Thursday, July 30, 2009

Icarus

A twelve year old girl was raped, and her life, we surmise from experience, is forever altered and made more difficult. We don't know who raped her. It's not our business to know, but we all hope dearly that the rapist is brought to justice by the authorities, and that the girl is given every chance to lead a happy life.

Inexplicably though, two years after the rape, her own mother catapualted this horrible crime into the mainstream by taking her daughter on to a popular radio program, hooking her up to a polygraph machine, and broadcasting the event across the airwaves.

Knowing what transpired seconds later, this poor fourteen year old's comment, "I'm scared... it's not fair," sends chills to my bones.

She was questioned about her sexual experience, by both the hosts and her own mother, and confessed to being raped, something which her mother already knew. In shock, the radio host, stupidly, for a second, tried to carry on the skit, something which he now regrets.

His pathetic defence of people 'using this to get at him' is beyond my tolerance, and he is a pathetic knob of the highest order, but he is not the rapist. He is a fuckwit, but not the rapist.

The mother has failed, too. We innately understand a mother's role in human society and, hell, in the animal kingdom, and she has failed. She has failed to 'mother' her daughter properly. But she is not a rapist.

Somewhere, there's a rapist, who raped a twelve year old girl. The police have said the only thing that has made sense to me in this whole sorry affair thus far: That they will investigate the rape claims.

The angry mob have lit their torches and armed themselves with pitchforks and are marching on 2Day FM's offices to call for Sandilands' blood.

This is what it has come to. The spotlight. The glare. The celebrity. We make them, we take them down.

I think, personally, the world is better than it used to be. I have an old aunt who was raped at 14, at rifle point, and she had a baby - she adopted it out. The rapist was a local boy. He became the local butcher. She bought her meat from him, for years. He'd occasionally throw some extra snags in. There was no police action, there was no counselling. But at age 70, she confessed that it has 'troubled' her throughout her life. I bet.

Go back to the cavemen. They allegedly clubbed women over the heads to get sex.

I think, generally, the world, the western world in particular, is getting better. People are coming to trial. Rape is no longer 'boys being boys' (it never was, but it was often brushed off as that). We're not standing for what used to be swept under the carpet.

But where the modern world is failing is what's commonly known as the 'cult of celebrity'. There was always an obsession with celebrity - read Plato's 'Last Days Of Socrates' and you'll see it plain as day, all the obsession with the famous guy and how he had his fans as well as those who wanted to bring him down (and ultimately succeeded).

But back then, and now, this obsession with the celebrity is shooting the messenger. The celebrity is just a messenger. It's all he/she ever has been, and we shoot at them - a lot quicker these days, given the speed of information flow.

The cult is here to stay. There's got to be something in our wiring that not only creates supernatural gods to cling to, but also the Icarus's, the mortals approaching godliness, ie: the celebrities. And just like Icarus, the story is best when he falls to the ground. Whether it be Socrates, Kurt Cobain or Kyle Sandilands, it's the crash to the ground that we somewhat yearn for. Unless we include this yearning, we are missing a large slice of our understanding of any event.

Icarus fell from the sky not just because he flew too close to the sun, but because we were shooting at him.

Make no mistake, the 2DayFM story is now more about Kyle Sandilands than the girl, her mother, or even the rapist.

On some weird, fucked up level, I feel sorry for the cunt.

22 comments:

Perseus said...

I add: Jesus Christ - just another Icarus variant. Same story. He flew to close to the sky and died. Even the imagery is the same... arms outstretched.

Melba said...

Good post, Perseus, but I think you have let the mother off too lightly. I don't care about Sandilands or his co-host. We know they are tools, and we know what radio shows do to generate controversy and interest.

The mother, however, is a fucking idiot for putting her daughter in this situation. No, she's not the rapist. But who knows what environment such a reprehensible person has her daughter in.

Drawing a long bow?

I think not. Most people who violate others are not strangers to them - they are known to the victim. Like your aunty. What a story that is and good on her for telling it.

Pepsi said...

Kurt Cobain or Kyle Sandilands

How can you put them in the same sentence, or compare them in any way?

One did something, couldnt handle it and took himself quietly away.

The other has done nothing and wont go away.

imho - the girl should be removed from her mothers custody.

Headline journalism, lazy journalism, Fox journalism - whatever you want to call it, its always been there and probably always will.

95% of people in the world are idiots.

Lewd Bob said...

In related news, what's with this headline in the Age:

Link: Pregnant woman sexually assaulted on train

Yes, she was pregnant. 9 weeks. So she wasn't 'showing'. So why is that a relevant detail? The perpetrator didn't know she was pregnant. Is the sub-editor trying to make him out to be a worse criminal because he assaulted a pregnant woman. The headline may as well have read "Brunette woman assaulted on train". Or "Cranbourne woman assaulted on train".

Back to Perseus' post, Sandilands is a cunt. The Mother is a fuckwit. But you're right Perseus, they're bit players.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Headlines are designed to grab your attention, Bob, that's what they're for.

Witness the classic "Headless body found in topless bar".

Anonymous said...

Why draw attention to the body's headless condition?

The fact that it was found in a topless bar means there'll be hell to pay from its spouse when it gets back home.

Cath said...

Am I missing something here? What sort of mother does that to her daughter? The child definitely needs therapy for her trauma, but fuck, that mother needs a bullet. I am hoping that there is something missing in the story and the mother is not a complete psycho exposing her daughter on "national" radio as a "lesson".

And yes, Bob and Pers, Sandilands is a total cunt. But if that was live radio... fuck - even he doesn't need to deal with that shit!

Unknown said...

It was fairly obvious that Sandilands had no idea how to respond to what the girl said, but here's a clue Kyle, when in doubt shut your mouth for a second and think before you speak.

And the mother? What the fuck is wrong with her? Your kid tells you she was raped and you do ... nothing? Or you ... take her to a radio station and have her hooked up to a lie detector test? That's freaking insane. How can anyone explain that kind of behaviour?

Poor kid.

Anonymous said...

Apart from what I've seen on Media Watch and read here, I know nothing of Kyle Sandilands or his program. My question is this: What if there hadn't been a rape? You'd still have an under-age girl being grilled about her sex-life for the amusement of the general public, wouldn't you? Isn't that fucked enough on its own? Aren't a few torches and pitchforks warranted?

Louche said...

The mother is the most fucked, for dragging her poor kid through that just to win PInk! tickets, and it is completely appropriate that DOCS is investigating the girl's welfare.

Next in line to be shot are the producer/s who set up the story.

Kyle is a cunt for firstly agreeing to host the stunt, then failing the live radio test so badly.

Jackie can lose her job too because she is a simpering idiot who pretends she is the nice one while she was just as complicit in the whole shabby segment.

People lose their jobs for less all the time.

Louche said...

Oops, I fucked up, the rapist should get the first bullet, and hopefully now the Police are investigating, there is a slightly higher chance of him being punished.

If only sexual assault conviction rates weren't so low in this country.

wari lasi said...

I've tried for the life of me to think of any positive motivation for what all these people have done to this little girl. Whose idea was it and what did they expect to achieve?

From the rapist to the mother to a whole crowd of grubby media cunts. It's unbelievable.

Now I'll bet ACA, TT and all the tabloid media will be keen to exploit this child and her fuck up of a mother just a little more.

What a fucked up society.

Puss In Boots said...

I'm with Louche and the rest who have stated the mother it a fucking moron.

What sort of woman, who knows her 14 year old daughter was raped when she was 12, drags her into a radio station, hooks her up to a lie detector, and forces her to talk about her sexual experiences on national radio - just to win tickets to a concert??

I mean, I can't fucking stand children, and can be heartless at the best of times, but if I did ever have any kids, even I wouldn't do something like this to one of them.

When I first read the stories, I didn't understand why Kyle was copping all the flack. Sure, he's a wanker, but the mother was the one behind it all. I can't believe someone would do that to one of their children for concert tickets.

kitten said...

Actually I can understand why a mother would do it.

1. A sexual assault victim will often engage in promiscuous sexual behaviour and other types of high-risk behaviour (eg. drugs, alcohol) as a means of dealing with or forgetting the sexual trauma. Since the rape was 2 years ago, it is possible the mother is desperate to find out what her child has been up to recently in order to stop such behaviours.

2. We also dont know all the facts. Its possible the kid recanted and later said she lied about the rape, just to get her mother/cops off her back. Perhaps she is a troubled kid with a history of telling lies. Maybe the mother wanted to know if she was telling the truth about the rape.

As for it being on radio, well desperate people do desperate things. Maybe she couldnt afford to pay for a private lie detector test to find out the truth about her daughter.

People just love to jump in and judge things without having a clue as to what is really going on. Sometimes the "victim" turns out to not really be a victim at all.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Bollocks, Kitten.

Parents who care about their children don't strap them into a "lie detector" in a tacky stunt to win Pink tickets.

kitten said...

How do you know they did it to win tickets? Again, you are judging them without being in possession of any of the facts.

According to the news reports:
"The 14-year-old girl was strapped to a lie detector during 2Day FM's Kyle and Jackie O breakfast show yesterday because her mother was concerned about her behaviour"

No mention of Pink tickets!

As I said, perhaps she did it because she really really wanted someway to know the truth about what was going on with her daughter, and radio stunt or not, it was one way of finding out. Its not like 14 yo are honest with their parents about such things.

Perseus said...

Kitten, stop. Putting it to air nullifies any noble intentions she may have had, if indeed she even had any. She has failed as a mother. It's a disgrace what she did.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Here's a wild guess, Kitten.

If I was truly concerned about my child I might try - you know -talking to them or a counseller as opposed to taking them to 2DayFM.

And "lie detectors' are notoriously unreliable.

kitten said...

Perhaps she has already tried that. When was the last time you tried to get a 14 yo to tell you about what illegal sex and drug activities they are engaging in? Do you think that sitting down and talking to a teenager who is already off the rails actually works? I'd laugh, if it wasnt actually so serious.

Perhaps this 14 yo isnt coming home at night, and is drinking heavily and taking drugs. Until you know what its like to try and stop a teenager hell bent on self destruction, you shouldnt comment on the lengths that parents may need to go to in order to find out what is going on their kids lives.

There are worse parents out there who do nothing and dont give a shit. Their kids end up living on the street, addicted to heroin, and prostituting themselves to pay for their habits.

My point in all this is that until you KNOW the full facts of the case, you shouldnt judge people.

WitchOne said...

I see your point kitten but there is always another way to address an issue. Even if the issue is with a 14 year old. Fact is the mother can't have been dealing with a full pack of cards to think is the way to go in addressing or even just finding out about an issue. Real or imagined.

Her reasons can only have been selfish in this case as there is no benefit to the child here at all.

Unknown said...

My point in all this is that until you KNOW the full facts of the case, you shouldnt judge people.

You can form an opinion with all the facts at hand, at the time though. Which is that the mother acted in a way that brought emotional distress to her child, which was then publicly broadcast.

Puss In Boots said...

Kitten, I don't understand how you can suggest the mother's behaviour was acceptable under any circumstances. Even if the girl was a complete shit of a kid and the mother had tried to speak to her about it, it's really not acceptable to drag a child onto national radio and force them into talking about their sexual experiences, regardless of whether they'd been raped or not.

And judging by what the girl said to her mother when she asked if she'd ever had sex ("I’ve already told you the story about this ... and don’t look at me and smile because it’s not funny."), it doesn't seem like the mother really cared about the child's wellbeing.