Republican Rep: Eleven Year Old Raped Because She Was 'Dressed Like a Prostitute'

Republican Rep: Eleven Year Old Raped Because She Was "Dressed Like a Prostitute"

By Brandon K. Thorp Tue., Mar. 15 2011 at 9:23 PM

A shocking little ditty appeared today on The Buzz, the political blog of the St. Petersberg Times, about the passage through subcommittee of what most folks are calling the "sagging pants bill." The bill is what is sounds like. The "sagging pants bill," HB 61, is known less colloquially as the "Code of Student Conduct" bill, and it includes comprehensive dress code regulations for public school students.

The dress code is probably a good idea. As school uniform proponents have understood forever, adolescence is stressful enough without worrying about the vagaries of fashion. Less obviously inspired is the bill's insistence that kids without a 2.0 GPA be barred from extracurricular activities during their junior and senior years. What effect will that have on kids who are (rightfully) bored out of their minds in class but excel at forensics or band? Or, less sympathetically (but no less significantly), football? For some kids, extracurriculars are the only ticket out of town.

But forget about that for a moment, because there's something far weirder and more perverse about this bill than its contents: its supporters. The Buzz story featured a really remarkable quote from one of these creatures, a Republican representative from Naples named Kathleen Passidomo. Here it is. Brace yourself.

There was an article about an 11 year old girl who was gangraped in Texas by 18 young men because she was dressed up like a 21-year-old prostitute. And her parents let her attend school like that. And I think it's incumbent upon us to create some areas where students can be safe in school and show up in proper attire so what happened in Texas doesn't happen to our students.

Whoa! We can debate the merits of the bill a little later, but I think it's incumbent upon us, as sentient mammals, to devote a moment to a collective wince. As a genus, politicians aren't the brightest wicks in the candelabra, but they usually possess sufficient self-awareness to shield the public from the horrorshows of their minds. Blaming the rape of an 11-year-old girl on her parents' sense of fashion -- and to do so out loud -- smacks of rank amateurism. A devastating attack ad will probably result from this slip-up, and unlike most attack ads, it will be richly deserved.

Update: Read our followup on Rep. Passidomo's response here.

Follow The Juice on Twitter: @TheJuiceBPB.

Tags:

HB 61, Kathleen Passidomo, sagging pants bill

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KingCranky

The link to Passidomo's response doesn't work.

elhart

I'm not buying her excuse for what she said about the little girl being gang raped. None of us should be so foolishly quelled by her cheaply refurbished semantics. We are not sheep, and no matter the context, her statement means the same thing. For anyone who is interested in assisting Passidomo with her resignation:

http://www.facebook.com/nomore...

George Birbilis

read the update at the end of motherjones article, she said she was meaning that articles implied that, she didn't imply that herself - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03...

however, non-serial rapists tend to pick victims given on some external signs and/or when feeling they will see less resistance (or even less third-party outcry if they're caught unfortunately)

nbdr09

In St. Louis, there's already measures about sagging. I for one applaud my lawmakers for bringing it into law because once you go into the inner city, there are a lot of young guys showing not only their gym shorts but their boxers too (I don't understand why they need to have gym shorts AND boxers on), it's just disgusting. I live in the county in a good neighborhood, so it's not common for me to see something like that until I go closer to downtown. As a guy, I understand pants don't properly fit because I have a hard time finding some that fit me in the back because I hardly have a butt...but it's a matter of respect to the public and to yourself to have your pants pulled up to your waist and not your balls.

Aside from that, it's just deplorable for someone to justify rape because the girl wasn't wearing age appropriate clothes. It doesn't matter if a 30 year old woman's boobs are popping out of her shirt, that still doesn't make it right to traumatize her for the rest of her life. And for this to happen to an even younger girl, I would love to get my hands around the 18 people who did that.EVEN if a girl acts like she's interested in getting touchy feely, if she says no then that means back up and stop. I'd expect something like this to come from one of the Republican old fat guys but for this to come from a woman??! Jesus!

EVERYONE needs to contact that Reps office and complain. While you're at it, contact the house of reps too. This crap should NOT be tolerated. She needs to RESIGN immediately.

nanook5

Oh snap, you got quoted on thinkprogress, +500 lefty points!

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/...

Guest

To suggest that an 11 year-old girl deserved to be raped because of how she was dressed is beyond disgusting. First of all NO ONE DESERVES TO BE RAPED. Ans secondly... how will this idiot Passidomo continue to be reelected once her constituents hear this? Goodbye Kathleen!

Carolyn Nersesian

Incumbent is actually used correctly in that sentence... I think I`m more offended by the content...

Staci Burchfield

I was so shocked my Passidomo's statement that I had to verify it and find out who she is and how someone so ignorant could use "incumbent" correctly.

Imagine my surprise when I found out she's an alumni of Stetson Law and a practicing attorney. I felt better when I thought she was just uneducated.