Richmond Rape Bystanders: Why Be Scared?
Editor's note: This piece by Valerie Klinker originally appeared in YO! Youth Outlook.
Every time I think about the incident in Richmond I still can’t believe something like that could have happened. I still feel bad about it, but even more, I feel angry. How can the school, or the adults monitoring the dance not catch that happening? For some reason teachers, society and the police are never around when you need them, then the police wonder why no one likes them.
Today, I was browsing the Internet and I saw that a witness decided to come out and speak on why he choose not do step in and help. Actually, there were two witnesses that came out. It’s funny they both probably don’t even know each other but have the same bull shit ass answer. “I was scared.”
They explain everything they saw, and say they were affected by it but you know you can tell when someone is really bothered by something. To me, these children were more infatuated by the whole ordeal. That’s why it happened and went on for so long.
Salvador Rodriguez is a former suspect in the gang rape. He was released because of lack of evidence. He is one of the witnesses who spoke up but his side of the story was he found a naked girl in the bushes, he calmed her down and gave her his shirt to cover her body, and that is why he had no shirt. He ran away out of fear of be blamed for something he did not do. Also the police said that they took his DNA and if it matches any in the forensic testing he well be arrested.
In news reports, Salvador claims to be sure his DNA won’t show, he said, “ I did not beat her. I did not rob her. I did not rape her.” I don’t understand how he says that he found her in the bushes but later states what the rapists were doing to her. He explained how he saw them “dehumanize” her, saying “they were kicking her in the head, they were beating her, raping her and ripping off her clothes. It’s something you can’t get out of your mind.”
How in the world can our government say bystanders can’t be charged for watching and not doing anything to help? They say that the way the law is written, bystanders can only be charged if the victim is younger than fourteen. To me, that’s really wrong. They were there, they watched, and they did nothing. I am a woman and if I had been there I would have jumped in to stop the rape and hoped that other people would join in to help me.
I would have done everything in my power to do something. I think of all my siblings, my mother, grandma, any of the women in my life. No one can say they don’t feel any compassion for this horrible event. Just writing about this is giving goose bumps and making me sad. I can’t see how someone can do that to a girl whose mom probably still calls her baby.
Every time I think about the incident in Richmond I still can’t believe something like that could have happened. I still feel bad about it, but even more, I feel angry. How can the school, or the adults monitoring the dance not catch that happening? For some reason teachers, society and the police are never around when you need them, then the police wonder why no one likes them.
Today, I was browsing the Internet and I saw that a witness decided to come out and speak on why he choose not do step in and help. Actually, there were two witnesses that came out. It’s funny they both probably don’t even know each other but have the same bull shit ass answer. “I was scared.”
They explain everything they saw, and say they were affected by it but you know you can tell when someone is really bothered by something. To me, these children were more infatuated by the whole ordeal. That’s why it happened and went on for so long.
Salvador Rodriguez is a former suspect in the gang rape. He was released because of lack of evidence. He is one of the witnesses who spoke up but his side of the story was he found a naked girl in the bushes, he calmed her down and gave her his shirt to cover her body, and that is why he had no shirt. He ran away out of fear of be blamed for something he did not do. Also the police said that they took his DNA and if it matches any in the forensic testing he well be arrested.
In news reports, Salvador claims to be sure his DNA won’t show, he said, “ I did not beat her. I did not rob her. I did not rape her.” I don’t understand how he says that he found her in the bushes but later states what the rapists were doing to her. He explained how he saw them “dehumanize” her, saying “they were kicking her in the head, they were beating her, raping her and ripping off her clothes. It’s something you can’t get out of your mind.”
How in the world can our government say bystanders can’t be charged for watching and not doing anything to help? They say that the way the law is written, bystanders can only be charged if the victim is younger than fourteen. To me, that’s really wrong. They were there, they watched, and they did nothing. I am a woman and if I had been there I would have jumped in to stop the rape and hoped that other people would join in to help me.
I would have done everything in my power to do something. I think of all my siblings, my mother, grandma, any of the women in my life. No one can say they don’t feel any compassion for this horrible event. Just writing about this is giving goose bumps and making me sad. I can’t see how someone can do that to a girl whose mom probably still calls her baby.
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