The Tyler Clementi story

"Still, the death defined the trial, turning what might have been a peeping Tom case or, as the resident assistant said, “a roommate issue” into something far more grave."

The original article stayed with me for a while. Ian Parker writes beautifully and shows the layered personalities of Dharun and Tyler. Dharun, with the callousness and emotional conscience of a 13 year old, stumbles through mistake after mistake. A few less than exemplary actions, some with the potential to be far more serious (luckily no footage was captured!), end in disaster. But the sum of the actions don't seem to equate to the gravity of consequence. The laws of cause and effect seem off.

The case was concluded last week and Dharun was found guilty on all charges but the verdict was not the most important part of the story. Why do I feel like something was lost here? There is some message about human isolation and emotional seperation here which I can't seem to put my finger on.

I imagine myself in Dharun's shoes, a victim of my own stupidity, sacrificing my empathy for cheap laughs, until one day an event brings significance to every action making me the bigot I so despise. Crippling self loathing. Guilt unbearable. Life ruined.