It was another typical night after work; I was at home on the computer getting ready for my upcoming fantasy season searching the waiver wire for available players I missed during my fantasy football draft. That is when I saw it, headlines, on Yahoo Sports' fantasy football page talking about Ray Rice and domestic violence. I was shocked, not because I know anything about Ray Rice as a person, because Ray Rice has won my fantasy football teams many games. I know it sounds insensitive but those were my initial thoughts.
I turned to Google to find out what happen and to watch the video. Not for entertainment value, but to understand what happened, that is when I saw the video, on YouTube posted by TMZ sports, of Ray Rice and his fiancee in the elevator. The conclusion of the video shows Ray Rice who had hit his fiancee who then hit a bar in the elevator knocked out cold on the floor and Ray Rice dragging her limp body into the entryway of the elevator and leaving her there. As I read the comments below the video all coming apart at the seams against Ray Rice. One person brought up self defense and was immediately attacked because Ray Rice's biceps are bigger. No one was condemning Ray Rice's fiancee for her part in this. Most of the writers reasoning's are fallacious, the law does not say that in order for their to be assault and battery that you must knock someone unconscious. Most of the comments referred to the fault is Ray Rice's because of the end result. In my opinion we want to look to blame someone and the facts don't matter to most. I think most want to make a villain, at least in the scenario the male because he should not hit a woman.
Enter the controversy, take away their faces, take away their names, take away their gender, and imagine this same scenario happening reenacted, without thought of who did what. What do you see? Let me preface the remainder of this conversation by saying I do not condone what happened in anyway. I do not believe that anyone should ever be treated like either party was treated. I strongly value human life and dignity and rights and believe that if we really are a country if equality, at least in law, then we must be equal, by the law. Yes that equality of law can be argued and I will to some degree in this argument. I am not looking to blame but to look at what I can see with my own eyes no matter how big nor how small the outcome.
I am arguing for equality. Both parties took part in assault and battery. I think what is being overlooked is what Ray Rice's fiancee, now wife Janay Palmer, was also an offender of the aforementioned. I believe that because of who Ray Rice is, an NFL star, and a male, and that the outcome was that Janay was knocked unconscious and then dragged to the entryway, he is taking the full brunt of the scrutiny. Some may argue she did no damage, to those I would point again to the definition of assault and battery. I believe that just as we look at each political party and scrutinize every little thing to try and condemn them, we too look at every little thing that is done by the opposite sex and do not treat each instance with equality.
My challenge to all of us, thank you Professor Young, to critically think about every situation. Take out the face, the relationship, the gender, and anything else that would prevent you from forming a conclusion of bias, and look at the facts and make a judgment that just.
My challenge to all of us, thank you Professor Young, to critically think about every situation. Take out the face, the relationship, the gender, and anything else that would prevent you from forming a conclusion of bias, and look at the facts and make a judgment that just.
