Thr Janay and Ray Rice interview (as well as some of then comments in the Elizabeth Lauten thread from yesterday) have me thinking a lot about how we as a society treat people that screw up. One one hand, there is no denying that Ray Rice treated his wife in a horrific and criminal manner. I also think the Ravens and the NFL had every right to take the action they did (although it this point it seems that both organizations rode the wave of public opinion after the video became public, rather than when they first learned of the incident, which is gross on many levels). But, if Ray Rice is sincere, and is working to improve himself so that this never happens again, I wonder how we - as a society - are helping him, or anyone else in his situation, achieve that goal if we continue to ostracize him (and even worse, his wife). I'm not saying he shouldn't be punished,or that it should be brushed under the rug, but shouldn't we be more vested in helping them deal with this in a healthy manner - whatever that may be -, than writing him off as a scumbag and her as a victim?

I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this, and am wondering why others thoughts are.