Terrible, of course. I think it's interesting that they came to the US from Liberia? That's a pretty circuitous route for your ancestors. Africa -> US -> Africa -> US.

Fucking barbaric, the parents.

Wow, talk about a tragedy multiplied. Those boys should be whipped. Heck, the girl's parents could use it too.

yeah but its a cultural difference. its tragic that the parents are disowning her. but in the middle east, dont rape victims get stoned to death? i rather get disowned then get stoned.

all four boys should be punished. i think that the parents should be able to chose how they raise their child. i mean if i had a daughter and she was raped i would be upset that she got raped.

i would like to know why the girl went into the shed to begin with. couldnt they just give her the gum outside of the shed? why were the boys planning this attack? what did she do to the boys or what was her part in provoking the situation?

we all need more details before we can fully judge

>> ^Oblyvious:
yeah but its a cultural difference. its tragic that the parents are disowning her. but in the middle east, dont rape victims get stoned to death? i rather get disowned then get stoned.
all four boys should be punished. i think that the parents should be able to chose how they raise their child. i mean if i had a daughter and she was raped i would be upset that she got raped.
i would like to know why the girl went into the shed to begin with. couldnt they just give her the gum outside of the shed? why were the boys planning this attack? what did she do to the boys or what was her part in provoking the situation?
we all need more details before we can fully judge


O.o Are you serious?! All the facts?! You are actually considering that there is any merit in considering whether the girl (8, EIGHT years old) provoked the act?!! There is no excuse whatsoever for the actions of these 4 boys, the oldest being 14 (yeah, fourteen). The girl was lured in because as a child, she probably didn't imagine that these other children would mean to hurt her, especially in this horrific way. The younger boys were probably pressured into it by the older boys, but that's no excuse either. The teenagers knew what they was doing, knew it was wrong, and did it anyway. I thought all this went without saying, but apparently not!

The parents of the girl disowned her because in their culture, as in some middle eastern Muslim cultures, men cannot be held responsible for giving into to lustful desires for women who "MUST have been asking for it" (hence the mere existence of the burka). Toleration of this is just unacceptable, but of course, you can't force the parents to care. Hopefully the girl will be placed with a family that is not so heartless and loveless.

Rightly, the older boy is being charged as an adult in a sexual assault. The younger boys will likely be placed in a juvenile sex-offender institution for counseling, containment, and evaluation (probably for a year or two). Some boys recover in these places. Some repeat the offense later in life despite it.

If you don't execute them now you'll be reading/hearing about them in a few years' time, and not for receiving Grammys.

Let Africa Sink.

http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/essays/36/

Every time any one does anything bad, always look to the parents. Always.

This is horrid indeed.

"By being attacked, you have brought shame to us"

I believe the only sensible answer to that is, ahem, DIE IN A FIRE.

>> ^Oblyvious:
yeah but its a cultural difference.
i think that the parents should be able to chose how they raise their child.
i would like to know why the girl went into the shed to begin with. couldnt they just give her the gum outside of the shed? why were the boys planning this attack? what did she do to the boys or what was her part in provoking the situation?
we all need more details before we can fully judge


You simply must be baiting us. No ethical, sensible person would say what you just said.

>> ^Oblyvious:
yeah but its a cultural difference. its tragic that the parents are disowning her. but in the middle east, dont rape victims get stoned to death? i rather get disowned then get stoned.
all four boys should be punished. i think that the parents should be able to chose how they raise their child. i mean if i had a daughter and she was raped i would be upset that she got raped.
i would like to know why the girl went into the shed to begin with. couldnt they just give her the gum outside of the shed? why were the boys planning this attack? what did she do to the boys or what was her part in provoking the situation?
we all need more details before we can fully judge


Blaming the victim for "causing the rape" is never ok. Forcible sexual assault is never ok, no matter "what she was wearing".

I don't care how it happened, it shouldn't have happened. Cultural differences or no, they're human beings and no human being should be treated the way this girl has been-- either by the boys or her parents.

I know, I shouldn't feed the trolls. But this troll has obviously never had a vagina and doesn't know what rape is, obviously.

"Cultural differences." What a ridiculous phrase that can be. No culture gets to receive carte blanche - same goes for religion, political view, etc etc... If it's truly culture that spawns such barbarism, then we have to call it as it is. It's not cultural differences.

That being said - is this an aspect of their culture, or a case of horrendous individuals? Before I go off on a rant or form opinions, it's important to do the research, especially with a topic so dire and consequential.

Sometimes I find it very hard to understand how a word like humanity could come from its root word. I still have trouble with it, especially when I hear of shit like this.

>> ^quantumushroom:
If you don't execute them now you'll be reading/hearing about them in a few years' time, and not for receiving Grammys.
Let Africa Sink.
http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/essays/36/


This article is nonsense.

It suggests that colonialism was beneficial and once that ended in the '60s, everything went to shit. Well no duh, it's not exactly a revelation that revolutions tend to lead to populist, despotic, autocratic dictators that steal from their people. It's a trend that happened all over the world and was not helped by the Cold War wranglings thereafter where these same dictators were propped up to serve the interests of their beneficiaries.

It makes the argument that charity and foreign aid is the only way to stimulate development. It's not, in fact unless it's in response to something unexpected such as emergency disaster relief, it's for the most part only beneficial in the short run and at worst counter productive, showing time and time again to create dependence. What has seen many African countries prosper is the opening of trade barriers, the promotion of foreign direct investment over portfolio investment which gives corporations a stake in their target country, and the promotion of democratic governments and impartial judiciaries.

Tribal warfare on the level that you no longer see in other continents of the world is a product of the lack of urbanisation and agglomeration of split social groups. The US is coming up against the same problem in Afghanistan for that matter. You can't come into Africa, try to force democracy on it cold turkey and expect it to work. Mutually trustworthy social relationships between disparate tribes don't appear overnight, although they are needed for an effective representative democracy and for a thriving business sector that brings together entrepreneurs and those with capital and funds to actualise those ideas. They are also needed dealing with natural distasters, diseases and creating safe habitable environments.

It's not an article, RedSky, it's an essay and one man's opinion.

It makes the argument that charity and foreign aid is the only way to stimulate development.

It makes the exact opposite argument. It indicates the endless charity and aid is making matters worse.

It doesn't mean, "Sink Africa", it means: "Let Africa sink--or swim--on its own merit."

>> ^quantumushroom:
It's not an article, RedSky, it's an essay and one man's opinion.
It makes the argument that charity and foreign aid is the only way to stimulate development.
It makes the exact opposite argument. It indicates the endless charity and aid is making matters worse.
It doesn't mean, "Sink Africa", it means: "Let Africa sink--or swim--on its own merit."


No, it makes no argument in favour of improving trade relations, reducing protection for African imports or anything to that end, it simply suggests that Africa is a hopeless wasteland and should be left to its own destitution lest it infects another country, like the glorious US with it's putrid negligence. It even goes so far as to say that bringing over African refugees would be disastrous as if it's incomprehensible they'd ever be assimilated into, or embrace another culture. Lived in Africa 30 years my ass.

It was colonialism that caused the situation in Afrika. It is being worsened and continued by farm subsidies here in the USA and in Europe. It is much more important that a few agricultural and petrochemical companies can make a few bucks more here than saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Afrika.

-Karl