The Rumor Mill

Amid the uproar here in Okinawa over the alleged rape of a 14 year old girl by a Marine, rumors are running wild. This isn't really surprising, but it's certainly not helping the situation much.

Here's some of the rumors that are working their way through the military populace here:

-The girl has a history of prostitution, and her parents have a history of scamming and blackmailing GI's with the girl's cooperation.
I'm not sure if this one has any real weight to it, but it wouldn't surprise me, since prostitution is fairly common here.

-The Marine initially denied raping the girl, but has now changed his tune, claiming that he had consensual sex with her.
If the girl was indeed a prostitute (albeit an underage one), this rumor could have a bit of substance to it as well.

-The Marine has been released from jail, with no charges being filed.
I find this one VERY hard to believe, since the mere age of the girl would render any physical contact with her illegal.

These rumors do nothing but muddy the already rough waters here in Okinawa. All U.S. personnel are currently prohibited from patronizing any off-base establishments. We are allowed to travel from base to base, and use any on-base services that we desire. This restrictive period is being called a "period of reflection" by U.S. commanders. I suspect that the name is intended to sound appealing to the locals, who are quite fond of such strange titles (there's even a furniture store here called the "Super Happy Furniture Zone"). That's just a guess on my part though. Commanders have stated that U.S. personnel should utilize this time to "reflect" on what our moral obligations are while living in a "host nation."

It angers me to no end that a few Marines have had incredible episodes of stupidity, knowing full well how much more of an effect crimes such as this will have when committed in a foreign nation. The rash of incidents this past weekend have amplified the anger of the locals, understandably. What I don't understand is the fact that incidents such as these occur among the local populace, without the uproar and media frenzy that we've been experiencing lately. DUIs, sexual assaults, and other alcohol-related incidents happen as often as would be expected here. Granted, the crime rate here is much lower than in most U.S. communities, but there is indeed crime. These crimes, when committed by locals, are not enthusiastically reported. For example, a local paper had a full, front page report on the incident with the Marine, while the very last page of the paper contained a small paragraph describing a sexual assault on a teenager by a local.

The outrage over these recent incidents is being fueled by the local media very enthusiastically. In addition, the usual suspects that often hire, and bus, protesters to the gates of our bases are working overtime. Yes, you read that right; they hire protesters. The majority of the populace here is not hateful of the U.S. military, but many of them are poor enough to jump at the chance to make a few bucks to feed their families. A small core of political activists do indeed hire people, and then bus them to our gates with pre-printed protest signs (I see the same, poorly worded signs every week outside the base where I work being half-heartedly displayed by different faces each time).

While these are somewhat dark days for our military folks here in Japan, it will blow over eventually, just as it did in 1995. It's merely a question of when, and also a question of what lasting effects this might have.