Steven Altman has a problem; he lives in the real world. Altman, an attorney, has been catapulted into the alternate universe where sick, stupid, despicable and disgusting practical jokes now rise to the level of “bullying.”
In September of last year, Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers University freshman, committed suicide by hurling himself off of New York City’s George Washington Bridge.
Clementi was distraught that his romantic encounter with another man had been broadcast via webcam.
I’ll admit it was a tough way to be “outed.” Tyler’s roommate at Rutgers, Dharun Ravi, was suspected of using the webcam to out Clementi.
Another Rutgers student, Molly Wei, was accused of letting Ravi use her computer to broadcast Clementi’s encounter on the webcam.
Ravi is now accused of 15 different crimes, among them “bias intimidation” and invading Clementi’s privacy. Bias intimidation is a hate crime in New Jersey.
On Friday, New Jersey prosecutors offered Ravi a deal: He could plead guilty, receive counseling and perform 600 hours of community service, according to news reports.
Ravi would have received a prison sentence of three to five years and been placed on probation. Ravi rejected the deal. Altman, his lawyer, explained why:
“He’s innocent; he’s not guilty. That’s why he rejected the plea.”
Altman proves that the adage about defense lawyers is true: Once they take a case, their clients become the son of God and everyone else on the planet becomes an SOB.
But I find one Altman quote hard to dispute. It’s the one in the Dec. 19 edition of People magazine. In a story about the anguish Clementi’s parents — Joe and Jane Clementi — and his surviving siblings continue to feel about his death, Altman said this:
“My client never bullied Tyler, nor did he act in any biased way toward Tyler based on his sexual orientation.”
In almost every news story about Clementi’s tragic death, there’s a reference to how his demise sparked a national discussion about how gay teens are bullied.
That gay teens are bullied I have no doubt. But judging from the way we media types have responded to Clementi’s death, you’d think gay teens are the only ones being bullied.
Fat kids get bullied for being fat. Skinny kids get bullied for being skinny. Kids considered to be unattractive catch all kinds of grief.
I can guarantee you that black kids at predominantly white schools still get bullied for being black. Ditto for white kids at predominantly black schools.
And few media types speak about the bullying black students in Los Angeles face at predominantly Latino schools.
Do kids who wear glasses still get bullied? I’m not sure, but it certainly happened when I was in my teens. Every time a bully wanted to bust my chops he’d drag my eyeglasses into the discussion.
Was what Ravi is alleged to have done to Clementi bullying? The website thefreedictionary.com defines the term “bully” as “a person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people.”
What Ravi is alleged to have done was most certainly cruel. It might even be considered overbearing. But was it habitual? Ravi and Clementi had only been roommates for a few weeks. Was Clementi smaller and weaker than Ravi?
I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. Clementi was a member of a group — gays — who have been conferred permanent victim status by those who feel it’s their duty to hijack the English language.
So when some miscreant plays a cruel prank on him, it’s not called simply a cruel prank, but “bullying.”
Altman knows the difference between a cruel prank and bona fide bullying, but he’ll still have his work cut out for him in court.
Examiner Columnist Gregory Kane is a Pulitzer nominated news and opinion journalist who has covered people and politics from Baltimore to the Sudan.
