Girl assaulted on Calgary playground while youths watched, took pictures

This is a really disturbing story. In particular I find it very strange that the woman who is interviewed here didn't call the police or go out to the playground to see what was going on. I don't like to cast about personal blame for things, but it seems the helplessness of people to do anything without the intervention of the authorities is an indication of the terrible toll that the culture of fear generated by our medi is having on peoples sense of community responsibility.

An interesting, and possibly relevant, animation about media and apathy:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbVeN13wGFc

I heard about this on the news this morning.  It makes me so incredibly sad. 

On the video they interview a man who walked by as it was happening.  "They surrounded her  and I heard her screaming.  If I had known what was happening, I would have been there in a heartbeat."  WTF?

This honestly makes me want to cry. 

That poor girl. I couldn't imagine the physical and psychological pain she must be in; especially given the fact her peers failed to protect her.

I know the person in her house said in another article that she feels guilty for not calling the police or interfering sooner, but she let it go on for over TWELVE MINUTES before opening a window and hearing the screams. I just don't think a normal person could see something like that for more than a few seconds before investigating further. How can we be so apathetic? 

Better yet, how can children be not only initiating such horrific crimes but having the confidence to do it in front of EIGHT others, including two girls, knowing that they would not stop him?? As well, they were sitting on bleachers. They weren't crowded around or screaming for help. They were like an audience. 

Supposedly we don't yet know if the girl was indeed sexually attacked; but she's in the children's hospital. What a nightmare. 

Bizarre.

The Kitty Genovese murder has set the archetype for this behaviour

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese

Please explain why you believe that Caissa.

Read the  wikipedia article, Remind.  The Calgary situation seems to be a classic case of Genovese syndrome.

read the article, I see this attack as just another extension of patriarchy and people being conditioned to believe they should mind their own business when girls and women are being attacked, and that boys/men think they have every right to do whatever they want to women/girls.

perhaps you should read further on in the articlle?

syndrome?

the only syndrome at work is patriarchy and those operantly conditioned by it.

What I love about Babble is allows for divergent opinions. I won't be saying anymore in this thread, Remind.

it does? one might have thought so in the past.... ;)

have they released anything more on if they're laying charges?  

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/child-abuse-unit-investiga...

Sure, it's all the chat sites fault.  If she'd just stayed off the damn chat site.....

kids should be careful though. there are a quite a few perverts on the net who are all over facebook.    

Oh of course.  But in this case it seems absurd to --blame??  ---  the way they met, and I noticed a number of news reports seemed to be doing just that.  There was something of the "oh, if only she hadn't been on a chat site"....about them.

The rest of the story, I am confused.  The last report I read almost sounded like hey, it was just a bunch of kids hooking up, and you know, the 12 year old got all drunk and had sex on the ground just before suppertime.  Kids and alcohol....you know, bad mix!.  And I am having a problem squaring that with the witnesses who were sure they heard the girl scream, and the fact she was taken to hospital.

It's amazing the contortions the MSM does to minimize violence against girls/women.

Because once the idea of framing this as a "date" takes hold, the attacker/predator as well as the witnesses (all boys except for 2 girls) becomes innocent, by magic. 

Sickening.

Amen Maysie, my feelings exactly.

I deleted my post on this, as on re-reading it, it seemed insensitive...

i think what's interesting is it appears all the kids involved claim there was nothing but a consensual sexual encounter taking place, while the neighbors heard screams etc.  the reality is that kids will lie to protect people in the group who are considered more popular or powerful in the social arena so as not to be ostracized.  saw it all the time in school, don't "rat" people out to adults etc.  

Then again there is so little real info and so many conflicting stories in this case, it's too early for us to really come to a definite conclusion about what happened, however the victim being admitted to hospital after the incident points to an assault taking place.  If it was consensual sex you'd think she would have just been sent home to her parents.    

There is NO consensual sex with a 12 year old. Full stop.

As I understand it, a 12-year-old cannot legally give consent to have sex with anyone over 14, and anyone under 12 cannot. If there was a sexual encounter, regardless of whether she said she was okay, in the eyes of the law a sexual assault has occurred.