Rutgers Case Verdict: Guilty

[Katiebug]

katiebug: I don't think the article demonized him; I thought it was pretty even-handed. At times, both young men acted like immature jerks. I think what really trapped Ravi was his attempts at coverup.

No, I worded that poorly - I felt that the New Yorker article was much more even-handed than most of the media demonization of Ravi as a bigot and a bully. I think it was just a bad roommate match from the start. Tyler had his own issues related to coming out, and I felt that it was wrong to deem Ravi as having been this monster who drove his roommate to suicide. People don't kill themselves in the absence of other mental health issues and I don't like the idea of blaming others for that selfish choice. There was immaturity on both sides (I believe Tyler said some anti-Indian things to his own friends). I think the webcam was over the top and wrong, don't get me wrong, but aside from that I don't think Ravi's attitude towards having a gay roommate was any different than that of the typical straight 18 year old guy.

I think it would have been a sign of maturity for Ravi to have taken the plea, done his community service, and gone on with his life. There was shitty immature behavior on both sides and unfortunately Tyler had mental health issues that spiraled out of control. I don't know why Ravi's lawyers tried for a trial knowing that it the media had already painted their client as an anti-gay bigot, but it was a foolish choice on his part.

[gustava]

No, I worded that poorly - I felt that the New Yorker article was much more even-handed than most of the media demonization of Ravi as a bigot and a bully. I think it was just a bad roommate match from the start. Tyler had his own issues related to coming out, and I felt that it was wrong to deem Ravi as having been this monster who drove his roommate to suicide. People don't kill themselves in the absence of other mental health issues and I don't like the idea of blaming others for that selfish choice. There was immaturity on both sides (I believe Tyler said some anti-Indian things to his own friends). I think the webcam was over the top and wrong, don't get me wrong, but aside from that I don't think Ravi's attitude towards having a gay roommate was any different than that of the typical straight 18 year old guy.

I think it would have been a sign of maturity for Ravi to have taken the plea, done his community service, and gone on with his life. There was shitty immature behavior on both sides and unfortunately Tyler had mental health issues that spiraled out of control. I don't know why Ravi's lawyers tried for a trial knowing that it the media had already painted their client as an anti-gay bigot, but it was a foolish choice on his part.

I agree with what you. It was a bad match, both young men were very immature and acting on their own biases. I do wonder if Tyler felt so shamed by the Tweets that that became the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.

Apparently, even with the most lenient plea arrangement, Ravi was still vulnerable to deportation.

As to Ravi acting like a typical straight guy with a gay roommate: Maybe that's the point. His "typical" behavior is wrong, and Tyler felt threatened by it, or, at the least, extremely uncomfortable to the point of requesting a room change. Would Ravi have set his camera to film his male roommate having sex with a female? Perhaps, but I think it unlikely. He invaded Tyler's privacy because he wanted to watch two men having sex.

Most of the counts against Ravi made sense to me, but, initially, I was troubled by "bias intimidation" which I think touch on behavior of the "typical straight 18 year old guy." Bias intimidation includes "whether Clementi reasonably believed he had been selected for mistreatment because of his sexual orientation." If my roommate had a camera turned on me and Tweeted to invite others to watch, I'd be extraordinarily intimidated.

Apparently.NJ's law is one of the strictest in the nation, and its sponsor is already talking about changing it in light of social media. I think just the opposite: The law should be strict because of social media. I would hope that younger folks will be a bit more careful about their use of social media as a result of Ravi's conviction, though, remembering myself at that age, brakes on the younger brain are not always applied in time.

Back in my day, it was "open mouth, insert foot." These days, it's "tweet, tweet, tweet.'

[m0drnmoonlight]

co-signed 100%. I look forward to the day Ravi's deportation is in the news.

This. And I'm pretty sure Clementi's suicide wasn't even part of the charges. It was brought up a few times, but holding Ravi responsible for his suicide was not included.

I also wouldn't have fallen for the "I wanted to make sure no one stole my iPad" excuse. I work for a tv station in the area that covered it, and one of the witnesses called by the prosecution said Ravi showed them the view of the webcam as he was setting it up and it was fixated exclusively on Clementi's bed.

One of my jobs at work is monitoring the station's facebook page. I was absolutely disgusted because some of the nastiest, bigoted, homophobic comments were being left on anything involving this story. Every homophobic slur you could think of, lots of "oh he was just playing a joke!" excuses, and someone suggesting "maybe he killed himself because him and his butt buddy got into a fight." I know you shouldn't ever read the comment section on articles, but it's my job to weed out offensive stuff and this was one of the worst I had to sift through.

[lilwriter85]

No, I worded that poorly - I felt that the New Yorker article was much more even-handed than most of the media demonization of Ravi as a bigot and a bully. I think it was just a bad roommate match from the start. Tyler had his own issues related to coming out, and I felt that it was wrong to deem Ravi as having been this monster who drove his roommate to suicide. People don't kill themselves in the absence of other mental health issues and I don't like the idea of blaming others for that selfish choice. There was immaturity on both sides (I believe Tyler said some anti-Indian things to his own friends). I think the webcam was over the top and wrong, don't get me wrong, but aside from that I don't think Ravi's attitude towards having a gay roommate was any different than that of the typical straight 18 year old guy.

I think it would have been a sign of maturity for Ravi to have taken the plea, done his community service, and gone on with his life. There was shitty immature behavior on both sides and unfortunately Tyler had mental health issues that spiraled out of control. I don't know why Ravi's lawyers tried for a trial knowing that it the media had already painted their client as an anti-gay bigot, but it was a foolish choice on his part.

Tyler's anti-Indian comments were confirmed by a couple of his friends. He made fun of the fact that Ravi's dad was an immigrant.

[lilwriter85]

This. And I'm pretty sure Clementi's suicide wasn't even part of the charges. It was brought up a few times, but holding Ravi responsible for his suicide was not included.

I also wouldn't have fallen for the "I wanted to make sure no one stole my iPad" excuse. I work for a tv station in the area that covered it, and one of the witnesses called by the prosecution said Ravi showed them the view of the webcam as he was setting it up and it was fixated exclusively on Clementi's bed.

One of my jobs at work is monitoring the station's facebook page. I was absolutely disgusted because some of the nastiest, bigoted, homophobic comments were being left on anything involving this story. Every homophobic slur you could think of, lots of "oh he was just playing a joke!" excuses, and someone suggesting "maybe he killed himself because him and his butt buddy got into a fight." I know you shouldn't ever read the comment section on articles, but it's my job to weed out offensive stuff and this was one of the worst I had to sift through.

That must have been tough to go through and read those comments.

I agree with other posters, I will look forward to hearing about Ravi's deportation. Ravi was given a plea deal and he refused it, so I really don't feel too sorry for him.

[Elle]

Why would he turn down the plea bargin?

Because he's a fucking moron.

[gustava]

Because he's a fucking moron.

While I don't like Ravi, I might well have turned down the plea bargain, as it did not guarantee he wouldn't be deported. NJ can't decide deportation; that's a federal matter.

[Third]

Even at the age of 18 when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I understood that taping and sharing (we used to call it spying and gossip) other people's intimate moments is very wrong. Technology has made it much easier to violate another person and Ravi got the trip he booked. And expecting someone who is dealing with one of the worst stigmas our society has, the fallout from coming out to a parent who "did not take it well" and having his most intimate privacy violated to "wait a week"? One of the reasons that people commit suicide is that the pain is so terrible and they cannot wait for it to get better, the now is too awful. How about Ravi have shown some basic decency and refrain from videorecording his roommate's sex life?

Yeah that.

I cannot imagine how painful this kids last few hours were or how scared he was. This was wrong and I'm glad he didn't take the deal and get off easy.