Point of View: Villain was also person who fled assault
by Donna M. Carbone
The article entitled, “Sheriff:
Rape suspect wanted to talk to victim,” which appeared in the Palm Beach Post
on Monday, May 05, 2014, completely missed its mark in choosing a headline. The
most telling information in the report was not that the attacker wanted to
speak with his former girlfriend about their relationship but that a former
neighbor, present at the beginning of the confrontation, left the premises
despite pleas from the victim that he/she remain.
Not only did the neighbor leave
the victim to be beaten and raped, he/she did not take the initiative and call
the police to report a possible assault. This is a scenario I am all too
familiar with and, I would guess, happens more often than we care to admit.
Seven years ago when my daughter
was beaten and raped by a maintenance man with a master key and a machete, her
downstairs neighbor heard her screams and chose to barricade her door and cover
her ears. When my daughter escaped for a few brief moments and ran across the parking
lot screaming, no one – not one person in the many apartments lining the
parking lot – called the police. Had one resident fulfilled their obligation as
a human being, the outcome of that night would have been much different.
When reporting criminal activity,
it would behoove journalists to focus on the loss of humanity in our
society. Very often I hear people questioning the lack
of empathy among teenagers and college-aged students who show little interest
in the well-being of their peers. Perhaps, it’s because their role models
behave the exact same way.
http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/opinion/point-of-view-villian-was-person-who-fled-possible/nfrgJ/#50461b1e.3788007.735363
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