NFL player Ray Rice got a tiny suspension (just 2 games) for hitting his wife and dragging her body out of the elevator.
Obviously, the tiny suspension caused outrage when compared to NFL players who got suspended longer for substance abuse.
But now, the elevator camera showing Ray Rice actually knocking out his wife exposed even more the folly of just suspending him for 2 games.
Now we know it's not one of those "crazy lady hits husband, husband hits back" but more like "husband hits first AND knocks her out"
Video is very valuable for portraying what really did happen!
Which was why it's an outrage the Ferguson didn't have recording equipment on the cop's car or on the uniform when the Micheal Brown shooting incident occurred.
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Of course, some are upset that the elevator camera video of Ray Rice knocking out his wife has gone public. It has been said that it will re-traumatize his wife more, knowing that she will relive the incident again.
Dave Zirin's "Revictimizing of Janay Rice"
http://www.thenation.com/blog/181523/revictimizing-janay-rice
The one question they did not glaringly ask is, How will Janay Rice react to the release of the tape? The absence of concern for Janay Rice—in the press, on social media, among my own colleagues—is the most disheartening part of this entire ordeal.
No one cares that she is now going to have to relive this incident over and over again. No one cares that the world has now become privy to what may be the most humiliating moment of her entire life.
But sometimes, incidents need to be made public.
Do you think Rodney King like to have the video of him being beaten by cops repeatedly shown on TV?
He had to live with that a few years after the incident. Even years later, while randomly changing the stations, he would find himself accidentally running to the infamous video being played again.
Same with Reginald Denny, who was brutalized by racist mobs during the LA Riots. His beating was recorded by the helicopter camera, and it was shown repeatedly on TV! For years! Even years later, while randomly changing the stations, he would find himself accidentally running to the infamous video being played again.
Nobody wants to see their most traumatizing moment on public display.
But sometimes, the public interest requires that we see the brutality, that it affects real people, that it has worse consequences than a video game!
Sometimes, the public interest requires that we see the brutality, whether it's done by law enforcement, celebrities, rioting mobs and drunken youth!
I'm sorry that Rodney King, Reginald Denny and Janay Rice (and other victims of brutality) have to see their most traumatizing moments on public display, and the added psychological damage it may cause.
At the same time, the public needs to be made aware that these incidents do happen in real life, and that it's not a game!
