The Power of Messaging – OR – Don’t Be Fooled by The Spin Machine

public relations messaging Dharun Ravi Tyler Clementi media  social media bullying bully bullies

I recently published an article deconstructing the note from NY’s 17^th District Congresswoman Nita Lowey, where she attempts to reinforce her misguided support for bullies’ rights to freedom of speech over a child’s right to live without fear, harm or the terror of being bullied.

NY's 18th District Congresswoman Nita Lowey
Says Bullying is a Form of Free Speech

And now this week the much publicized cyber-bullying trial of Dharun Ravi begins and we see fist-hand the tragic results that Congresswoman Lowey’s and those who, like her, defend a bully’s right to terrorize others under the protective veil of free speech have on our children.

Ian Parker, features writer for New Yorker Magazine offers up an in-depth piece on the tragic suicide of Tyler Clementi and paints a picture of the accused Dharun Ravi as a slightly aggressive, spoiled, entitled and tough-talking semi-boastful man-child, without coming to any specific judgment as to Ravi's guilt or innocence.

This is going to be a difficult case for jurors and citizens to wrap their minds around as Ravi's defense team attempts to somehow paint Ravi's actions as normal, if not acceptable, adolescent behavior. We’re only a few days into the trial and Ravi’s messaging is clear in portraying any involvement in Tyler Clementi’s death as a purely coincidental and resulting from harmless boyish high-jinks.

Tyler Clementi - Bullying Victim

Unfortunately Tyler’s suicide presents an unimpeachable argument against the “harmless” part of Ravi’s defense messaging.

As a former law enforcement officer and member of a fatality investigation team I know that, even if the jury accepts Ravi's, "childish prank - defense," the result is a crime and necessitates some form of punishment.

Take for example other types of behaviors that are criminal though not necessarily pre-meditated and result in horrendous consequences for innocents; like drunk driving or firing a weapon into the air.

In New Jersey, for instance, if Ravi killed Clementi, while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, rather than merely his desire to shame, terrorize and bully Clementi, he would face a mandatory 5-10 year prison sentence. So the question begs to be answered, why killing someone by bullying is considered them less an offence than running them down while intoxicated.

Dharun Ravi - Accused of Bullying Tyler Clementi to Death

Partying and being intoxicated is a common behavior in college-aged individuals (and those of other ages as well) and if and when this behavior extends to operating a motor vehicle under the influence, becomes a crime. If someone is killed by a DUI driver - it probably is not pre-meditated homicide, it has however homicide.

The same idea goes for firing a weapon into the air, if that round strikes an individual when it comes back to earth; the act becomes criminal regardless of the original intention of the shooter.

And there it is, after all the arguments and disassembling by Ravi's defense team, Tyler Clementi would most likely still be alive today were it not for Ravi's terrifying intersection with Tyler's life... exactly the way a victim of a DUI driver or random bullet would most likely be alive were it not for the DUI driver's or shooter's decision to get behind the wheel intoxicated or fire the weapon into the air without regard for the safety of others.