After reading many articles on the case regarding Greg Haidl, I found one that was interesting to me. This is one of the very few articles that actually blames Haidl himself. Most of the articles mentioned are about his father, Don Haidl, who was the Orange County Assistant Sheriff and his role during the prosecution. However, in this article, there is a sense of sarcasm saying that Greg Haidl has "grown up". It was also mentioned that Don Haidl attempted to make it look like Greg was an innocent boy who could do no harm in this world. They attempted to portray the girl that was raped as a slut, and threatened her family. This trial ended up as a hung jury. To celebrate, Greg and his father decided to throw a party. This is where he met his second rape victim. Not only is Greg blamed in this article for his actions, but his father is as well. It is stated that Don Haidl planned to pay of the jurors of the next trial in order to keep his son out of prison. He has already been able to get Greg out of trouble with the law before from drunk driving incidences and marijuana possession. Supposedly, when a policeman caught Greg with marijuana, he shouted "Do you know who my father is?!" So the final question is: Is this rape entirely Greg Haidl's fault, or do you believe that he did it partly because he thought he would be able to get away with it because of the power his father held. Also, do you believe that Don Haidl is partly at fault in this situation?
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I definitely place most of the blame on the father, Don Haidl. It is clear that through bribery and lack of strict control on the rebellious acts on his son, Greg Haidl does not grapple the pressing issue of his fault in these rape cases and his daily actions. Don Haidl, as the primary educator, must be imposing stricter controls on Greg's actions and if necessary even let his son go to jail to make Greg realize the immensity of his fault. I think that part of the reason Greg has the audacity to do these things is because the lack of good moral education on his part. It can be inferred that since Greg was little, Don had not given his son a proper moral education or example which results in the way Greg is today. Don's leniency regarding his son's rape trials is certainly a reflection upon his lack of good parenting and is only going to make Greg's character worse in the future.
ReplyDeleteI place blame with both the son and the father. I think that Greg was wronfully prosecuted however. Based on the facts that were provided, the girl knew what she was getting herself into. It would have made far more sense for her to ask for a charge of assault and battery based on her displeasure with the various items that were used as sexual instruments. However, because she willingly had sex with two of the boys the night before, and returned that night, she weakens her position by claiming it was a rape. Don Haidl, should be held accountable on multiple levels. First of all, as the adult, and owner of the house in which the crime was committed, he obviously should have been aware of what was going on, especially since he was AT HOME when it happened. Additionally, because of his position within the orange county police department, he should have been setting an example. The fact that he himself was involved in illegal activity, makes it even more obvious that this man has zero scruples. Trying to get his son off the hook for his various indescretions very clearly sent the message to Greg that such behavior was acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with the articles claiming that the blame is only to be placed upon Greg Haidl because there were too many other individuals involved to only put the blame only on Greg. First of all, it seems as though Greg's father gave his son a lot more freedom than necessary which ultimately took a toll on his upbringing. Every time Greg got into trouble, his dad bailed him out; therefore, Greg must have gotten accustomed to this and began to believe that if he ever does get into trouble, he will always have his Dad to cover for him. This situation also furthers the idea of Don Haidl's irresponsibility in that he should have had the common sense to at least check on his son when they were in the house, especially when his son had gotten in so much trouble before. If Don legitimately did not know what his son was doing, he should have taken the initiative to watch out for his son; if, however, Greg's father knew what he was doing and chose to disregard it, it would simply show how heartless he is to allow his son to sexually take advantage of girl. It is true that Greg and his father are to be significantly blamed for this event but it is also true that the girl should also be held accountable for her actions. The night before her rape, she had engaged in sex with 2 of the defendants yet she still chose to come back, intoxicated. She intentionally put herself in a situation where she was even more vulnerable and almost caused the rape upon herself. With this, it was probably difficult for her to categorize this is as a rape case considering she chose to walk into it herself.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see how most of the media attention is focused on Don Haidl as the assistant sheriff of the OC. Don Haidl is a famous person and placing most of the blame on him definitely made a good story for public consumption. If Greg’s father was an ordinary man perhaps the blame wouldn’t be placed as much on the parent. For one thing, Greg is still the one who committed the crime. It was upsetting to know that he “plunge a Snapple bottle, lit cigarette, juice can or pool cue into an unconscious girl's vagina and rectum.. leave the object of his affections to wake up in a parked car alone, disheveled, groggy and covered in dried male bodily fluids” yet he was most often portrayed as an innocent young man who is not responsible for his actions. Although Don Haidl may have played a part in his son’s moral education and spoiled character Greg is still the one responsible for his actions. Just like the city of Richmond is not to be blamed for making the boys in “Our Guys” morally lacking and irresponsible, Don Haidl is not to be mostly blamed for his son’s rape. Thus I agree with the article that Greg is still lawfully the person at blame. That said, Don also should not be left out of the equation. He is a man who would do anything to protect his son and his family’s reputation, including probing the victim’s life and called her a ‘slut’ in order to make Greg seem innocent. Thus I agree with Nicole C. that Don is partially at blame, yet still, Greg should be the one responsible for his own acts.
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