#CrimingWhileWhite

The 26 year old adult who admitted to raping a 14 year old child.

Sometimes you read about a crime that goes unpunished or under punished, and you shrug your shoulders on some, “well…that’s our flawed justice system.” Then, there are times you read about a crime that goes unpunished or under punished, and you want to go full DRACARYS on said flawed system. Yesterday was the latter. (If you don’t know what that word means, you’re missing out of one of the biggest pop culture events of our time, and I really don’t know what to tell you about that.)

In an article from the New York Times last week, the headline reads: “School Bus Driver Who Raped 14-Year-Old Will Not Go to Prison.” Any normal, rational, human being with reading capabilities and analytical reasoning skills beyond a third grade level would see this and probably think, “Clearly, there HAS to be more to the story.” Reading past the byline, you are greeted with the words: “Shane Piche raped a girl who rode his bus in upstate New York.” If you then dared to investigate how this TWENTY-SIX YEAR OLD MAN RAPED A CHILD, TWELVE YEARS HIS JUNIOR, ENTRUSTED TO HIS CARE EVERY DAY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, the details might evoke nausea. 

Piche apparently planned this crime, giving the child gifts and pumping her underage body full of liquor before taking her to his house and raping her. After his arrest, he plead guilty to rape in the third degree. You might then say “So…this was premeditated, and more than one crime was committed. Plus, he plead guilty—he should be UNDER the jail, right? That “Will *Not* Go to Prison” has gotta be a typo in the headline. DO BETTER failing New York Times!!”

Yeah, no.

Piche was only sentenced to PROBATION and a stint on the sex offender registry at the LOWEST LEVEL, level one. Meaning he will not be included in online sex offender databases, nor will anyone be able to set up a relocation alert on him. So basically, if he moves to your town, you won’t know he’s there nor will you be able to research his sex offender history online. Hide your kids, hide your wife—because she might kill him if he touches her kids, and probation probably won’t be an option.

The judge at the center of this ridiculously lenient sentence, James P. McClusky, gives no legitimate insight as to why he was so compassionate, save the fact that Piche has never been arrested for this before (mind you, 3 out of every 4 rapes go unreported), and there was only one victim (lucky for Shane he wasn’t trying to get some group action going with the other 9th graders, eh?). Prosecutors argued for rape in the second degree and a level 2 sex offender designation, which would have at least put him in the database for maximum accessibility. But McClusky feels that all Shane needs is probation. For raping a 14 year old girl.

Shane’s lawyer, Eric Schwartz agrees of course, stating “Getting him onto probation to get sex-offender treatment, our hope is that we can teach him better ways to deal with these issues and maybe educate him about making better choices in the future, as well as keeping him from having access to children at this point which is part of what the probationary period will do.” WUT?!?! They don’t necessarily want him punished for the CRIME he committed and plead guilty to—they just want him to make “better choices.” Oh.

Shane choosing water over soda is better choices. Shane choosing grilled foods over fried ones is better choices. Shane choosing to purchase stock IN Starbucks instead of  frappuchinos FROM Starbucks is better choices. But Shane choosing to have sex with ADULTS INSTEAD OF MINORS IS A NECESSARY CHOICE. Shane being given probation after raping a 14 year old girl is not a good, better, nor the best choice. It is an irresponsible, inexplicable, and insensitive choice. It ranks the worth of the criminal much higher than the worth of the victim. It robs the victim and her family of justice.

If Shane were not white, would McClusky have been so charitable? If Shane had raped a little 14 year old boy, would his crime be thought of as one he has a “low risk of repeating”? Where are we as a society when a 14 year old girl being taken advantage of sexually is considered LESS PUNISHABLE BY LAW than when Black and Brown people are caught in possession of marijuana for personal use? No, seriously—people are sentenced more harshly for weed than people who RAPE CHILDREN.

Even though the recommended sentencing for a sexual offense class E felony are 1.5-4 years in prison, McClusky chose probation for Shane. The guidelines for probation are as follows: “…the court may sentence a person to a period of probation upon conviction of any crime if the court, having regard to the nature and circumstances of the crime and to the history, character and condition of the defendant, is of the opinion that:

  (i) Institutional confinement for the term authorized by law of the defendant is or may not be necessary for the protection of the public;

(ii) the defendant is in need of guidance, training or other assistance which, in his case, can be effectively administered through probation supervision; and

(iii) such disposition is not inconsistent with the ends of justice.

There is currently a MoveOn petition to recall McClusky. If you are outraged by the injustice of this case, feel free to click here and sign it.

#MuteRKelly4ever

(A version of this post first appeared on the citizen.education website.)

The first week of 2019 offered us an informative and nauseating—yet necessary— docuseries on Robert Sylvester-the-child-molester Kelly, better known publicly as musician R. Kelly. Rumors about Kelly’s predilection towards teenage girls were confirmed, and allegations of his constant, consistent abuse of women were laid bare. For most people familiar with the self proclaimed “pied piper of R&B,” the doc uncovered nothing new. Kelly’s career has been haunted by his predatory perversions since the 90’s (Read: We know this fool is a nasty ass creep. Who names THEMSELVES “the pied piper,” a character known for leading children off a cliff with music? A NASTY ASS CREEP IS WHO).

But seeing the episodes professionally compiled, coupled with heartbreaking images of parents trying desperately to communicate with their brainwashed, sequestered daughters, brought Kelly’s ghosts of misdeeds past (and present) to life in 2019. What remains most frightening is the number of people who continue to support his nasty ass. Most of Robert’s supporters fall into the 40+ age bracket, meaning they are too damn old and have too many gigs on their data plans to fall for the okie doke, therefore should absolutely know better. They’ve convinced themselves that the survivors are lying, but like the old folk say: “Everybody ain’t telling the SAME lie on you.” He has male and female supporters alike, which should make any decent human being cringe in horror. The female supporters are quite the conundrum; for starters, they’re absolutely too old for him to find desirable, so if they’re holding out hope that their fandom will win them a place in Robert’s heart, bed, or song lyrics, they are sadly mistaken. Additionally, as a woman, they should be fully aware of how young girls are routinely targeted for sexual abuse by older men, and usually suffer in silence. They probably have girls in their own households or families who have been abused, but after seeing their reactions to the R. Kelly situation, will never say a word.
 
Most Generation Xers/Xennials were in middle or high school when 25 year old Kelly hit the music scene with the group Public Announcement. The group found fast fame with their debut album and New Jack Swing sound, which was hugely popular in 1992. The album produced enough hits for Kelly to venture out solo, and the next year his “12 Play” album became one of R&B’s sexiest chart toppers. Even though most were too young to engage in the activities Kelly crooned about, he cemented his place in that generation’s musical consciousness and earned hardcore fans. During this time, he was also known to be a constant presence outside of Kenwood Academy, his former high school, propositioning (or having members of his crew proposition) the girls attending the school. Due to his fame it was an easy task, and he readily avoided ridicule and resistance from surrounding adults.

Let’s hear that one mo’ time: a 25 year old man was able to prey on girls aged 13-17 for years, at their school, just because he had popularity and money. Tha hell? Where were the administrators? The teachers? Where were the big brothers/cousins/uncles/daddies who would whoop a dude’s ass for this? Where were the cops, who were supposed to be protecting and serving these CHILDREN? (Allegedly, Kelly had police officers on his payroll then and now to keep him out of trouble. There is currently no evidence to support this claim…besides the fact that he is still walking around as an unharmed, free man.) Is the proximity to money and power so intoxicating that people are willing to offer up young girls as a sacrifice to have it? In the case of R. Kelly, it seems that way.

Around this same time, Kelly was grooming 14 year old label mate Aaliyah Haughton as an artist…and as a lover. He was lead writer and producer on her 1994 debut album, whose “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” title was, in hindsight, a reflection of his relationship with the singer. (Newsflash: Robert BEEN a bold ass, nasty ass MFer.) As much as they attempted to keep it under wraps, people detected something untoward going on in this supposed mentor/mentee situation. The docuseries produced witnesses that revealed 27 year old Kelly’s illegal marriage to Aaliyah happened due to a pregnancy scare when she was 15, and that forged documents were produced to claim she was 18 (the marriage was annulled by her parents months later). After the annulment, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and severed all ties with Kelly and his crew (See? This is what happens with parents who cared more about their child’s welfare than fame, fortune or even HER career).

Amid sexual harassment charges that were settled out of court, what brought Kelly’s behavior to the legal spotlight in 2001 was the now infamous “pee tape”—a video recording of Kelly and an obviously young girl (said to be 13/14 at the time of the recording), having sex with and urinating on her. This young girl was actually the daughter of Kelly’s guitarist and niece to his former background singer turned protege, Sparkle. According to Sparkle, when she found out her niece was being sexually abused by R.Kelly, she went to her siblings, but nothing was done. When asked to testify in court, Sparkle identified the young girl on the tape as her niece, but the girl and her parents refused to testify. Due to their refusal, R.Kelly has never been found guilty of any legal misconduct and has remained free to wreck havoc upon others. (See? THIS is what happens with parents who care more about fame, fortune and their careers than their child’s welfare.)

The doc goes on to highlight victim after victim of Kelly’s manipulative abuse, some of which are still, to this day, under his control. Timothy and Jonjelyn Savage went to the media with their claims that R. Kelly is holding their daughter Joycelyn hostage, refusing to allow her to contact them. Joycelyn later appeared in a TMZ video denying the claim, yet it was reported by a former Kelly employee Joycelyn was coached on what to say, and Savage’s father points out where you can see someone signaling her in the shadows on the recording. Angelo and Alice Clary, whose daughter Azriel has not talked to them for three years since turning 18 and running off with Kelly, attempted to get Chicago PD to do a wellness check at the studio where she is allegedly living with Kelly. CPD’s hands were tied, however, and the parents were denied any access. The Savages and Clarys are still fighting to contact their daughters, and reportedly, Kelly is facing criminal investigations in both Georgia and Chicago after the docuseries aired.

That it took a major network to air a 6 hour, 3 day special for most people to pay closer and more serious attention to this situation is mind boggling. This should serve as a wake up call in our communities to not only #BelieveSurvivors, but to also remove celebrities and people with money and influence from the pedestals of immunity when it comes to harming our children. No song is worth more than a child’s innocence. No amount of money is worth selling out our youth. For those that want to continue to support deviants like R. Kelly, step your ass in the name of sexual assault and criminality from now on—because you have no idea what the word love means. The faster we #MuteRKelly, the less likely anyone in the future will have to proclaim #MeToo from his reign of terror.

Rape Apologists Raise Funds for Raggedy (alleged) Rapist

(A version of this post first appeared on the citizen.education website)

In today’s latest installment of “Losing My Faith In Humanity”… *sigh*
Brett Kavanaugh, the drunken frat boy who is wholly unfit to sit on any bench (let alone one in the highest court of the land), apparently has a bevy of sympathizers willing to come up out of their pockets and pensions to show their support…and ignorance. Started by John Hawkins of Ocean Isle Beach, NC, a Go Fund Me page for “Brett Kavanaugh’s Family” has raised over $500K in 8 days. Half a million dollars. For a privileged white man who is gainfully employed and looking for a raise. For a man who owns a $1.2 Million dollar home in Chevy Chase. For a man who will earn a pension somewhere around $250K a year. Really? Far be it from me to spend other people’s money, but I’m sure there are causes more worthy than this.

Johnny boy, whose claim to fame is running the “Right Wing News” website where he’s touted as the “blogosphere’s premier interviewer” (and he’s verified on Twitter AND Facebook, THANK YOU VERY MUCH), fears for Brett’s safety and wants his family to be taken care of in this “very scary time for young men in America” (side eye to salmon colored Satan for that nonsense). John says the money will go toward security detail for the Kavanaugh Klan, or be used “however they see fit”. He doesn’t personally know Kavanaugh—as is made evident in every update he’s posted on the account, detailing his attempts to get in touch with the family. John has contacts that know people that know Kavanaugh…maybe. I’m guessing this is a friend of a friend’s sister’s cousin’s hairdresser’s FedEx guy that delivers Brett’s kegs on a weekly basis? Who knows. As of the latest update, he has talked to a staffer that knows the judge and was told it may take a little while before they get an answer as to what to do with the money.

What’s most surprising (read: ABSOLUTELY EXPECTED BECAUSE 53%ers ARE TRASH) is the number of women who have contributed to this campaign. At the time of this writing, the “most raised from sharing” distinction goes to Ms. Dori Medina, whose social network apparently consists of people who think Brett has gotten a raw deal and have collectively raised $105 toward the effort. Dori, I could name about 50 other charities that could put that $105 toward MUCH better use, namely RAINN, the National Sexual Assault Hotline. They experienced an unprecedented 200% increase in call volume during Kavanaugh’s hearing and, according to their website, are still having longer than usual wait times. The irony of this situation is quite disheartening: Assault survivors finally feel brave enough to share their stories, yet 11,813 people feel the man accused of attempted rape and other sexual deviances is the one who needs protection. I admittedly haven’t done the math, but I’d wager at least 53% of those eleven thousand are white women. These people should all be ashamed of themselves. Next time they inquire as to why women don’t report sexual assault? They should check their bank and credit card statements.

I Am White Man...Hear Me ROAR

(A version of this post first appeared on the citizen.education website)

Oh, boy. Thursday was a DAY.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a public hearing for Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, one of the 4 (5? I can’t keep up…) women who has accused him of being a sexual assailant. This hearing was supposed to help the committee and the American public get a better view into the allegations, hear both sides of the story, and possibly determine their validity in a non-partisan, objective environment. Yeaaaaaaaah, that didn’t really happen.

The first clue that the GOP was full of games and shenanigans was the presence of Rachel Mitchell, a special prosecutor from Arizona experienced in sex crimes. The Judiciary Committee has no women on the GOP side, so what do these old-crotchety-white-men-who-only-want-to-promote-their-agendas do? Hire one from across the country and fly her in to question Dr. Ford, so that they don’t *look like* the bunch of old-crotchety-white-men-attacking-a-survivor-of-sexual-abuse-in-order-to-promote-their-agendas they are. Ms. Mitchell however, proved to be a bit of a backfired plan for the Republicans. Since the committee members take 5 minute turns, and the political parties alternate each turn, Mitchell was only allowed to proceed after her questioning had been interrupted by apologies and praise from Democrats. Through this frustrating and tedious process, Mitchell ended up bolstering Dr. Ford’s credibility, almost beyond the shadow of doubt. Towards the end of Ford’s interrogation, Mitchell surprised many viewers by jokingly asking “would you believe me if I told you that there is no study that says that this setting in five-minute increments is the best way to do [this]?” As if to say “Look, I’m just here to do a job and stay neutral. So if you don’t get the result you want, it’s not my fault. Don’t @ me, GOP bros.”

The GOP was dejected and the outlook was grim. Faux News Anchors were voicing their fears aloud, saying this was a disaster for republicans. Meaning it looked like Dr. Ford was telling the truth, and people believed her. (Spoiler Alert: She’s telling the truth. #BelieveSurvivors) What, oh what were they gonna do? The truth is such a foreign concept to the GOP, they were genuinely baffled at the situation.

Just to remind everyone: Supreme Court positions are LIFETIME appointments, and the vacancy Kavanaugh was nominated to fill already came about in a very peculiar way (with the suspicious, early retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy), and at a very peculiar time (after the Republican majority senate CHANGED THE RULES in order to confirm Trump’s first pick, Neil Gorsuch…after stalling out Obama’s pick so that Trump could get the pick in the *first* place). Supreme Court rulings affect people for GENERATIONS. If a president as incompetent as Ding-Dong J. Trump is placing TWO people on it? We should ALL be concerned and paying complete attention to the moral character of his nominees. This is, in essence, an intensive background check on someone who wants a very important job. (Kinda like the one we should have done on Donald Trump, #ButHerEmails…)

With Dr. Ford being embraced by the nation as a sympathetic witness, Kavanaugh decided to enter his testimony with brow furrowed, jaw clenched, and eyes full of…invisible tears. He alternated between looking like a spoiled brat, whining about crusts not being cut off his PB&J, and someone suffering with the worst dry mouth and seasonal allergies ever. I’m assuming he was trying to convey the emotional rollercoaster he has been on since these allegations surfaced, but all many saw was a privileged white male fake-crying because this girl and her rape trauma were standing in the way of his big promotion. Poor wittle Bwett Bwett. Mitchell began her line of questioning, but Kavanaugh did not prove to be as willing or cooperative a witness as Dr. Ford. When the Democratic senators had their shot, his agitation and deflection only increased. This was probably evident to the GOP—which is why they suddenly and without announcement decided to dump Mitchell, mid-hearing, and resume the questioning themselves. It was quite the change of course, and to usher it in with proper fanfare, Senator Lindsey “I wanna be Francis Underwood so bad” Graham decided it was his time to SHINE. And by shine, I mean throw a nonsensical hissy fit that would rival a Real Housewife. Lindsey came out BIG MAD. He wanted the world to know. He had to let it show. It was also the cue for the rest of the GOP committee members to fall in line. Questioning Kavanaugh magically and theatrically turned into pacifying Kavanaugh. By the end of their turns, Faux News was spinning this as a major comeback for the GOP. Even after determined Dems like Booker and Harris left him little to no wiggle room, Kavanaugh still was lauded by the right as an honest man who is being smeared by this rape nonsense. One can safely assume they don’t really care if he did it, they just don’t want it to LOOK LIKE he did it. (Another Spoiler Alert: He still looks guilty AF. Because he is.)

If and when the vote proceeds on Friday, we can only hope that enough people on the right saw through the magician’s distraction and are not easily fooled by slight of hand. Aside from the fact that Weepy McRapeyBeer does not seem to possess the mental or emotional stability of a supreme court judge—do we REALLY want to put ourselves in a position to have to explain to our daughters how, not one, but TWO men accused of sexual assault are literally in charge of laws that affect…sexual assailants? How do you make the same mistake twice in a lifetime, America? Oh…wait. White men still in charge. Got it.

Is Sexual Deviancy in the Job Description for SCOTUS, or...

Journey with me, if you will, to the past: a time of bullies, bad fashion and bangs; where hormones run rampant and decisions are as bad as the cafeteria food…I’m talking about High School, folks. I want you to picture your high school friends and acquaintances, count up how many of them you were with every second of every day. Got it? Good, now stick a pin in that thought.

Before Al Gore’s internet gave us social media—the place where people will sleuth out ALL your business, even though you only post a carefully curated highlight reel—the way we remained connected was limited to folded up looseleaf paper and the miracle of three-way calling. So it’s quite possible your friends were able to do things without your knowledge, right? Well, the GOP doesn’t think so. Which is why they are selling us this hot, buttery bullshit of a letter signed by 65 women who happened to know Brett Kavanaugh in high school, in order to refute Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s attempted rape accusation.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was made aware of Dr. Ford’s account of sexual assault at Kavanaugh’s hand sometime in July. Feinstein referred the case to the FBI, the accusation became public, and the GOP threw a hissy fit at what looked like a last-minute attempt in thwarting their corruption confirmation plans. Interestingly enough, they were fully prepared with a rebuttal to this very same “last-minute” discovery they complained about. Which lets me know two things: 1) The GOP was very aware of the accusation well ahead of it becoming public, and 2) The GOP is very willing to put an attempted rapist onto the Supreme Court. The rebuttal, issued within 24 hours of the accusation going public, was the aforementioned letter signed by 65 women, who said Kavanaugh has “behaved honorably and treated women with respect” for the entire time they have known him. Let’s unpack that a bit, shall we? Pull out that pin.

How many of us can say we knew 65 people WELL in high school? I mean, being in Beta Club together does not mean I’m sure you are not a rapist. In high school, you had a close friend circle of 5-7 people MAX, and that’s if you were lucky. Sure, there were people you knew outside of that circle, like the folks you shared the lunch table with everyday, your homie on the track team, the kid in homeroom you’d always loan pencils to, and your bus mate that always saved you a seat in the back because CLUTCH, but did you know those people well enough to know their deepest, darkest desires and deeds? HELL NO YOU DID NOT. Additionally, how many of us can say we knew someone well enough in high school, that we would vouch for their every movement and decision thirty years later? I wouldn’t even vouch for my high school boyfriend at this stage in life. Sure, he never raped ME, and he treated ME with honor and respect, but I suspect that was more because he was scared of my mother chopping off his private parts than anything else. I was not with him every minute of the day, so I cannot in good faith sign my name to a document refuting another woman’s experience with him. To make matters worse, Brett Kavanaugh went to an all boy’s school. That means these 65 women knew him even LESS than the women who attended co-ed high schools know their male classmates. Really GOP? An attempted rape charge and this is the best you could come up with? 65 women from the surrounding schools and neighborhoods who knew about a boy named Brett that heard he was a good guy because he never tried to rape THEM? Give me a break.

In a compelling turn of events, what seemed to be a shoo-in confirmation for Kavanaugh has now been paused for more investigation and hearings. Dr. Ford, who has already passed a polygraph test and has medical records detailing the attack which predate Kavanaugh’s nomination by at least 6 years, is scheduled to testify before the committee on Monday, September 24th. I have little hope for justice to prevail, seeing as though I lived through the Anita Hill hearings, but we will watch closely and see how the situation unfolds. Aside from the fact that Kavanaugh would be a total nightmare on the supreme court due to his views on Net Neutrality, Women’s Reproductive Rights, Healthcare, and Gun Laws, we already have one accused sexual deviant on the bench. We don’t need two. *stares directly at Clarence Thomas*