OT: Alabama Teabagging Fan gets 2 years

Submitted by Shakey Jake on

This guy better hope he goes into a prison with a ton of Bama fans otherwise he's going to find out really fast how often he is going to get teabagged, among other things, while doing his stint.

The question is, would you teabag a drunk OSU fan?

I wouldn't. But i'd be tempted to dump the feces filled OSU cooler on him.

Lesson to be learned here. Don't get so wasted in public that you pass out in public. So with that in mind, what are you drinking this evening?

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2012/11/29/ala-man-gets-2-years-in-jail-for…

Everyone Murders

November 30th, 2012 at 10:20 AM ^

If the ESPN story can be taken at face value, the sentence seems unduly harsh (not just "harsh").  The guy lost his job, goes to prison, and has a permanent record, a ton of notoriety, undoubted familial stress, and you have no sympathy for him?  C'mon man. 

The teabagging was an impulsive, stupid, disgusting, and criminal act to be sure.  Especially for a 32 year-old.  And deserving of punishment (in my mind on the order of a buttload of community service).  But if everyone who did an impulsive stupid act is an "asshole" for life, then I suppose the world is filled to the brim with assholes for life.   

It's probably worth noting that the victim here (who is undoubtedly a victim) got so shit-faced that he passed out in public and had no memory of even being at the scene of the crime.  The people who put burger wrappers on him are technically guilty of assault and battery.  Should we throw those "assholes" in jail too? 

Justice without context is no justice at all.

Everyone Murders

November 30th, 2012 at 2:49 PM ^

I'm just responding to the second and third sentences because I'm having difficulty interpreting the first sentence of your reply.  I certainly don't think that any of this "teabagging" stuff is OK, and my post certainly did not say that.

Anyway, the answer to your question is yesWhen you change many of the facts my attitude changes.  It wasn't a drunk girl, it was a drunk man.  It wasn't at a frat party, it was at a burger joint.  If it was a girl at the burger joint, it's a hard call for me because the "sexual" nature of the assault is more questionable.  It probably makes me think the crime is worse, but I'd need more information.  If it's a drunk girl at a frat party (a private place) then my attitude almost certainly changes.  Now you've got a girl surrounded by a bunch of guys in a non-public area.  That seems like a bit different animal.  How much my attitude changes depends upon the facts (and I'd want to know more about any hypothetical before deciding how much my attitude changes). 

To take an extreme example, if the teabagging victim was a young child here, I think the punishment should be much, much more severe.  On the other hand, on several occasions I've had friends grab my ass (technically "sexual assault" in some states) during a group photo and really didn't think much of it.*   Context matters.  The same way that many are (rightfully, IMO) pointing to the defendant here's age.  It matters to me that the guy was 32 - if he was 19 I'd probably view the incident differently. 

None of the above is to defend the teabagger here.  He did a wrong and stupid thing, and is suffering the consequences.  The bottom line is that IMO you can be sympathetic to someone without condoning their actions. 

*Didn't think much of the grabbing, that is.  My opinion of my ass isn't at issue here.  Yet.

 

Everyone Murders

November 30th, 2012 at 3:14 PM ^

In theory, it seems the gender of the victim should not make a difference.  It's a tougher question than it seems, though.  On one hand we have gender-power issues but on the other hand we have a societal trend of ignoring/denying sexual assaults on males.  While sensitive to the historic gender-power issues, I'd err on the side of saying it does not make a difference.  

Consider this, though.  If the victim here was a woman, the burger employee likely doesn't just walk by laughing.  And people don't cheer and egg the teabagger on.  The teabagger likely gets his ass kicked before he gets his sack anywhere near her face, and gets thrown in the alley with his teeth knocked out.  Yet, all-in-all, everyone ends up better off than what really happened.

JeepinBen

November 30th, 2012 at 3:20 PM ^

And I think harsh sentancing by the judge is a step in the right direction. I agree with you that society sees this as not-as-big-a-deal because it was a male victim.

I think your 2nd paragraph is a better result. And maybe, societally, sexual assault on males will be seen as enough of an issue that the scenario in your 2nd paragraph happens no matter the victim.

MGlobules

November 30th, 2012 at 8:59 AM ^

in the American justic system, but I'm glad that some kind of example is being made of this guy and the act. The fact that a lot of young people think that this kind of thing is okay, or even that they sleeping drunk LSU fan deserved it, is really troubling. One also can't forget where this kind of thing originates, in a sort of disdain for one's enemies that is also. . . ungallant to say the least. We can all do better. 

Two Hearted Ale

November 30th, 2012 at 9:33 AM ^

You didn't say specifically that the Alabama fan is young but it's worth pointing out that he is 33 years old and married with a kid. He's way beyond "young and stupid".

Something else worth noting is that there were a lot of people who witnessed the event and no one did anything to help the LSU fan who appeared to be dead. It is more evidence to my theory that the south sucks.

Trolling

November 30th, 2012 at 10:00 AM ^

I agree with almost everything you've said (especially your username) but it's important to remember that groupthink and the mob mentality are very powerful situational factors that can influence the judgement of people everywhere, not only in the south. The more people you involve, the more morally disengaged everyone can become. And, of course, everyone being drowned in alcohol doesn't help.

Everyone Murders

November 30th, 2012 at 11:11 AM ^

It's not like this was some instantaneous act.  It played out over a matter of time, and the guy was giving plenty of notice as to what was about to go down.  I'm assuming you don't have that info in asking your question.

So with that context, the answer is the bystanders should have intervened, harshly, and said "look, we know this dipshit is passed out in public, but you can't put your scrotum on his face".  If necessary, they should have physically restrained him.  In no event should they have cheered the primary assailant on in his battery of an unconscious person.

(To be clear, I'm not attacking GetSumBlue here, but once you read the story there's plenty of blame to go around here.  The biggest serving goes to the teabagger, but the people filming it, laughing, egging it on, etc., all also acted shamefully.)

User -not THAT user

November 30th, 2012 at 4:41 PM ^

You should spend some time here.  There are a lot of things I don't like about living in the south, but if you think the behavior of a small group of wasted 'Bama fans is indicative of an entire region of people, you couldn't be farther off base.  Even most of the Tide fans I know (and in Atlanta there are A TON of them who manage to find work here) are generally collegial folks who are glad to talk up their own program, but absolutely won't mind sharing a drink with you while you extoll your own.

Google "Kitty Genovese".  Stuff like this happens all the time, in all locations, and in varying degrees of seriousness.  This was a vile act which shouldn't be excused and being that I am someone who has had his share of alcohol-related arrests, I'm going to go ahead and claim with Absolute Moral Authority that yes, the 'Bama fan got what he deserved and should consider himself damned lucky that he was given the opportunity to plea-bargain his way out of sex offender status.

But to say that something like this could only happen in "the south" is patently absurd.  There are dirtbags everywhere.

Amaizeinblue

November 30th, 2012 at 12:14 PM ^

This is a very sad case of mob mentality or herd behavior. The part that bothers me the most is when what looks like an employee of wherever they are walks by while the guy is humping the LSU fan with his testicles clearly hanging out and does nothing, he even looks at whoever is filming this as well. Also, at no point does anyone bother to check if this guy has a pulse or not. I wouldn't do something like this to my worst enemy let alone a complete stranger because he's an opposing fan. For all those people saying this is too harsh, he was probably given this harsh a sentence knowing he would mostly likely get a lesser sentence through good behavior and opting to take some sort of program and not see as much jail time to learn that this isn't something you just get slapped on the wrist for. Kudos for having the balls (pun intended) to lay them down on this idiots proverbial face.

michfan6060

November 30th, 2012 at 9:12 AM ^

2 years so he'll probably serve like 5 months at most when you factor in good time. Now listen folks I've been known to be a drunk asshole, but don't go slapping your balls on someone's face.

Sopwith

November 30th, 2012 at 9:58 AM ^

says 10 months if he completes a "boot camp" the judge recommended.

 

I'm ambivalent about the sentence.  If you read the story, his life has been turned upside down, and the guy has a kid.  On the other hand, would anyone be howling about a harsh sentence if the victim here was a passed-out drunk girl?  They might be howling the sentence wasn't steep enough.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

November 30th, 2012 at 10:11 AM ^

Lesson to be learned here. Don't get so wasted in public that you pass out in public.

I mean, yes, that too, but I think the real lesson is, don't get so wasted in public that you think it's a good idea to stick your nuts in a stranger's face.

Brhino

November 30th, 2012 at 10:25 AM ^

To me, the most appalling thing in that story was not the teabagging, but the fact that the group encountered a guy so drunk that they were seriously unsure if he was even alive or not, and their response was to screw around with him and them leave him where they found him.

By comparison I had a party a couple years ago where one of my friends did drink way too much, pass out, and get teabagged by another friend.  The difference is we also took care of him, cleaned up his vomit, and kept tabs on him through the night to make sure he was not in serious trouble.  Nobody bothered to do that for the victim in this case, so I have a lot less sympathy for the defendant.

M-Wolverine

November 30th, 2012 at 3:48 PM ^

But in general for the thread....when did dudes all suddenly get the urge to rub their balls on another guys face? Anyone can see why you wouldn't want it done to you....but why would you WANT to do it?? When I was in college you didn't want to pass out around any markers. What changed that guys suddenly aren't getting enough male on male scrotum contact?

WingsNWolverines

November 30th, 2012 at 10:28 AM ^

is that the judge must of ruled this as sexual assault. It involves the unwanted contact of physical violation but to me it does sound very harsh. 6 or 8 months sounds more appropriate not 2 years the guy didn't kill anybody.

jabberwock

November 30th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^

and discover your 15 yr old daughter passed out at a party it's ok if I just put my penis in her a few times?  As long as i don't kill her or anything right?  Oh, and have some freinds video/upload it too?  

Cool.

The gender, age and degree of sexual conduct might differ, but it's all in the same category.

2 years is a pretty lenient end of the spectrum sentence considering what's at the other end.

jabberwock

November 30th, 2012 at 1:07 PM ^

You don't think it's in the sexual misconduct category?  That makes them analogous, which is precisely why this was prosecuted as a crime.  

One end of the spectrum is an adult putting his genitals on a helpless adult's face, one is an adult putting his genitals inside another (equally helpless) person with more serious circumstances.

 Welcome to the spectrum of sex offenses.  

This is a relatively lenient senctence (out in probably less than a year) as opposed to forcible rape of a minor which can mean inprisonment for the rest of your life.  

I don't know what more to say to you.

Njia

November 30th, 2012 at 11:35 AM ^

Maybe we're all missing it, but this is a real life ad like "Don't wake up in a roadside ditch"...

When you get really drunk, you black out. When you black out, you get stupid. When you get stupid, you might teabag someone. When you teabag someone, it will be posted to YouTube. When it's posted to YouTube, you'll be arrested, lose your job, wind up in prison for two years and wait tables at an Olive Garden. Don't wait tables at an Olive Garden.

NOLA Wolverine

November 30th, 2012 at 1:45 PM ^

Some people chop down trees that fall on their house, others place their hand on hot stoves, and then some do things like this. It's a rough life if you're not that bright.