I still hate people

[moonwise]

I've been following the story about the Rutgers student who committed suicide after his roommate streamed video of him having sex with another male to the Internet. It makes me very sad and angry, because I simply cannot fathom what would possess someone to do such a thing. Okay, maybe you don't like your roommate, but 1. that does not excuse anything 2. you are not alone in that experience 3. you can get a new roommate if you are really that offended by his sexual preference. What infuriates me is the possibility that the two students who recorded the encounter thought that perhaps what they were doing was funny.

Fucking barrel of laughs, you two. Congratulations, you killed someone.

Comments

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Jail is hilarious, didn't you know!

I wonder if what they did could be considered manslaughter...? Probably not, but it should be.

[sarcasticval.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine that it'd be considered manslaughter. What they did was heinous, but I think there's a lack of directness from the "prank" to the final outcome. Running someone over with your car and killing them isn't the same as treating someone horribly, leading them to make the decision to end their own life. As awful as things were for the student in question, and my heart goes out to him because I've so been there, in the end it was ultimately his decision to do what he did.

That said, I do believe accountability is in order. I know that you can get time for recording someone having sex without their knowledge/consent, and it becomes an even greater offense once you broadcast under the same circumstances. We'll see what happens.