Today, the NY Daily News detailed an account and report that women are surprisingly less forgiving than men of rape victims. More than half of the women who participated in a new survey think certain rape victims should accept some responsibility for the violent attack they endured.
One third felt that provocative dress or returning to the attacker's house to have a drink makes a victim deserving of some blame for the rape, according to the survey, which was reported by BBC News.
The online survey of more than 1,000 people in London, called Wake Up To Rape, found that more than half of both men and women said that in some instances, the victim should take responsibility for a rape. The survey participants, who ranged in age from 18 to 50, included 712 men and 349 men, according to BBC News.
Some 71 percent of the women who said they felt some rape victims should take responsibility said the victims were accountable for the crime if they'd gone to bed with the attacker. Only 57 percent of the men felt that way, according to the survey.
Sportynation, victim blaming is nothing new, but is 100% something to fear. Victim blaming is holding the victims of a crime, an accident, or any type of abusive maltreatment to be entirely or partially responsible for the unfortunate incident that has occurred in their life.
Historically victim-blaming has often emerged in racist and sexist forms. It is also about blaming individuals for their personal distress or for social difficulties, rather than the other parties involved or the overarching social system in place.
Victim blaming serves as a diversion and/or rather a mechanism to make one feel good, better, safe, or safer. That is, the mentalities that that would never happen to me because I live in a nice neighborhood, I don't dress "suggestively/scantily clad" or that that would never happen to me because I'm smart, I have good parents, I raised my kids properly, or that I have superior talent.
Stated simply, we as humans look for reason any and everywhere...even when it is not there. In addition to that we seem to be naturally hard-wired and programed to not look at the situation in its most basic form. Instead we look at things that may not be "totally" true, correlated to the situation, or insignificantly related.
The rationalization or explanation of a tragic incident was on full display this weekend when Nodar Kumaritashvili, a 21-year-old slider from the republic of Georgia, died Friday after he crashed in the final curve. He was traveling at nearly 90 mph when he slammed into an unpadded steel support pole.
Officials also have modified the final curve where he crashed and erected a wooden wall over the steel beams. Within sight of the finish line, Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed coming out of the 16th turn and slammed into an unpadded steel pole while traveling nearly 90 mph. Despite frantic attempts by paramedics to save his life, he died at a trauma center.
Concerns about the lightning-fast course had been raised for months. There were worries that the $100 million-plus venue was too technically difficult, and a lack of significant practice time by everyone but the host nation’s sliders would result in a rash of accidents.
But the International Luge Federation and Vancouver Olympic officials said their investigation showed that the crash was the result of human error and that “there was no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track.”
In a joint statement they said Kumaritashvili was late coming out of the next-to-last turn and failed to compensate. “This resulted in a late entrance into curve 16 and although the athlete worked to correct the problem, he eventually lost control of the sled, resulting in the tragic accident.”
Men lugers, who were scheduled to finish training Friday morning, will get two extra practice runs Saturday. Women will train four hours later than scheduled. Men’s competition will be held later in the day as planned.
Mikhail Saakashvili, president of Georgia, who defended Kumaritashvili hours after officials blamed him. "No sports mistake is supposed to lead to a death,'' he said at a news conference.
"Nodar was a very rapidly progressing sportsman," Saakashvili said. "He won qualification on his own merits. He didn't come here because he represents some country. He came here because he had to compete. He had to go through ... international competitions. He was training all around Europe. You cannot say it was inexperience.''
Kumaritashvili’s inexperience may have played a factor in the crash, but he had qualified to compete. This would have been his first Olympics. He competed in five World Cup races this season, finishing 44th in the world standings. To claim he didn't have enough experience for a guy who is among the world's top 44 lugers is tremendously arrogant, infuriating, and pathetic (that was kind of strong, sportynation).
Sportynation, I am not going fall into the easy stance that this "sport" is too dangerous, too fast, brutal, and should be outlawed like it is often said each summer when a horse dies or is seriously injured in the Preakness, Breaders Cup, Belmont Stakes, Kentucky Derby, and etc. However, I will say a few things...First, there should be more precautions, more responsibility delved out to the individuals and groups in charge, and research done by outside independent entities. You can't ask the commissioner like figure or the group in charge to oversee the sport because of their biases and agendas and you certainly cannot have athletes police themselves because they are far too close to the sport and could and probably would make decisions that are in the extreme. After all, many lugers have complained about "starting from the women's start", "the track is too slow", and "is not as fun" (albeit after a fatality just two days ago), but you also have emotionally distraught athletes that are and will be damaged for a long long time and also a group of athletes that have already left the competition.
It does seem particularly irresponsible, unkind, unreasonable, insensitive, and disingenuous "as the body is still warm" to proclaim and insinuate that it was the luger's fault, and that there was nothing wrong with the course excccccceptttttt that we are going to raise the walls, change the ice, lower the start, and offer more practice time. Sportynation, does this not sound like the luge federation trying to cover itself?
Indeed, luge is a dangerous sport, but the fact that they changed things with the track clearly shows they know the track itself was dangerous, even though they deny that. One of the changes was to wrap all metal columns exposed to the track with cushions similar to how NASCAR and Indy Car safeguards the corners when the cars come around corners. Seems pretty simple and easy of a change or precaution. Right?
The opposite point of view argues that the luge federation is only making the changes for the psychological or emotional aspects. The changes are being made so that people (including athletes, press, coaches, families, and the general public) feel better or safer.
Sportynation, the father of the Georgian luger killed at the Vancouver Olympics said Monday his son worried the track was too dangerous, but insisted on competing because he had come to the games to try to win.
"He told me: I will either win or die," David Kumaritashvili told The Associated Press. "But that was youthful bravado, he couldn't be seriously talking about death."
The father, in an interview at his home in the snow-covered slopes of Georgia's top ski resort, said he had spoken to his son, Nodar, shortly before the fatal training run Friday.
"He told me: Dad, I really fear that curve," the elder Kumaritashvili said. "I'm a former athlete myself, and I told him: 'You just take a slower start.' But he responded: `Dad, what kind of thing you are teaching me? I have come to the Olympics to try to win.'"
Kumaritashvili, a Soviet-era luger himself, seemed to have mixed feelings about the cause of the crash.
"Maybe my son was at fault, but if the beams weren't there this wouldn't have happened, he would be alive," Kumaritashvili said. "This could have happened to anyone, anyone could have made that mistake. That's what I think."
Unfortunately, this young man tragically died.
Sportynation, I would like to reiterate that I'm not an authority on luge course design/engineering or luge techniques or etc., to me, luging is an exceptionally interesting sport. The point of this post his to point out that victim blaming is a serious thing that we must all be aware. Indeed, it may be human nature to blame the victim or search for reason in things that happen in the world, but we must not dismiss the obvious. We should think more and more while not over-thinking, give the benefit of the doubt more, and take things as they come.
This is my Minority Report.
Below is an account by Jay Mariotti a former writer for the Chicago Sun Times and Chicago Tribune and current writer for AOL Fanhouse. It is significantly stronger than my take and also very interesting.
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WHISTLER, British Columbia -- Oh, sure, blame the accident on a dead man who can't defend himself. As if the tragedy on Blackcomb Mountain wasn't devastating enough to the Olympic movement, the legacy of the XXI Winter Games, Canada's dreams and a heartbroken family in the republic of Georgia, now we have to endure insensitive, clumsy finger-pointing from officials who won't accept a grave reality: They made the luge track too fast. Incredibly, they ruled Saturday that Nodar Kumaritashvili was a reckless driver who failed to compensate on his sled when he was late coming out of the next-to-last turn.
"There was no indication the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track,'' concluded the International Luge Federation, a motion seconded by Vancouver Olympic organizers. "This resulted in a late entrance into curve 16, and although the athlete worked to correct the problem, he eventually lost control of the sled, resulting in the tragic accident.''
It's a bogus explanation akin to posting a speed limit of 95 mph on an expressway, then blaming the driver for spinning out of control at, say, 95 mph. For months, serious concerns had been voiced that the track at Whistler Sliding Center was dangerous and vulnerable to a horrific event. Among the alarmed was none other than Josef Fendt, president of FIL, who said in November 2008 that racers were flying too fast on the course at 92.5 mph (149 kilometers) and urged that top speeds be reduced in the future to 85 mph (136 kilometers). "This is not in the interest of our International Luge Federation, and it makes me worry,'' Fendt said then -- in an FIL news release, no less. He also was critical of the Whistler track's designers, saying he didn't expect "such a leap'' in speeds.
Yet there was Fendt on the morning after in this stunned village, claiming that he never said such things. "We never said it is too fast. We are not saying this track is too fast, but that the track is fast,'' he said, using an interpreter because his English is lacking. "We did not expect those speeds, but after that, we found out that the track is safe for the athletes. We know all tracks are getting faster over time, and in planning future tracks, we have to make sure we don't go beyond 140 kilometers an hour. The speed of 137 here is an appropriate number.''
So why did Fendt, the most powerful man in the sport, watch idly as some racers hit 95 mph (153 kilometers) on practice runs this week? If he was so worried 15 months ago, why wasn't he mortified as several lugers were expressing fears, comparing themselves to "crash-test dummies'' who felt like their bodies were "on fire'' when they wrecked at high speeds? There had been more than a dozen crashes on the track during training before Kumaritashvili's 89-mph death ride. Where were the big bosses?
Asleep, that's where. Which is why they were so quick to cover their butts when a shocked world, sickened by the video of Kumaritashvili hurdling out of his sled and slamming grotesquely into an unpadded steel pole, is demanding answers that apparently aren't coming. If the luge federation and Vancouver officials did nothing wrong, riddle me this: Why were they compelled to reduce speeds by moving the start of the men's run further down the track to where the women start? Isn't that an admission of some sort, especially when speeds during the training run Saturday were significantly slower?
Nope. It's all Kumaritashvili's fault.
"Our technical officials studied the tape and walked the track. Based on this, they were able to render their opinion as to what happened,'' said Svein Romstad, FIL secretary general. "The run of Nodar appeared to be routine until curve 15. At that time, he came out late on the curve. This resulted into a late entrance into the final curve. Although he attempted to rectify the situation, he shot up into curve 16. The result is that he experienced a G-force that literally collapsed his body, rendering it difficult to control the sled, which in this case he was not able to do. Once this happened, he was literally at the mercy of the path of the sled.''
Because he was GOING TOO DAMNED FAST. How convenient of Romstad to omit that small detail.
All of which wasn't lost on Mikhail Saakashvili, president of Georgia, who defended Kumaritashvili hours after officials blamed him. "No sports mistake is supposed to lead to a death,'' he said at a news conference.
"Nodar was a very rapidly progressing sportsman," Saakashvili said. "He won qualification on his own merits. He didn't come here because he represents some country. He came here because he had to compete. He had to go through ... international competitions. He was training all around Europe. You cannot say it was inexperience.''
Then he thrust the dagger. "We were told by our sportsmen there was some suggestion that walls should have been higher there because there was eventuality of this happening," Saakashvili said.
Something reeks in the mountains, where a memorial to the fallen athlete -- candles, flowers, notes, a photo with the inscription "In Memory of Nodar Kumaritashvili, May he rest in peace." -- has been erected in the medals plaza. They should have shut down the luge competition for days, or canceled it entirely, after the first fatality at a Winter Games in 18 years. But only briefly was that option discussed, Romstad said. So there were the racers Saturday, resuming their craft even if it required sliding eerily into the same final turns where their colleague had perished. According to Fendt, not one luger expressed a desire to cancel the two-day event. You can call it steely dedication to one's passion.
I call it insanity.
"Everybody deals with these things different,'' said U.S. luger Tony Benshoof, among those who have wrecked this week. "I can't personally deal with it until after the Games.''
"It's a big hit to the luge community and the Olympic committee, but today is a new day,'' Canada's Samuel Edney said. "We are racing with Nodar in our minds. It's honorable that everybody got on their sleds today. It was a tough moment for sure, but there wasn't fear. I'm confident of the safety of the track.''
They should have been saved from themselves by their federation, the race director and the technical delegates. Instead, these daredevils continued competing on a death track where only minor changes were made. Yes, life goes on, but why so soon at the risk of more tragedy? Even with reduced speeds, the track remains the most dangerous in the world. A 12-foot-high wooden wall now covers the unpadded beams. The exit in the killer curve has been reshaped to "change the ice profile.'' And that's it, folks. Almost defiantly, they've done a minimum of work to the $105-million venue, convinced that this was "an extremely exceptional accident.'' Said Fendt: "For me personally, (Friday) was the worst day and saddest day in the history of the sport. We've been competing since 1964, almost 50 years, and it was the worst event that has happened. We had not had a fatal accident in 35 years on artificial tracks.''
Keep telling yourself that, sir, and you'll have another. The good news was that the racers, at least in the practice sessions, were going slower: None of the 36 sliders broke 90 mph. But conspicuous by his absence was Georgia's Levan Gureshidze, who didn't take his sixth practice run. When you think about it, who in his right mind would want to slide down the world's most dangerous track, face first, 24 hours after the grisliest scene they'd ever experienced? "It's really difficult to start,'' Slovenia's Domen Pociecha said. "Everybody's thinking the same thing. You can see it in their faces.''
"It eats you inside,'' Canada's Jeff Christie said. "It reminds you that it's a speed sport and that we take risks doing it. We're all racers; this is what we do. Our decision is to race.''
Adding to this exercise in denial was the organizers' stated reason for the subtle course alterations. They were made, Romstad said, more for emotional reasons than safety purposes. "We're trying our best to alleviate the traumatic components of this tragic event,'' he said, fighting back tears and sniffles. "The primary concern is the emotional aspect of it. We haven't experienced this in 35 years. We are unfamiliar with how to deal with this. In our discussions, it became clear that none of our athletes has experienced anything like this. They lost a friend yesterday, and it's emotional for everyone. Hopefully, psychologically, this will help. We believe this is the best course of action.''
Let's see. The man knows G-forces and psychology, but when it comes to the simple questions of why the track was too fast and why there were so many practice crashes, he draws a blank. "This is a fast sport,'' Romstad said, "and athletes do encounter problems on a regular basis. There was nothing out of the ordinary that signaled need for a change. There were no signs that were unique."
Nothing out of the ordinary? No signs that were unique? I'd say lugers going 95 mph, when Fendt strongly suggested not long ago that they shouldn't exceed 85 mph, is something out of the ordinary and unique. I'd call it a scandal, actually, and if the International Olympic Committee doesn't investigate, then president Jacques Rogge and his people should be investigated, too. "We certainly didn't hear anything about excessive speed,'' said Mark Adams, the IOC's communications director. "We're very, very confident it is safe.''
The lugers talked of high speeds all week. They were quoted in stories, interviewed on TV. Where was the IOC? Is it not apparent that a pall has been cast over the Games? "It's really unfortunate to have something like that happen," said U.S. snowboarding star Shaun White, who had his own ugly wreck last month. "We're all in different sports and from different countries, but when we get here, we're all part of the same family. It has definitely affected everyone here."
As a group, the lugers decided to wear a piece of black tape on the left side of their helmets. "He crashed on the left side of curve 16,'' France's Thomas Girod said, "so we are wearing tape on the left side of our helmets in his memory.''
Finally, somebody at the luge track did something smart.
