S17.E12: A Misunderstanding

[solequeene]

To be fair, I think Carisi has 3 or 4 sisters, right?

Three sisters that we know of. And I get tbe impression that he is the only boy, and the youngest one at that. Carisi seems like the kind of guy whi was raised in a most female enviroment. I don"t know why.

I agree that Chris being on tbe registry is an over-reach. We have seen cases in which a person is in it, witjout actually being a rapist or abuser and it's kinda of messed up. I remember tbe special needs guy who got in it for urinating in public and at least two guys who had sex with their girlfriends who were underage while they were teenagers too. I think in both cases the girls' dads were cops.

Edited January 23, 2016 by solequeene

[The Mighty Peanut]

Great post/review of the issues explored (forums.previously.tv/topic/37445-s17e12-a-misunderstanding/#entry1886963), Snookums!

So in the end, after subjecting their kids to the humilatation of trial by their not-peers, Chris got the same deal he was originally offered if they did not go to trial, right?

Did they say that as a registered sex offender, he could not have a cell phone or Internet access?

 

Yes, I saw a documentary about this quite some time ago. It's one of the many aspects of the sex offender's registry that's both totally necessary and makes living as a functional member of society extremely difficult. You don't want child molesters to be able to access or transmit pornography, but EVERYTHING is online. Job applications, college courses, applying for government programs, etc. Basically, you live your life around scheduling internet time with a parole officer, or you go to a library and/or get burner phones, or a friend/relative gives you a phone in their name (also illegal) and hope for the best. One of the things I wouldn't mind if SVU did is, similar to how they treat the problem of untested rape kits, addressing the problems of the sex offender's registry. B/c people who have been made an example of for peeing in public or really murky cases of statutory rape (consensual sex between an 18 and 16-year-old for example) are essentially having their lives destroyed by being treated like career pedophiles. Yet, who's going to be the politician who campaigns to lighten the consequences of sex crimes?

[lavenderpenguin]

I liked this episode -- very murky, and I felt bad for both parties in the end.

[junemeatcleaver]

I agree that the episode was less murky and more commenting on rape culture and boys and men being ignorant (both willfully and unwillfully) of what consent means.  I mean, I doubt the girl apologized to the guy at the end because she's a lying liar who "ruined" that poor boy's life, it felt more that society makes women feel guilty for daring to come forward. 

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Two Of Clubs
A prep-school's secret deflowerment society claims more than one victim (Sarah D. Bunting's dinner, for one) when the he-said/she-said heads to court.

[Monkeybball]

Man, if Chris's mother really did hear her teenage daughter plotting with her friends to falsely accuse boys of rape if their feelings weren't reciprocated, Chris's mother needs to be worried that maybe she raised two terrible people with warped values instead of just deciding that all girls are like that. Was she like that? She seems to think it's standard. That's disturbing.

 

This REALLY pissed me off, because they kept kinda saying it the whole episode (even Buchanan I think said it in the courtroom), but the thing is: HE DID TEXT HER!  After the dance! He texted her first! And she texted him back!  Like, not only did no one shut this bitch down and say OMG ARE YOU REALLY SAYING THAT MOSTT GIRLS WOULD JUST DO THAT?! But they failed to even shut her down with the facts of NO, Einstein!  That's now what was happening here!

By the way, aside from the literary reference in the actual school scenes and to R&J laws, I think part of this episode WAS supposed to be a bit more of a Romeo and Juliet type message - not about young love, but about FAMILIES.  The daughter (I already forgot her name) was clearly mixed up and confused and was being pushed every which way by her parents and even Rita Calhoun, and Chris clearly was taken aback by everything and probably wanted to take the deal originally, but his parent's wouldn't let him.  The way that whole last court room scene played out, I think the overall message was supposed to be about families. 

[DangerousMinds]

On 1/21/2016 at 1:51 PM, DaynaPhile said:

This was a hard episode to watch because I am raising sons and I have to tell them that there are people who will look at them as the automatic predator simply because they a good looking white boy. That if challenges are raised chances are they will be presumed guilty right off the bat. It's breaks my heart that something as stupid as this has ruined that kid for the rest of his life. (Yes I know it's fictional, but it happens in real life) Did something go too far? Yes. Did he rape her? I'm voting no. Do I think it's ridiculous the whole thing actually went to trial? Yes. Does he belong on the registry? Nope.

Who said they'd watch a show full of nothing but Barba getting hot (not like that! But ok) in the courtroom? I'm totally up for that.

How do you think people look at boys/men of color, good looking or not?