Yes, Charles Ramsey is a hero, but not for the reasons you think.
1:22 Seconds into video
Ramsey: “About five minutes after the police got here, the girl Amanda told the police ‘I ain’t the only one, there some more girls up in that house.’ So they go up there, thirty, forty deep and when they came out, (it) was just astonishing. I thought they were gone come up with nothing. I figured, I mean, whoever she was and like I said, my neighbor; you’ve got some big testicles to pull this off, bro.”
Ramsey: Cause we see this dude, everyday! I mean, everyday!
Reporter: How long has he lived here?
Ramsey: “I’ve been here a year. You see where I’m coming from? I barbequed with this dude. We eat ribs and whatnot and listen to salsa music, you see where I’m coming from?
Reporter: And you had no indication there was anything wrong?
Ramsey: Not a, bro, not a clue that that girl was in that house or anybody else was in that house against their will because how he is, he just comes out to his backyard, plays with the dogs, tinker with his cars and motorcycles and goes back in the house. So he’s somebody you look and then you look away because he’s not doing nothing but the average stuff. There’s nothing exciting about him. Well. Until today. (nervous laugh)
Reporter: What was the reaction on the girls faces, I can’t imagine, to see the sunlight, to be around people?
Ramsey: Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a Black man’s arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway. Dead giveaway.
Reporter: Charles Ramsey, thank you very much.
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When I first started hearing about this story, I did my patrol of the news articles and discovered a disturbing trend. So many people (a large number of them men) kept saying “Why didn’t they leave? Why didn’t they escape? Why didn’t three women overpower this one man?”
I found those statements to be galling and frustrating. As we would later find out, there were three men involved. The door was blockaded and barely able to be opened as Mr. Ramsey attested and the police used a large number of officers to break into the place to rescue the women successfully. There were also statements indicating the men proposed violence to the young women when they were still very impressionable. They were said to have told the girls “I took you from your home, I can go back there and harm your family any time I like. If you leave, I will do that.”
With such a threat hanging over their heads and without any knowledge of how they were physically constrained at the time, how could any compassionate individual make the statement WHY DIDN’T THEY JUST ESCAPE?
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I started my transcript at the 1:22 mark because of the statements Mr. Ramsey made I found to be the most telling about this incident.
“We see this dude, everyday!” At least one of the suspects made no attempts to hide. He interacted with the neighborhood, he shopped, he was seen in the yard, he liked his dogs, his cars, barbeques and salsa music. This is the nature of their pathology. They were completely able to blend into the neighborhood looking just like anyone else. The boldness of his actions meant he had no expectations of ever being caught and for ten years or three thousand, six hundred and sixty five days (at least) three women lived in daily terror of their lives.
I mention this because I have been studying human trafficking and believe there is more of it taking place than we are ever truly aware of. This case is a perfect example of an abduction which left no clues long enough for the children who were abducted to be declared dead and the case considered cold if not completely closed.
Our nationwide lack of compassion toward children/women, hell anyone, who has been abducted and held against their will is poisoned by the idea that people will escape their captors, in a fashion similar to depictions in Hollywood. Bold, daring and completely self actualized, these characters find a way to foil their captors and return to their lives, barely changed by the event.
The truth is far more terrible. They are stolen as children, prevented from reaching a sense of agency, a sense of purpose, they are abused, misused, psychologically mutilated, bereft of identity and left in conditions often worse than if they were fending for themselves on the streets. These are not the heroes of cinema, they are the victims of a nightmare which for many have gone on so long, they have little hope of escape. And if their captors are competent, any will to escape is eroded by abuse, drug addition, torture and examples of what may happen if you try to escape. These victims are psychologically broken, often unable to escape unless a clear opportunity presents itself.
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We, as a nation, need to be more aware of the nature of human trafficking, more aware of its effects on our society, our way of life and on the victims of it. They are victims, questioning their willingness to escape is the same as empowering the idea they should have been snatched from their lives and turned into slaves in the first place.
No doubt, more of this sordid and terrible tale will be made available and as it is, it will be up to us to decide how we want to be involved in the reduction of human trafficking in our neighborhoods. Yes, no matter where you live, this insidious monster could be living right next door to YOU. And you have no idea of it.
Yes, Charles Ramsey is a hero. But not for the reasons you think. His greatest contribution to this conversation is to point out the temerity and boldness with which such monstrous behavior wanders invisibly into and out of our lives. That is the second greatest gift he could give to all of us.
He and Angel Cordero, another man who helped him break into the home, are everyday heroes who stepped up when they could have gone back into their homes and never given it a second thought. Personally, I am so glad they didn’t turn away. There is too much of that going on already in this nation. Well done, gentlemen, well done.
No, you made it a piece on human trafficking. I made it a piece discussing a cultural blindness TO human trafficking, whether the perpetrators were engaged in it or not. Parsing the difference between human trafficking and human bondage was your work. Your spurious redirection to making it about SOLELY human trafficking was yours alone. When I wrote the piece, I was thinking about: – how citizens of our nation are plucked from the streets without ever having anyone really question how or why (900,000 people disappeared this year alone, or about 2,300 a day) in our local media. If… Read more »
You wrote: I mention this because I have been studying human trafficking and believe there is more of it taking place than we are ever truly aware of. This case is a perfect example of an abduction which left no clues long enough for the children who were abducted to be declared dead and the case considered cold if not completely closed. and We, as a nation, need to be more aware of the nature of human trafficking, more aware of its effects on our society, our way of life and on the victims of it. They are victims, questioning… Read more »
We, as a nation, need to be more aware of the nature of human trafficking, more aware of its effects on our society, our way of life and on the victims of it. For starters, then, what is a working definition of “human trafficking”? What happened to these girls was a cruel and unquestionably criminal atrocity – kidnapping, rape, imprisonment, and more – but what was the trafficking element? Have I missed a part of the story where they were sold or exchanged as commodities? That’s an element of any other trafficking definition I’ve heard, whether it’s drugs, stolen goods,… Read more »
I am sure different sources have different defintions. However, here is a definition provided by the United Nations: http: / http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html
Which to me seems to suggest that what happend to the women is infact, human trafficking.
Thanks for the link, Erin. I looked that page over, while this story seems to have a few isolated elements in common with that definition and explanation, it lacks the combination of Act + Means + Purpose that add up to “trafficking”. This doesn’t mean the crime is any less horrendous, just that it doesn’t seem to fit the definition. There could well be details I’m just unaware of that would make it trafficking, but the impression I’ve got so far is one guy abducting, imprisoning, and abusing his captives for his own use. The only reason I’m picking this… Read more »
I had planned to stay away from your conversation but I have decided to ask you a question: What does it benefit you or anyone who suffers from any form of sexual slavery, human trafficking, involuntary bondage or other sort of sordid, inhuman behavior for decades in this case, to attempt to invalidate using semantics regarding the nature of this particular affront? How do we know he did not just abuse these women? One was said to have had multiple miscarriages. What other abuses would it take for you to find my description apt? For all we know he could… Read more »
Thanks for asking. The reason I think it matters hear is that the article represents itself as a human trafficking piece. When you start to characterize things that are *not* examples of what you’re fighting, it weakens the argument, because it makes it sound like you just apply those labels to anything you don’t like, not just a specific kind of thing. I’ll try to illustrate by picking a different crime to compare these crimes to – embezzlement. I hope we can agree embezzlement is a serious crime. Though it’s not a violent crime, it can destroy companies and livelihoods,… Read more »
Re: the whole “WHY DIDN’T THEY JUST ESCAPE?” thing: Ironically, just before this story broke, I was reading an article on Elizabeth Smart, giving a talk at a symposium on human trafficking at Johns Hopkins University. She is the girl from Utah who was abducted and held captive by a religiously delusional psychopath for almost a year. One of the reasons, she says, that she did not run away: the messages she received in her strict Mormon upbringing and abstinence-based sex education, with its overwhelming emphasis on girls being of no value unless they are sexually pure. Messages which made… Read more »
I remember when this story first broke on MSN. There were several hundred comments before I submitted a comment giving props to Charles Ramsey. A few comments later there was another comment that asked why people hadn’t done it and suggested that it’s because he’s black. In the Steubenville case wasn’t there some one who objected to Michael Nodiamos commentary about the rape? You can hear someone say “you guys are pathetic” about 2:40 into the video. I always wondered who that person was and felt a little sad that he never got props for standing up. It’s hard to… Read more »
I am not sure saying “you guys are pathetic” is truly “standing up” for anything. It’s kind of like dipping your big toe in the pool but it’s not jumping right in. Charles Ramsey jumped right in.
It wasn’t during the course of the rape. It happened when a group of jocks were talking about it sometime after it happened. Unless you’re talking about calling the police, there was little else he could have done. In high school I’m not sure I would have made a connection between what those boys said on tape and it constituting a criminal offense. I don’t think it would have ever occurred to me to call the police and tell them that I knew of potential witnesses to a criminal case. I’m also unsure I would have even said anything to… Read more »
Yes, I know it wasn’t during the rape. I think the video you are talking about was posted right on GMP. I saw it myself. I still wouldn’t say a young boy simply calling others “pathetic” was heroic. Who even knows how he really meant it. As an attempt to stand up against those other boys or just as a teasing way to joke and have fellowship with those boys. Who even knows. Either way, apparently alot of kids don’t think what was done to that girl was criminal, even the ones that saw things happenign to her while she… Read more »
You know what happened to these poor women during their captivity. One gave birth to a child. I don’t know how the story could have been covered without releasing their identities. I tend to there should be anonymity for both the accuser and victim in a rape case. I haven’t formed a definitive opinion on this, but that would appear to be the best alternative from a group of imperfect choices. I have some questions, which are related to your topic. Is the stigma that surrounds victims of rape mitigated in this situation? If it is, is it because these… Read more »
God Bless you, Charles Ramsey. That’s what a real hero looks like. Better than anything I’ve see in a movie.
And I agree with you Thaddeus. It’s strange how often we blame the victims of these situations. Saying things like, “They should have done this or that”, or, “I would have done this or that”. I also agree that human trafficking is happening way more than we realize or are even talking about.
Thaddeus, thank you so much for writing this and posting your article. Your article touched home for me for many reasons. Although I wasn’t kidnapped by my X, there were several times I tried leaving only to have my hands ripped from the front door and head slammed on the ground. Your article shed light on the perception and response that I found many of my neighbors to have, “I cant imagine him doing that, hes always seemed so nice and pleasant”. They all doubted me because of the pathological narcissist that my X was. My bruises and scars were… Read more »
When the author of the article said, “not for the reasons you think,” I assumed he was referring to the fact that Mr. Ramsey assumed that he was seeing a domestic violence conflict–and responded, even though he would have appr=eared to have been siding with the women instead of the men in this situation. I think Mr. Howze makes some very good points.
“Not for the reasons you think”. I don’t like this phrase because it seems to imply that the reader is wrong. The reader may not be wrong, so you could phrase it “he is a hero, in addition to the reasons you think, because….”
Just my two cents.
…well meaning article…except for that attempt to imply that men, in particular, are indifferent to human trafficking. Really?
@Thad- I’m curious how you get to this statement “Our nationwide lack of compassion toward children/women, hell anyone, who has been abducted….” Where is this a prevalent sentiment?
And what does “So many people (a large number of them men) kept saying “Why didn’t they leave ….” mean? Did The majority had male sounding names, or just some of them?
This is just a heartbreaking story—nauseating, really….sick to think how many other people are held captive like that….
Thank G– for men like Ramsey!
Naughty, naughty. We are not going to make many Cleveland jokes here. Not gonna do it…
Not only held prisoner, but held prisoner in *Cleveland*.
Sorry, couldn’t resist a Cleveland joke.
I am reminded about Bill O’Reilly’s shameful comments on Shawn Hornbeck.
Quite a bit to unwrap in that statement as well. The reporter was visibly uncomfortable when Ramsey said this.
White america is super-scared of discussing race, to the point when a black president has to be pretty much caught in the act of committing acts that would get a white president impeached. The guy told the truth. As a black guy, all I have to do is visit a local bus stop and it hits you right in the face: if a white guy, no matter how bummy he looks, shows up and there’s a white woman present, she’ll strike up a conversation, but a black guy, no matter how eloquent and non-ghetto…the white woman gets all tense like… Read more »
That sequence just made me sad.
I wondered whether it was an example of internalized racism, an expectation that little pretty white girls are all racists, a combination or something else. I don’t know.