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Editorial See other Editorial Articles Title: Assault of girl exposed a shameful secret Assault of girl exposed a shameful secret The vicious gang rape of an 11-year-old girl by a group of men and boys Sept. 4 accomplished something few other recent crime stories out of Milwaukee managed to do. It made black people feel ashamed. We're talking shame, as in a collective sense of responsibility and guilt over the sordid details of what happened in a house in the 3700 block of N. 6th St. on that fateful day. Usually, most residents of black Milwaukee feel well-insulated from shame for the actions of the most reckless or unthinking members of their community. Black people in Milwaukee are very familiar with the embarrassment or ridicule that comes from being linked to a sensational crime simply because of their proximity to the incident. No matter who is involved, black people know some will try to link it to them personally, no matter how unfair. After all, it's not like everybody in Manitowoc County has to hang their head because of the Steven Avery murder trial. But residents of Milwaukee's black neighborhoods know each new headline about senseless violence earns their community yet another bad label. They understand that and see it for what it is, but they seldom feel personally ashamed. Except in this case, perhaps. This shame was connected to the troubling reality that an African-American child could be raped by a group of black men and boys in our city, and some would rush to suggest she might have had it coming. It was the shame of seeing the incontrovertible proof about levels of societal dysfunction in some areas of the black community that can't be explained in conventional terms. A defenseless black girl is raped by a group of black men and boys, and some people in the area where she lived came up with fantastic rationales to explain away what happened. Some family members of some suspects even provided dubious alibis later disproved by police. One adult suspect who eventually pleaded guilty even suggested it happened because the girl appeared "grown," saying she "looked like she was 18, 19" at least. (I've talked with people who know the girl; they insist she looks her age.) Eleven of the 15 suspects charged in the gang rape pleaded guilty; a 14-year-old boy went to trial and was convicted Friday. Days after the story hit the news last fall, I received calls from people in the neighborhood who wanted to question reported details of the case. They pointed a finger at the 11-year-old girl and made dark references to her character and culpability. One black woman called to insist it was wrong to make assumptions about the guilt or innocence of those charged in the crime because the rest of the city had no idea how manipulative young girls in the central city could be. "You do know we're talking about an 11-year-old child?" I asked her. I can't recall her response. Some used their shame as inspiration to take action. Black talk radio focused on the gang rape for days. Community rallies were held to protest the crime and raise awareness of the need to protect children. Ald. Mike McGee took the lead in calling for an end to "no-snitch" policies in the 'hood to identify suspects and raising funds for the victim. Many in the black community reacted with shock, but just as many seemed to just want this story to go away. Few wanted to consider what it suggested about a dirty little secret nobody wanted to address. The secret was the fact that many young black males in the inner city are initiated into the ways of sex through acts that involve a young female who may or may not be fully cognizant of the degree of her exploitation. The long-standing but little discussed rite of passage represents the secret pain of many adult black women who can speak about their own childhood sexual abuse by males their age or older, including family members. I know at least five black women - all personal friends - who can relate to this story through their personal experience or that of someone close to them. That makes it way too common to be considered a secret anymore. I find myself getting annoyed watching televised "sting" operations by network and local news shows that trap suspected child predators after luring them over the Internet with propositions for sex. It strikes me as a waste of valuable police resources in return for an excuse to titillate viewers. I also know the kind of black men and boys who gang-raped the 11-year-old girl are seldom lured to these televised set-ups. They already live in central city neighborhoods where sex with too-young children is always available if a wolf decides to try hard enough - particularly if the children are living in a home with adults who can't or won't protect them from the wolves. Sadly, that's a scenario that exists almost every day in some parts of the black community in Milwaukee. And that's the real shame in this case. And it's the reason so many wish it would just go away.
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#1. To: Tauzero (#0)
Unless my imagination has gone wild; this isn't limited to the black community - not by a long shot.
Find your local trailer park and this will be confirmed for you, no matter the skin color of the inhabitants.
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