes like this happen all the time.

Photo via CBS

I know as a prosecutor and defense attorney, when that verdict is handed down, usually it’s just the family and families of the defendants and the victims, there’s always that moment of just lives are destroyed. And lives have already been destroyed by the crime. And we got a chance to see that.

But in terms of what happens now, yes, the most severe thing with these young men is being labeled as murderers.

[...]

That will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Employers, when looking up their background, will see they’re murderers. When they move into a new neighborhood and somebody goes on the Internet where these things are posted. Neighbors will know they’re a murderer.

It’s really something that will have a lasting impact. Much more of a lasting impact than going to a juvenile facility for one or two years.

CROWLEY: Paul, thanks. I want to bring Poppy back in — because, Poppy, there’s — you know, the 16-year-old victim, her life, never the same, again. And I understand you have been talking to some of the families involved.

HARLOW: Her life is over. Absolutely, Candy.

[...]

But I want to tell our viewers about a statement that her mother just made, just made in the court after the sentencing. Her mother just said that she has pity on the two young boys that did this. She said human compassion is not taught by teachers or coaches. It’s a God-given gift, saying that you displayed a lack of compassion, a lack of moral code, saying that you were your own accuser throughout this for posting about this all over social media. And she said she takes pity on them.

As far as her daughter, she said she will persevere, she will get through this. But the words of an angry mother who now has a sentence, that I believe she would consider or a verdict, just — Candy.

CROWLEY: CNN’s Poppy Harlow, thank you. Also to our legal contributor Paul Callan.

Shooting in Broad Daylight

While everyone is scratching their heads about the massacre in Connecticut, this billboard is prominently on display everywhere promoting the movie Looper.

Advertising does a great job of distilling what we value as a culture, and it’s not a pretty picture.

EDIT: Just had to add this. Here’s a picture making the rounds on Facebook right now getting lots of giggles and Likes:

Cute, right?

Please understand – I don’t mean to condone censorship. I just think we need to take a very hard and careful look at the violence that we find acceptable before we can understand why the unacceptable violence happens.

I’m back…from San Francisco!

My most common advice to new bloggers is always this: Never start a post with an apology about how long it’s been since you last posted. Half the time nobody will care or even notice that there’s a huge gap, and all you do is draw attention to it.

On that note, here is a picture I took in San Francisco a few days ago:

What a wonderful city. I only had a few short days to run around and take in the sights but I already know I’ll be back as soon as I can for a longer trip. If only because, by some sad miracle, I didn’t get to see any nude people while I was there.

Since starting Great New Job I’ve had several, nay, COUNTLESS exciting ideas for entertaining and thought-provoking posts but none seem to have magically appeared on my blog. Must be a technical issue. I will look into this.

 

Mancession Blues: Ford’s “We Own Work” Ad Campaign

Ford has introduced an ad campaign in support of its already machismo-motored efforts to sell tough trucks to tough guys.

The “We Own Work” campaign hammers home the message that tough men are real men and real men drive tough Ford trucks. The rest of us just wouldn’t understand.

Ford ads have never exactly been subtle about appealing to blue collar men who feel massively insecure about their masculinity, but the blatant-ness of this campaign reflects a very real social issue.

These are truly desperate times for tough men. During the economic downturn, male-dominated blue-collar industries like those depicted in the Ford ads took a massive hit. As a result, unemployment rates among men actually climbed higher than unemployment rates among women (Source).

This “Mancession” has caused some pretty scary social shifts. Well, “scary” if you are a tough rugged manly man who thinks being anything other than a tough rugged manly man is weird and frightening.

Men who have historically been the breadwinners of the family are out of work, and unable to support their families. As parents continue to juggle the pressures of paying bills and finding child care, more women have become the family breadwinners while an increasing number of men have stepped into the role of primary caregiver.

All of a sudden women are bringing home the bacon and it’s Dad who stays home and cares for the kids. To a Ford truck guy, this is the gender apocalypse.

Not only does it prove that women aren’t just a nice addition to the workforce, but are more vital to the economy than anyone realized, it also forces us to acknowledge that men are quite capable of taking care of the kids. Suddenly the image of men as “clueless, slapsticky, unknowing, babysitter-esque” buffoons when thrust into a parental role will no longer fly.

The jig is up. Men can change diapers.

So as a brand heavily invested in traditional gender roles, how do you deal with this uncomfortably progressive shift in social norms? (Or as one 2011 Ford Super Duty truck ad puts it: men who don’t “have the stones to bring home the Benjamins.”)

One word: backlash.

Or in other words, a well-researched, carefully orchestrated synergistic advertising campaign with a high production value.

There’s nothing quite like a well-orchestrated ad campaign to tap into and profit from people’s burning insecurities. This is one of those brilliantly timely ones that perfectly captures the insecurities of a whole culture.

Ford is the soothing gruff, raspy manly voice that says: Don’t worry, guys. Men still own work. Women still own domesticity. The world is still as it should be.

Good job, Ford. You’ve got your work cut out for you.

Nice chaps. From the 2012 Ford Super Duty Photo Gallery.

How to Stay Healthy & Save Money with Green Cleaning

If a household product can cause you immediate harm, it will have a warning on the label.

But many cleaning products contain toxic chemicals that can cause serious health problems through long-term exposure, and the law doesn’t require companies to warn consumers about these health risks.

Why Go Green?

In both Canada and the US, companies hide toxic ingredients from the label by using the word “parfum” or “fragrance,” even in so-called unscented products.

If you read the Material Safety Data Sheet for Febreeze, for example, it lists ethanol as the only chemical ingredient even though the report states that the product is perfumed.

Inhaling Febreeze might not make you sick immediately, but we know that long-term exposure to toxic scent ingredients – listed as “perfume” – can cause serious health problems.

Even when harmful cleaning ingredients are listed on the label, many people don’t know the risks.

The David Suzuki Foundation lists toxic chemicals in household cleaning supplies to check for on the label. A report by Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) highlights harmful household cleaning chemicals found in everyday cleaners that have been linked to fertility problems and asthma.

These ingredients don’t just go away once you’ve sprayed them all over your house or doused your clothes in them. When you wash these products down the drain, they travel out into the environment where they can pollute our water and impact wildlife.

Greener Alternatives

The good news is that there are alternatives that will not only protect your health and the environment, they will save you money too.

Here’s my answer to pretty much any household cleaning task. Please DO try this at home, and let me know how it works out for you!

DIY All-Purpose Household Cleaner

1. A spray bottle filled with:

• 1 part water
• 1 part vinegar
• (optional) 10-20 drops of essential oil – try tea tree for disinfecting, orange for cutting grease, peppermint for deterring mice, or whatever scent you like

2. A good textured cloth (cotton or microfiber cloths from the dollar store are fine, or knit your own cleaning cloth)

3. A box of baking soda

If the spray and cloth alone don’t do the job, sprinkle some baking soda and re-spray the area before scrubbing. This works better than even the nastiest, fume-releasing chemical stuff I’ve tried.

If you’re tackling a ridiculously stubborn mess and elbow-grease won’t help, try soaking the item overnight in hot soapy water, if possible. You can also heat up the spray to boost its cleaning power.

One bottle of spray lasts months. One box of baking soda goes a long way too – I use it in the package to deodorize my fridge or freezer for a few months, then dump it into another container to use for cleaning.

The essential oil is the most expensive ingredient, but even then I spend just a few dollars a year to clean my house.

If you need to tackle a specific cleaning task, WVE has a great list of Green Cleaning Recipes that are easy and cheap to make.

Eco-Me offers a Home Cleaning DIY Kit that can help get you started.

(This would make a great back-to-school gift for a cash-strapped college student.)

If you prefer to buy cleaners off the shelf, there are several eco-friendly and hypoallergenic brands available in health food stores and some supermarkets.

It’s always a good idea to check the label. But until we require manufacturers to disclose all toxic ingredients and the risks of long-term exposure, it’s hard to know what you’re bringing into – and spreading all over – your home.

Do you have any DIY cleaning tips or tricks that work for you? Please share them below!

Does Social Networking Make Us Narcissists?

I think Nina Arsenault is an incredible artist. [Heads up, her website has some NSFW content.] She explores and deconstructs the concept of “personhood” with such ferocity, it’s completely breathtaking.

I recently read an interview with Nina Arsenault about her ties with serial killer Luka Magnotta. (Thanks Jeff Perera at Higher Unlearning for sharing the link.) The conversation turned to a general discussion about the “virtual self” and narcissism as the new norm:

Back in the 80s it was difficult for people to understand the concept of virtual reality.  The term was considered an oxymoron.  Now, the minds of an entire generation are developing with virtual selves–representations of themselves which can have exaggerated, false, or accurate relationships to their lived existences.

What my generation calls narcissism–understanding oneself and others as a series of images–is being bred into human beings globally.  Post-millennial children do not really know what life is like without a virtual self. I don’t think we can anticipate where this evolution/mutation will take us as a world culture.

What new technologies will emerge to fuse with this mentality? How will it further commoditize us as human beings? How will it continue to construct our understanding of reality as a series of images we are buying, selling, vivifying, living up to or not living up to?

Her comments really struck me.

Does social networking encourage narcissism? Is it harmful for kids to grow up exploring, forming and expressing their identities on an image-conscious, sound-byte loving internet?

A blog article called Transparency is more expedient than lying does a good job of addressing these questions, I think.

As the article explains, our identities are much more fluid than they used to be. Thanks in part to these “virtual selves” that Arsenault talks about, our identities are now largely a matter of our own opinion.

So how do you know who is authentically who they say they are?

Well, thanks to social networks and everyone’s ubiquitous online presence, the evidence is out there for everyone to see.

Our lives are becoming transparent. This makes it very difficult to create a fake personal identity that’s convincing. Not impossible, but difficult.

As Nina Arsenault herself points out through her work, identity is already extremely fluid and the way we express who we are is extremely complicated.

Think about it this way. Which do you think is more disturbing?:

1. I lie about my age on Facebook so that I appear to be 10 years younger than I really am.
   
   OR
   

2. I use cosmetics or surgery to alter my physical body so that I appear to be 10 years younger than I really am.

We live in a society where transforming our physical selves is commonplace and considered desirable. So is it really shocking that this sort of behaviour would translate to how we present our virtual selves?

Aren’t we already pretty narcissistic and image-obsessed?

Edit: This post has been Freshly Pressed!! What an honour to have been chosen by WordPress.com to be featured on their site.  If you enjoyed this entry, please consider hitting Like, sharing the post, or following my blog. Thank you!

The TTC’s Latest PR Blunder: Trash Talking Ads

The TTC: A Rider’s Perspective
NATIONAL POST STAFF PHOTO: Nathan Denette (Source)

The Toronto Transit Commission has had more than its share of public relations disasters.

As PR expert Scott Reid pointed out in a Marketing Magazine article about the TTC’s troubles last year, the TTC has a lot to learn about managing its image:

You gotta love the TTC. It is to PR fumbles what Lindsay Lohan is to parole violations: High profile and constant.

One of the great PR lessons that smart organizations are quick to learn is the importance of thinking not from your own point of view but from that of the public. This is not a concept that the TTC has yet mastered.

It’s over a year later and, despite efforts to increase transparency, the TTC is still struggling to get its messaging right.

Take the latest ad campaign that’s currently running inside the the TTC’s subway system:

The ad shows pieces of garbage laying on the subway tracks. Speech bubbles coming from the trash say, “We get blown onto the tracks and catch fire,” and “We belong in the garbage.” Text below says that 260 reports of smoke in subway tunnels caused transit delays last year, and that passengers should not litter or smoke on TTC property.

Yet again, the TTC’s habit of blaming its already disgruntled riders for its non-stop problems is hurting their image instead of winning them support.

Most importantly: Nobody, I mean NOBODY, likes to be scolded by pieces of trash. This is not a great way to make people feel good, or valued as customers. 

This isn’t the first time the TTC has had inanimate objects lay down lectures on responsible ridership. Previous anti-littering campaigns have featured discarded coffee cups and banana peels curtly reminding passengers that they belong in the garbage, not left on seats. This approach hardly feels like a friendly reminder from a warm, caring transit operator.

Based on ads like these, it seems like the TTC has more respect for the dirty refuse left behind by passengers than it does for the passengers themselves.

The other ad in the current TTC campaign is slightly less offensive, but still points the finger squarely at passengers as the ones to blame for subway slowness:

If the TTC has any hope of winning over the hearts and minds of passengers, it will have to work much harder to see things from the passenger’s perspective.

Even if you can’t manage to speak with humility, at least try not to smack your customers with barely contained contempt. And if you want help from the public (to “keep the TTC moving”), you first need to convey that you’re doing everything you can on your end to make things right.

On a more positive note, this is the first TTC campaign I’ve seen that includes the word “Please” or “Thank You,” so in one way this is an improvement from  previous, less politely worded ads.

What do you think of this ad campaign?

Unladylike Speed Stick

Dilemma:

Let’s see…

Lady Speed Stick:

• Feminine, slim purple container.
• It’s got pink stars on it!
• “Cool & Fresh” fragrance, which smells something like a cheap drugstore perfume designed for Barbie’s obnoxious younger sister and made from the marshmallow bits in her favourite sugar-based breakfast cereal.
• You will smell “Cool & Fresh” for 24 hours.
• It might make you invisible.
• 70 grams for $3.29.

Speed Stick:

• Robust container with way cool shiny iridescent label.
• It’s got non-slip grips for rough man handling!
• Unscented.
• No 24 hr guarantee, you’ll have to keep up that annoying habit of bathing regularly.
• It might make you powerful.
• 85 grams for $3.29.

Gendered marketing is really just a way for companies to sell the same product twice. You can save money if you ignore it and compare products for what they actually offer.

As another example, you can sometimes get a deal on electronics if you buy the exact same model in pink instead of white or black.

Compare prices next time you’re in a store and see if you can spot any of these price discrepancies based on which gender the product is aimed at.

Have you ever bent the gender rules during a shopping trip to save money?
Did you find it difficult to do? Was it fun? Or was it no big deal?

Le Chevalier D’Eon Series

I’ve never been a huge anime fan, but I came across this series Le Chevalier D’Eon on Crackle and I ended up getting into it.

It’s a drama set in Louis XV’s France just before the French Revolution. The characters and plot are loosely based on actual history. I mean really loosely.

The main character, D’Eon, is a young French knight whose body is taken over by his majorly pissed off, seriously ass-kicking sister, Lia, who is trying to avenge her own death.

As if a cross-dressing gender-bending protagonist isn’t awesome enough, the show’s got zombies, ghosts, impressive action sequences, revolutionary feminists, a creepy talking skull, a little kid with a hand gun, and some pretty intense plot twists.

According to the scriptwriter, one of the main themes of the story is “the burden of contradiction.” Royalty and revolution; duty and desire; religion and sorcery; revenge and compassion.

Even if you can’t keep up with the complicated plot, the characters and set art are beautiful to behold.

This music video for “Over Night” by Aya is made up of clips from the show, and the song is from the show’s closing credits. Some of the lyrics are a bit dubious, but I like the song’s Japanese grunge kinda style.

You can watch all 24 episodes of the Le Chevalier D’Eon series for free on Crackle, or on Funimation’s website.

Summer is for Holidays!

It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed an extended summer holiday, but I’ve just landed a sweet new job and I managed to carve out some downtime for myself before I start.

I’ve let my volunteer commitments take a back seat, I’ve unplugged from my social networks, and I’m forgetting about email for blissful hours at a time.

In short, I’ve decided to be shamelessly self-indulgent or the next couple of weeks.

I’m not going to grapple with the Colorado theater shooting fallout or stress about the sensational string of shootings here in Toronto. I won’t even wring my hands about all of the blatantly obvious signs of climate change. The hum of cicadas that used to signify back-to-school time, and this year began in late June? At least the noise masks the sound of mid-summer gunfire.

Nope, I’m totally at peace with everything. Life is good. The world is my oyster.

I’m off to a good start. There’s been dining, pubbing, patio surfing, baseball, karaoke, long walks, unhurried shopping and hanging out in the backyard. This week I’m going to check out the Picasso exhibit at the AGO.

What else should I do? What’s the best way to spend a summer holiday? I mean besides the obvious: watching cheesy 90′s Will Smith videos.

Silence Is Not An Option

Today I darkened my blog to join thousands of Canadians in support of the BlackOutSpeakOut campaign.

The Huffington Post ran a great article explaining why this campaign exists and why it’s so important:

“Black Out, Speak Out” is a warning that the Harper Government has gone too far. It has abused its social license by attacking civil society. This protest has brought together a diverse array of Canadians to defend their democracy and right to have an open debate about the future of their country.

If civil society is suppressed, then who in Canada will conduct research that debunks their government’s false claims, or publicizes its misdeeds, or exposes its too cozy relationship with industry, or sues it to require enforcement of existing laws?

If the media is the Fourth Estate in a democracy, civil society is the indispensible Fifth Estate. To attack it in the interest of an oil industry that threatens our economic, social, and environmental future is unethical government and a threat to democracy itself.

Read the full article here.

To learn more about the campaign and to show your support, visit the campaign website at BlackOutSpeakOut.ca.