I was just browsing the New York Times Health section and came across an article by Tara Parker-Pope interviewing Trisha Meili, also known as the Central Park Jogger.
The article focuses mainly on health and wellness issues, such as Trisha's return to running and how she recovered from her brutal attack. It's an interesting read and I certainly feel for Ms. Meilli, but the comments on the website were appalling.
First of all, many readers were frustrated that Ms. Parker-Pope did not include information about the young men of color who were arrested in relation to Ms. Meilli's attack 20 years ago. These teenagers ended up going to jail for a crime they didn't commit.
I agree wholeheartedly that people need to know the truth about this case and that perhaps Parker-Pope should have included information about the wrongfully incarcerated men in her introduction. But the comments often tangled up frustration over racism and justice ("How could you not include this in the article?") with blatant victim-blaming. A few comments clearly made it sound as though Ms. Meilli asked for it by jogging late and by herself. Many commenters were upset that Ms. Parker-Pope did not ask Meilli about the innocent boys, or even that Ms. Meilli did not admit her own culpability in their incarceration. [Example: "I would respect and admire Ms. Meili even more if she would acknowledge that her reckless actions (I am a lifelong female runner and ex-NYC resident who even in my youth would not have considered running alone in Central Park that late) led to 13 years in prison for completely innocent young black men." ]
Excuse me??
Luckily, feminism literature and blogs have given me the tools to recognize this as victim-blaming and I am astounded by how often I see it. I am so grateful that I can identify it as such, whenever I see an article that discusses what a rape victim was wearing or how much she drank or how late she was running in the park.
Listening to the stories (or reading them) online of those who have experienced sexual assault, I also know that it's up to the survivor to decide how he/she wants to respond and heal. Prosecute your rapist? It's up to you. Share your story to many people or just a few? It's up to you.
Parker-Pope made it clear that Meilli has no memory of the event and no firsthand knowledge, so she doesn't feel its appropriate to comment. "I have to leave it to the justice system," she said, "It's part of my own healing to accept that I'm never going to know."
If people want to work on addressing our racist, classist, malfunctioning justice system, believe me: I am in full support. But it's not the responsibility of the survivor to take this on. Their job is to heal and move forward with their lives.
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I agree with you 100%. The article is on the victim's recovery and survival, and the victim blaming in the comments is shocking.
From the comments, I gathered that I should never go running or even leave my house alone of I may do something stupid and innocent people may get sent to jail.
The people in the comments are forgetting that something came between her going out for a jog and some boys being wrongfully convicted; a rapist. She didn't cause a "miscarriage of justice" and it is not her fault that it happened.
"On April 19, 1989, the slightly-built 28-year-old investment banker was violently assaulted while jogging in New York City's Central Park. She was raped and beaten almost to death. When found, she was suffering from severe hypothermia and blood loss from multiple lacerations and internal bleeding, and her skull had been fractured so badly that her left eye was removed from the socket. The initial medical prognosis was that she would die or, at best, remain in a permanent coma due to her injuries. Remarkably, she largely recovered, with some lingering disabilities related to balance and loss of vision."
-Wikipedia
Okay so maybe wikipedia isnt so accurate, but even if this is a little bit like what happened to this woman, how could ANYONE blame her for sending 5 young men to jail who did not commit the crime? The wikipedia article also said that the detectives and police involved were the ones who coerced these men to give written confessions. My feelings on it is that the police were pressured to find somebody responsible because of the horrific nature of this crime and the mass media coverage. So if anything this blogger should be blaming the police for being inept at doing their jobs, and perhaps even blame the police for not giving more protection in central park..im not sure if thats too much to ask in a city such as NYC. But apparently assualt of joggers in central park has been happening frequently during that time. Its a sad sad story, and I hope this victim has made peace with herself and the attack.