One comforting notion is that this day in age, every background check for a decent job includes an internet search. Congrats, morons. You’ve made yourself unemployable.
If they do I find it utterly preposterous.
No contest that the roommate was an asshole and I hope he suffers lifelong guilt over his actions, but clearly Clementi had other issues as well. Most people might get furious or depressed over such a stunt, but I don’t think most would commit suicide; it’s not like being outed as gay is the same as being outed as a pedophile or as a criminal that might get you jail time and would forever wreck your future, nor is it like he was 15 years old. He took the coward’s way out.
Speaking as a gay man and an opponent of outing (except when it comes to hypocrites who speak against homosexuality or as internet gossip on celebrities;)) I think it’s ridiculous the roommate had to post $25,000 bail for invasion of privacy charges when there are violent criminals who get out on less than that.
IANAL and know nothing of hate crime laws, but I was trying to decide on my own whether I would consider this a hate crime, and I was thinking about whether or not the crime was motivated by the fact that the guy was gay. From what I’m understanding, the kid left his room and then later turned on his webcam remotely through some chat program, so it seems like initially the homosexuality wasn’t a motivator. But I think it eventually became one.
And the kid almost definitely killed himself cause he was caught having gay sex. Imagine if it was a straight dude with a chick, would he have killed himself? No way.
It was the webcam on the roommate’s computer. He iChatted himself from another room and saw the hot gaysecks. Then he told other people to iChat him and watch.
If I had a kid that did something this disgusting, I’d drop them like a hot fucking brick. Forget legal support–they aren’t getting so much as a birthday Facebook post unless and until they demonstrate that they comprehend how truly fucked up what they did was.
Speaking personally, I always found lemonparty pretty adorable.
I look forward to your contributions to my legal defense fund after I try to get out of charges by claiming that I didn’t know it was illegal to beat the everloving shit out of bullying scumbags.
Did you see the news reports that said Clementi asked for privacy that evening? Don’t college students usually do that so they can be alone with someone? So, at the very least, Ravi knew Clementi had a date and probably knew it was with a guy. So, no, he didn’t just happen to turn on the webcam, not after trying to videotape him previously, and not after the following tweet regarding that evening:
It was the “Yay” that convinced me it was deliberately and maliciously recorded and distributed, and not happenstance that he iChatted himself(!?) and say the gayseck.
Absolutely. The stereotype in my day was the good old “sock on the doorknob”. Which meant, “don’t come knocking - roomie, I’ll owe you one later”.
That sort of thing was sacred. Abusing it by barging in or pulling any other bullshit - much less videotaping (not easy with the teck available in my day) - earned an automatic asshole rating, a thing everyone understood.
I’m not sure why you are ascribing some sort of moral absolution to my post, which was to simply explain where the camera came from.
I was not advocating they get off scott free because of their ignorance. I was simply stating that their (presumed) ignorance would lead me to believe that their actions were not “hate” motivated.
Also, “didn’t know it was illegal to beat the everloving shit out of…” and “didn’t know it was illegal to leave my webcam on in my dorm room while my roommate became intimate…” are not *quite *the same.
So has the other guy in the video made any comment? I would assume the video has been taken down (and also assume there are still copies squirreled away) but I’m wondering if he suffered any consequences from the posting. HE (the other guy) is the one most likely to press felony charges or sue the pants off the other guy.
I should make it clear that this statement isn’t meant as a condoning, but rather support that even in a relatively rambunctious fraternity the conduct described in the OP would have been beyond the pale. I mean, regardless, it would have been grounds for an asskicking (the closest similar incident was Guy A convincing himself that Guy B wanted A to break down B’s door and take a snapshot of B having sex with B’s girlfriend. THAT ended in a police report of a naked guy with a baseball bat chasing some other guy around the parking lot next door.)
How is a crime actionable in civil court?
Didn’t mean to do that, but I’m all het up today, what with the Shirvel stuff, this and the Eddie Long BS.
It was also the accretion other posts in this thread that caused me to mistake yours for one explaining away why (and the fun! of) his videotaping his roommate during that requested time period alone, rather than simply pointing out how the camera came to be in the room.
And after his pants are off, make him the bottom.
However, what happened isn’t quite the latter. From his tweets it sounds like from the very beginning he intended to broadcast Tyler’s romantic encounter to the world. Accidentally walking in on your roommate while he’s going at it … hey, shit happens when you’re living in close quarters. Inviting the whole school to come over and watch through the window and snicker … that’s another thing entirely. Particularly since it seems like the whole point was to humiliate and punish the victim.
y-y-y-es.
:eek:
It doesn’t matter if you know it’s a crime or not. It matters if you intentionally harm someone because of his sexual orientation (or race or other things that don’t apply in this instance). I’m not convinced this is a hate crime but it helps to be clear on that part. Anyway this is a cruel and stupid thing to do to someone and it’s sad it turned out this way.
This and the jackass who did the taping, I wonder when the stories about what a jackass/nice boy he was in high school will start coming into the press.
Hellova a way to start your college career and end your life as you know it.
Worst room mate ever.
That is wrong on more that one level. First, the parents have nothing to do with it. Second, homeowners insurance does not cover deliberate criminal acts. Third, negiligence has nothing to do with the wrong committed by the students, or anyone else for that matter.
It seems as though Clementi was posting about the incident on a gay web forum as it was all going down. It doesn’t really answer the question of why he killed himself over it, but does provide a bit more information.