# Dharun Ravi gets.... 30 DAYS? Oh. Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 21, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639 "2012-05-21T18:43:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/61 "2012-05-22T13:00:09Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > I prefer my justice tempered with mercy. I was curious how the judge would rule, as I was unsure what I myself would have imposed. All in all, the guy’s life is already fairly well screwed up. More jail time would have added little to the punishment. I don’t think a long jail sentence is appropriate either, but in what sense is Dharun Ravi’s life screwed up? He seems to have no remorse for what he did, and he has a nice future ahead as a speaker and author on the Christian circuit on the topic of how he was persecuted by the gay PC conspiracy for trying to defend traditional marriage. He won’t suffer the slightest emotional or financial consequence for this unless he applies for a job at Burger King and is rejected for his criminal conviction. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/62 "2012-05-22T13:28:42Z")
> [@Condescending\_Robot](#): > > I don’t think a long jail sentence is appropriate either, but in what sense is Dharun Ravi’s life screwed up? He seems to have no remorse for what he did, and he has a nice future ahead as a speaker and author on the Christian circuit on the topic of how he was persecuted by the gay PC conspiracy for trying to defend traditional marriage. He won’t suffer the slightest emotional or financial consequence for this unless he applies for a job at Burger King and is rejected for his criminal conviction. I’m scared shitless at the probability of how correct you are. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/63 "2012-05-22T14:13:05Z")
Just deport the jerk and be done with it. He’s a convicted felon - that’s plenty of reason to kick him out of the country forever. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/64 "2012-05-22T14:17:00Z")
> [@Condescending\_Robot](#): > > He seems to have no remorse for what he did, and he has a nice future ahead as a speaker and author on the Christian circuit Ravi isn’t Christian, is he? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/65 "2012-05-22T14:17:49Z")
> [@Condescending\_Robot](#): > > I don’t think a long jail sentence is appropriate either, but in what sense is Dharun Ravi’s life screwed up? He seems to have no remorse for what he did, and he has a nice future ahead as a speaker and author on the Christian circuit on the topic of how he was persecuted by the gay PC conspiracy for trying to defend traditional marriage. He won’t suffer the slightest emotional or financial consequence for this unless he applies for a job at Burger King and is rejected for his criminal conviction. Well, I suppose it is true he never apologized, but it is also true he has shown no interest in profiting from his crime. I am a Christian. I am unaware of any groundswell of Christians supporting the little guy. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/66 "2012-05-22T18:49:39Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Ravi isn’t Christian, is he? Lots of Indians are Christian. My calculus professor was. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/67 "2012-05-22T19:08:18Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > Lots of Indians are Christian. My calculus professor was. I didn’t say “Indians aren’t Christian.” I asked about Ravi. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/68 "2012-05-22T19:16:00Z")
> [@Sinaptics](#): > > Because different circumstances change the crime. If I’m throwing rocks from an overpass and hit a car but nothing substancial comes of it, I’ll probably get charged with reckless endangerment, destruction of property, etc. If I throw a rock and the car runs into a tree killing someone, then it’s a whole new crime. No. You’re comparing apples and oranges. The rock throwing incident is illegal to start with. I’m not sure the taping was. It most assuredly was not a hate crime. Tyler Clementi made voluntary choices. No one forced him to kill himself. He made that choice by himself alone. And frankly, I have no sympathy for him. Suicide is a coward’s way out in almost all cases. He chose to kill himself instead of saying "Dude, give me a copy of that tape - I’m gonna use it for advertising!!', thereby turning the prank around and rubbing Ravi’s face in it. ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/69 "2012-05-22T19:17:10Z")
I don’t believe he’s a Christian, just that Christians will hold him up as a martyr for being put on trial. ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/70 "2012-05-22T19:18:36Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > No. You’re comparing apples and oranges. The rock throwing incident is illegal to start with. I’m not sure the taping was. It most assuredly was not a hate crime. > > Tyler Clementi made voluntary choices. No one forced him to kill himself. He made that choice by himself alone. And frankly, I have no sympathy for him. Suicide is a coward’s way out in almost all cases. He chose to kill himself instead of saying "Dude, give me a copy of that tape - I’m gonna use it for advertising!!', thereby turning the prank around and rubbing Ravi’s face in it. This fucking idiot sure has a lot of rage at the suicidially depressed teenager who was victimized by his human garbage roomate. Wonder why that is. ---
**Author:** ![pikey\_pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pikey\_pete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pikey_pete)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/71 "2012-05-22T19:49:53Z")
You know, I just hope his cellmate for his month in jail is a very large man, named bubba, who has an affinity for blue eyeshadow and exotic boyfriends. In all seriousness though, my big problem is with the 300 hours of community service. I would have liked to have seen 600 or more hours. I view community service as ‘constructive discipline.’ ---
**Author:** ![pikey\_pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pikey\_pete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pikey_pete)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/72 "2012-05-22T20:03:24Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > No. You’re comparing apples and oranges. The rock throwing incident is illegal to start with. I’m not sure the taping was. It most assuredly was not a hate crime. > > Tyler Clementi made voluntary choices. No one forced him to kill himself. He made that choice by himself alone. And frankly, I have no sympathy for him. Suicide is a coward’s way out in almost all cases. He chose to kill himself instead of saying "Dude, give me a copy of that tape - I’m gonna use it for advertising!!', thereby turning the prank around and rubbing Ravi’s face in it. ok, first of all, not everyone has the mental fortitude you purport to possess. In the real world oppression, bullying and ridicule can have a huge impact on a person’s psyche. Bullying is a form of psychological torture according to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in the 3rd chapter of ‘The Gulag Archipelago.’ If anyone should know about torture it would be a Gulag survivor. I’m not saying that Ravi was constantly doing this, but then again effective torture is enhanced by having a number of tormentors. Eventually their faces all blend together and it seems that the whole world is against you, and that you are worthless and friendless. Ravi was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Now here is the interesting part: survivors of torture tend to have much higher suicide rates. Ravi does share culpability with American culture in this tragic death. So yeah, Ravi did deserve what he got, in fact he deserved a lot more in terms of community service and mandatory psychological counseling. ---
**Author:** ![Barrett\_Bonden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Barrett\_Bonden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrett_Bonden)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/73 "2012-05-22T20:04:25Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > No. You’re comparing apples and oranges. The rock throwing incident is illegal to start with. I’m not sure the taping was. It most assuredly was not a hate crime. It was not taping, it was streaming, and it was indeed illegal. Ravi was convicted of the charge of invasion of privacy, among others. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/74 "2012-05-22T21:08:41Z")
The invasion of privacy angle seems widely overblown. There’s a difference between checking your own computer, that happens to be in a living space you share with someone, and breaking into someone else’s private room. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/75 "2012-05-22T21:10:38Z")
He didn’t “check his own computer.” Do you take us for idiots? He set up his computer intentionally to spy on his roommate. It doesn’t matter whose equipment he used. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/76 "2012-05-22T21:32:18Z")
So how much jail time do you think that the kid in _American Pie_ deserved, if the Shannon Elizabeth character had reported his surreptitious streaming to the police? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/77 "2012-05-22T21:39:40Z")
A lot of things happen on fiction that wouldn’t be tolerated in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/78 "2012-05-22T21:47:08Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > A lot of things happen on fiction that wouldn’t be tolerated in real life. So is this the first time ever that a roommate has secretly recorded another roommate? Obviously not. How much jail time did they receive? Do we know of any that received more than 30 days for a first time offense? How many received no jail time at all? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/79 "2012-05-22T21:53:08Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > So how much jail time do you think that the kid in _American Pie_ deserved, if the Shannon Elizabeth character had reported his surreptitious streaming to the police? Depends. Do you think we should treat minors differently than adults? Did the kid in the movie lie to authorities, tamper with evidence, and try to convince other witnesses to change their stories? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639/80 "2012-05-22T21:55:23Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > He didn’t “check his own computer.” Do you take us for idiots? He set up his computer intentionally to spy on his roommate. It doesn’t matter whose equipment he used. My point is, there’s a big difference between using your own computer set up in a shared living space, and sneaking into someone’s private living space to plant a camera. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dharun-ravi-gets-30-days-oh-really/622639.md?page=5)