Wait a minute! School dress codes in response to an incident that happened OFF CAMPUS!

Jesus fuck.

And just when you think Arizona is pulling into the lead of Craziest State in the Union, Florida comes roaring back with this shit.

How come no one ever suggests we start up a fund for 150 million new guide dogs and mandate men tape their eyes shut whenever they're in public? Why is THAT never an option? If men are the ones who can't control themselves, THEN PENALIZE THE FUCKING MEN.

Ah, yes.... The old "uncovered meat" argument:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_El-Din_…

Florida and Arizona - Proving that, when it comes to teh stoopid, the homegrown product is just as good as the imported.

:(

I'm so disgusted I can't even think of any snark.

I am both disgusted with by the idea that this little girl was responsible for having been gang-raped, and insulted by the idea that a man cannot prevent himself from raping.

Oh holy shit. She is ELEVEN YEARS OLD, and even if she weren't, even if she were a grown-ass woman, she has the right to NOT BE GANG-RAPED even if she chooses to parade around wearing NOTHING AT ALL.

Horrifying. But thank you for posting this, as everyone should know about it.

There are so many women and girls here and around the world who don't have a voice, and women who do have a voice should never forget to use it to defend our/their rights.

Cienna,
You have a point. I am not sure exactly what happened in Texas especially given the skewed coverage but it appears it didn't happen at school.

I agree to penalize the boys/men if at all possible. However, at least at the public school level until say 17 y/o, couldn't districts encourage/enforce modest attire? Or, even segregating the students by gender?

Look, I know these are controversial proposals. But, I have read of and even seen some public schools implement both procedures (gender segregation & school uniforms).

Let's face it boys & girls develop differently in a myriad of ways. I've tutored teens and I've seen some provocative attire on both genders. Is that really necessary? Yes, some girls (and boys) mature sexually quicker. And, no I don't want a victim or potential victim penalized because of nature. Perhaps, this FL lawmaker's proposal is too draconian. But, I do believe gender segregation and school uniforms work.

@10: There are good arguments to be made in favour of school uniforms and gender segregation in education.

However, "They prevent boys from gang-raping tweens" isn't one of them.

Even if she was 21 and a prostitute and, for god sake, even if she had been walking naked down the street, raping her would still be a horrible crime.

How can they search what's wrong whith the victim? Maybe she was chosen as a victim because of her outfit. But the day all women will wear burqa, rapist will rape women in burqa, just as they were raping women long before mini skirt was invented.

If only we could do this...

Making women wear burkas has not stopped rape in the id east. In fact, I would bet that the incidence of rape is higher there than in the US. I doubt most are reported, but I bet it is higher.

thanks, comte!

Nobody should blame the victim, but it is appropriate to look at all the ways that adults failed to protect this child and allowed her to become a target for a violent crime.

Disgusting.

Well, if women insist on having vaginas with them, they're just asking for it.

@16: And what about the adults who let 18 kids become the authors of this violent crime?
Wearing jeans and t-shirt doesn't protect against rape.

@10: It has NOTHING to do with dressing "provocatively". Men rape women no matter what they are wearing. Think of all the stories of women jogging the park, walking home at night, or you know, SLEEPING IN THE OWN BED. We're they dressing too sexy? This has nothing, nothing, nothing to do with clothing. That is a bullshit red-herring argument that men use as an excuse to rape.

"how could I control myself, look at what she was wearing" yadda yadda yadda.

Fuck this country.

Can the south secede, please?

the only person that is to blame for a rape is the rapist. the end.

@10, 11 -- I'm in favor of school uniforms, as I am convinced it reduces the social segregation of school cliques. But yes, "preventing rape" is an absurd justification.

@20, 21 -- Exactly. Rape is about power, not sexuality. Sex is the weapon of subjugation in these situations.

I'm glad the Texas paper was forced to apologize... that shows a little bit of progress. But these Florida legislators supporting this bill... inane.

@24,

Unless there's another prominent Texas newspaper involved with this, you may be thinking of The New York Times' mealy-mouthed apology. The Houston Chronicle's reportage has been good.

Anyone bother to look up this crazy bitches website?

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/sections/r…

Want to know what "other public service" she has on her site?
"Florida Commission on the Status of Women, Chairman 2006-2007, Commissioner"

Can anyone guess what the "status of women" is in Florida?

@20: I don't think I mentioned jeans or a t-shirt. I am saying that to protect a child from becoming a target for a violent crime, it's appropriate for the adults around her to look at a broad range of factors: who she's hangs around with, how she's spends her time, what she says, where she goes, how she carries herself, what she brings with her, how she responds to strangers -- and possibly how she is dressed (though I don't know if that made any difference at all in this case). You don't have to make any moral judgements about these factors: she has an absolute right to not be raped, no matter what she does, where she goes, what she wears. If someone violates that right, it's not her fault, but it's still necessary for the adults around her to take steps, within reason, to keep her from becoming a target. Where blaming the victim comes in with regard to her attire is that, when reporters and others in the community say that she dressed like a prostitute, the subtext is that she somehow sexualized herself, and was therefore partly responsible for the crime. So it's the responsibility of anyone who mentions her mode of dress to explicitly dispel this repugnant suggestion.

What can we encourage wingnuts to not do to avoid being smacked for their stupidity.