To print this page, select "Print" from the File menu of your browser salon.com > Letters June 2, 1999 URL: http://www.salon.com/letters/1999/06/02/louima Letters to the Editor Attack on Louima showed supreme arrogance; why don't "Buffy" producers worry about sexual content? - - - - - - - - - - - - Is sodomy with a stick worse than death? BY JILL NELSON (05/26/99) It seems incongruous that a population would rile at the story of a sodomy instead of a murder. I think, however, it may have something to do with the feelings behind the actions of Volpe and his confederates. Murder has been used throughout history as a weapon of fear and last resort. In contrast, what Volpe did was an act of supreme arrogance: to degrade a person, threaten him and then assume that he could be left alive without fear of retribution. That he neglected to even feign an apology to Louima is the most ridiculous thing about the case -- can Volpe be so stupid as to not realize a little false remorse could save him a few months or years in jail? This case feeds the anger of many in the New York area by illustrating the utter lack of regard that regular citizens are shown by the government. The New York Police Department is a group of largely well-trained and -behaved men and women, but betrayal of their duty to serve the populace rather than lord it over them must be met with the harshest criticism and the longest available jail terms. -- Geoff Hunt The media, including Salon, continues to characterize the attack on Louima as sodomy, or a "sexual attack." The suggestion that this act of brutality in any way intersects with a sexual act is both wrong and fundamentally homophobic. Do you call "rape" intercourse? No -- there is a clear distinction between sexual acts and acts that are hateful and violent. Volpe's intention, which was to make Louima feel like he was powerless and "gay" (which, according to Volpe's frail ego, is a bad thing) is only being reinforced by the media's suggestion that the act was, in fact, sodomy. Sodomy, unlike rape, really is a sexual act. The whole reason that gays fight sodomy laws is because they discriminate against gay sex; Volpe's attack was not sex. Why can't we just say that Louima had a broom handle forced into his rectum, and quit mixing it up with something even vaguely sexual? -- Benjamin Keyser The obvious pleasure with which Jill Nelson imagines the rape of Justin Volpe in prison is repulsive. I didn't realize it was now cool to wish rape on someone. Given the HIV infection rate in American prisons, Nelson is, in fact, fantasizing about Volpe's murder as punishment for beating and sodomizing Louima, a wish that at least should be acknowledged and perhaps subject to more sober reflection. There is a brief moment of insight at the end of this essay, where Nelson almost begins to analyze the misogyny and homophobia that inform the knot of race and masculinity issues in this case, but settles for the conclusion that because "it all comes down to that same tired dick thing," we will "all continue getting fucked, one way or another, like it or not." I think it is clear that this case and its publicity, the willingness of the mass media to describe the torture of Abner Louima, constitutes an entirely new kind of "dick thing," one that warrants more attention and discussion than this glib, hateful essay gives it. -- Elliott McEldowney Nelson raises an interesting point about the "dick" element of the Abner Louima case, but it really is a little more complex than that. Shooting a bullet isn't nearly so personal as deliberating taking a human being, man or woman, into a bathroom with pants down and violating them with a jagged stick, then brandishing it about in an evil rampage. I believe people would be just as outraged if, all other things being equal, this had happened to a woman. Let's hope we don't have to find out. -- Lisa C. Chamberlain Associate Editor Cleveland Free Times The WB's Big Daddy condescension BY CHARLES TAYLOR (05/27/99) What is so tragic about the WB's decision to now pretend that it has the best interests of its teenage viewers in mind is that it has shown so little interest in doing so before. They worry about high school shootings and teenage violence, but not teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases? Buffy and her cohorts have all lost their virginity, to each other, on the show. They are in high school. Granted, it happens every day, but so do abortions due to sexual irresponsibility and immaturity. What about the relationship between the Cordelia character and the 30-something "watcher" on the show? Isn't that also inappropriate and more likely to influence a young person's behavior than scenes of good-vs.-evil warfare? Why would they be concerned that cheerleaders fighting it out with unbelievable ghoulies would have a stronger impact on high schoolers than vamped up teen sexuality and false maturity? -- Allison Lowe Dallas The Web's new tribal warfare BY ANDREW LEONARD (05/26/99) I read your report of the attack on VegSource with disappointment, but not surprise. I too have been involved in online debates regarding gun control, and the vehemence on both sides quickly escalates into something absolutely incredible. If you happen to favor gun control you can expect insults, abuse, threats and an overwhelming flame from gun owners. While a very small minority seems to be able to discuss the subject without rancor, most pro-gun posters exhibit the arrogant paranoia that makes gun control advocates nervous. It's hard to carry on a debate when there's a tiny voice in the back of your head reminding you that your opponent is armed, obviously doesn't like you and could find your address with little difficulty. While I'm all for freedom of speech, I'll willingly give up that right when faced with someone who seems perfectly willing (and able) to kill me. So now I steer clear of gun-related debates -- I've got a feeling they're hazardous to my health. That's a pity, because many gun advocates are intelligent, reasonable, sane human beings. But the next time I get a chance to vote on gun legislation I bet I'll remember all the gun-toting psychos who howled for my blood when I disagreed with them. -- Mark T. My main question is, Why weren't the files backed up? Everyone who does any kind of Web authoring (or any data processing) knows that accidents can happen to data and that a backup is always in order. We have all had it happen -- sometimes by our own stupidity, or by a computer glitch or hardware failure. What were these guys thinking? What was the foul-up on the ISP's end? In the digital world, only the sloppy allow their entire body of work to be destroyed. The Net is an ugly place, but just like the author of a book who has no copy of his or her manuscript, they have no one else to blame but themselves. -- Lou Berkman Crime school BY FIONA MORGAN (05/26/99) There is a very simple, no-cost solution to the problem of kids being unsupervised in the afternoons that no one seems to talk about. Why not start school later for middle and high school students, so that they are not dismissed until 4 or 5 o'clock? After-school activities could be shifted to before school. Those kids who don't participate would not be likely to go out and get into trouble at 7 a.m. -- Dora O'Shaughnessy Charlotte, N.C. salon.com | June 2, 1999