Friends Defend Dharun Ravi And Molly Wei

In the wake of Tyler Clementi's suicide, friends of his dormmates Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei -- who have been charged with invasion of privacy for broadcasting a sexual encounter of Clementi's without his knowledge -- say the two are being judged too harshly.

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, the story of Clementi's tragic end and the role that Ravi and Wei allegedly played in it has been reported worldwide -- and most accounts have not been kind to the Rutgers freshmen.

Although the two have kept their silence since Clementi's death last week, friends of Ravi and Wei have started to speak in their defense. According to the Star-Ledger, Ravi is "open-minded" and "outgoing." Wei was described as "a happy person."

Some of Ravi's college hall-mates also stepped in to defend his reputation, the Daily Targum that "He's a good guy who made a poor decision," and that he "had no intention to violate Tyler in any way."

Such defenses of the two have spurred heated reactions -- in a Targum editorial, one student wrote that "Those who support [Ravi] are an embarrassment to our University."

A Facebook group called Molly Wei Is Innocent has 41 fans.

As of yet, the court hearing for Ravi and Wei has not been set.

Comments

[vrndavan]

10:06 AM on 10/17/2010

As a gay Afro-Caribbean I have had my share of humiliation and cruelty hurled at me. The color of my skin is off-bounds and not overtly discriminated against, but my sexual-orientation is not. Especially if I'm with my life-partner, who happens to be white, people peg us as gay almost immediately. We've seen the looks, and heard the smirks. It still hurts. That what LGBTQ people go through, and it comes from all types of people.

I am sorry that you have been put in embarrassing and humiliating situation, no one should. But the facts are that LGBTQ's endure such behavior through most of our lives. We get little, authentic respect from many people, Ravi and Wei, are both from minority backgrounds, they should have known better. Even well intended people make awful mistakes, they, according to the law would still have to face the punishment no matter what.

It's obvious this was far from an innocent prank, the intention to cause harm was there. Ravi, Wei, nice kids..perhaps. Clementi and all the other nice kids who have committed suicide just assumed just as nice as Ravi and Wei. Only we'll never know.

[Jane48]

12:58 PM on 10/11/2010

Freshmen students do very stupid things, and this was incredibly stupid and uncaring to say the least.

Let them suffer the consequences for stupid decisions. Let them think about this for a while. Let these two people think!!! They need to Think! A year or two out of school would give them that chance. Let them work for a year and as well as do community service and learn about ordinary people who suffer on a daily basis. Give them the opportunity to have an emotional education. Let them learn about suffering a little. It will do them good.

[Dylan Kidd]

02:46 PM on 10/08/2010

If you go on pages that support Ravi and Wei, one can see that there are very high percentages of supporters of Asian descent.

[Alienhairdo]

08:12 PM on 10/10/2010

Who cares?

[tulsimala]

08:06 PM on 10/15/2010

as an asian i went through humiliation and bulling a lot as a result i also contempleted suicide,fortunately i got councelling by my parent. It is sad but true that minority whoever they may be racialy or socialy has to go through these kind of cruelty even in this highly advanced society.

[Nicole Wisen]

03:23 PM on 10/06/2010

I hate it when someone deliberately does something and when they get in trouble for it, they say "oh but I didn't mean to!"
especially when it's "but I didn't mean to hurt you" when really that's what they intended all along. The only thing they didn't intend is getting hurt themselves in the process.
I'd feel sympathy for him only if he was brave enough to admit what he did was wrong, make no excuses, and give a heartfelt apology to Clementi's family. It's still not enough. There are too many people out there whose lives have been ruined because a nosy jack a s s couldn't mind his business and had to post stuff online. It doesn't even matter what your sexual orientation is- too many people have been affected by this kind of thing and we have to stop acting like it's ok and that "it happens". All this online gossiping and picture/video posting without consent has to be taken seriously. There are no excuses.

[kaymoh114]

02:52 PM on 10/06/2010

"had no intention to violate tyler in anyway"? seriously? I'd say taping someone having an intimiate encounter without their knowledge and broadcasting it to anyone with the internet is THE definition of violation. These kids deserve to be expelled at the very least, and I hope that they find someway to charge these kids with a hate crime. They shouldn't just get off because they "made a mistake" that resulted in someone taking their own life. Any "joke" that results in that, is most definitely NOT a joke.

[sushi27]

07:31 AM on 10/06/2010

They broke Rutgers rules and need to be expelled immediately - doesn't matter what the intent - invasion of privacy is bad enough, but no excuse for posting online - that isn't just an opps moment.

[peegan]

03:07 AM on 10/06/2010

"He's a good guy who made a poor decision," and that he "had no intention to violate Tyler in any way."

I can not think of the last time I saw a more inaccurate statement. Good guys don't set out to deeply humiliate a fellow human. Good guys don't violate a person's privacy in their most intimate moments. And a poor decision is staying out late the night before an exam.

As for having "no intention to violate Tyler in any way," I can only respond...WTF???

[gregcurts]

02:24 AM on 10/06/2010

If they don't prosecute these two then this kid will be a victim twice.

[veritas88]

01:02 AM on 10/06/2010

"[Ravi] had no intention to violate Tyler in any way."

What a joke. So that's why he filmed and broadcast Clementi's private activities online?! Ravi's actions were creepy and cruel.

[namdlogd]

02:58 AM on 10/06/2010

I do not believe that those who said these things understood the meaning of both the words "intention" and "violate".

[lisakaz2]

10:12 PM on 10/05/2010

How can you be too harsh about ppl behind taping some guy having sex (regardless of who/what/where) and broadcasting it for mass consumption? I don't get it. How would these ppl feel if their intimate moments were broadcast? Is that a new Twitter thing?

[Turtleposer]

08:36 PM on 10/05/2010

I feel so bad that he wasn't able to get help before he took his life. He was just having a good time in private with a lover. I wish he had thought, "Who's the weird one here, me? a grown man who's just having a good time or the sickos watching me."

[Nicole Wisen]

03:25 PM on 10/06/2010

fanned.

[MbaMrsMomMus]

07:25 PM on 10/05/2010

Blowing off your homework is a bad decision; parking illegally is a bad decision. Hiding a camera in your dorm room, focusing it on your roommate's bed, turning the camera on, filming your roommate in an intimate act, uploading the footage into your computer, broadcasting the video, announcing the existence of the video to your friends, authorizing others to view the video, and then, when it becomes inescapably clear that your clandestine activities have irrevocably harmed someone, claiming you didn't intend to hurt anyone--this is not a "bad decision." It took some thought and planning. Who sits around and thinks about ways to hurt somebody? A bully.

[lisakaz2]

10:15 PM on 10/05/2010

Don't forget some scratch to buy the equipment. The planning and investment intended to be cruel. Contributing to someone's death is no mere "bad decision." It was a series of provocative, hurtful acts.

[bobcat99]

12:24 AM on 10/06/2010

I could not have said it better myself. Thanks!

[Achim]

05:16 PM on 10/05/2010

Ravi is "open-minded" and "outgoing." Wei was described as "a happy person."

And Tyler is dead.

[thepoliticalcat]

05:33 PM on 10/05/2010

Exactly. Of course Wei is "a happy person." No one's videotaped *her* shenanigans and streamed them via the Net for the whole world to gawk at.

[mam]

10:11 PM on 10/08/2010

Yeah, I'm sure when either of them is up for that graduate fellowship, or a great job at a Wall Street firm, or running for public office, they'd both be totally cool with having their future employers/colleagues/constituents watching their private sexual activity on the web.

[Gneirre]

04:24 PM on 10/05/2010

Judged too harshly???? A man has taken his life over what these two did to him!!!! Do you not get it?? How would you feel if it were your family member that committed suicide? Would you still call one of these people your friend?

"He's a good guy who made a poor decision," and that he "had no intention to violate Tyler in any way." He was purposeful and calculating. He knew exactly what he was doing when he invited others through his account to view the video.

This is injustice for Tyler. Expulsion and time in prison for the both of them. Stop having money take away responsibility. Grow up and face the consequences.....you were an accomplice in suicide.

[AbsolutDemocrat]

04:15 PM on 10/05/2010

Well of course their friends are going to defend them. They weren't violated, shamed, and to my knowledge haven't jumped off the George Washington Bridge because of these kids. These two should be in jail.

[Nuttshell]

01:15 AM on 10/06/2010

And they should be shunned. Frankly, I don't know how they continue to go to school there. I would have left school if my actions led someone to take their own lives.