For Randalynn, whose story "A new Game Plan" inspired this.
Unintended Consequences
“Principal Irons? Can I see you?”
“Come in.” Principal Irons said.
A tall, blond young man entered the Principal's office.
“What can I do for you, Mark?”
“I … I wanted to give you this letter, from my brother, John.”
“I … I’m sorry about what happened to him.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“What did you say?”
“You heard me. You were the one responsible for his death.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was you who decided to ‘out’ the football team. Of course, the coach decided to try and get ahead of you, and go to the paper and resign, and the whole team quit in protest of the new name and uniforms you proposed. And the whole bit with those faked ‘confessions’ saying everybody on the team was gay? By doing that, you managed to put enough doubt in the tapes you made of them planning to assault your niece for being transgendered.
Enough doubt that all of them got off, not even a slap on the wrist for what they did. With no winning football team, and no convictions for assault, you ended up looking like the bad guy.
In fact, my dad says they will terminate your contract at the end of year, and hire the coach back. But that wasn’t the worst consequence of your decisions.
Most of the team was able to make those confessions look as bogus as they were. But my dad didn’t quite believe John when he said he wasn't really transgender, like your little video made him say. Even when the truth came out, my dad kept pushing him. He just sounded too sincere in that tape for anybody to believe his denials. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, and killed himself.”
“You wanna know whats ironic? I was the one who found him, and he was …. wearing girls clothes, He had on a dress, and heels, and even makeup. I cleaned him up, so nobody knows what he looked like when he died. He left this note, explaining how trying to hide the truth was already killing him when the whole thing blew up.
He simply wasn’t able to deal with the consequences of coming out. Maybe, in a couple of years, when he got to university and away from Dad he might have had a chance to do it, but you took that choice away from him.”
Mark handed Principal Irons the letter, and then said, “Anyway, this is for you. I hope you read it over and over again, like I did. Maybe you will remember what happened, and make up your own punishment for yourself for your part in what happened.
Just like I will.”
Mark walked out of the office, and closed the door behind him.
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Comments
Background
RAMI
This seems like a good story, but I must reread the reference story first.
Rami
RAMI
good idea, Rami
I should have provided a link, sorry.
Dorothycolleen
A worst case senario but then justice is a tricky thing
I doubt it would all blow up in his face, they get off Scott free and a suicide triggered as a result but it is possible.
But remember the team colors, new name, the outing of them on the professionally edited tapes was a last resort, a doomsday scenario. These things were only to be used if they either did not confess to their crimes, in which case the legally authorized surveillance tapes would not be needed. Or they would have been used only if they did not go along with the becoming the guardians of the LGBT and downtrodden which was offered as a chance to redeem themselves.
The faked stuff, the over the top stuff was only a threat to keep them off balance IMHO. The whole team coming out as gay? Come on now! But then there is all that fanny patting. And the QB and Center are ....
-- grin --
The real evidence was plenty what with a judge involved. There would be physical evidence o n the sports equipments and other collaborating clues. Probably was appointed to uncover local corruption. If he did things right the evidence, the REAL evidence is secure and legal. Unless you get a jury like in the OJ Simpson case.
If the Principal wanted retribution there would have been no such meeting except to make it easy to arrest them. He offered them a way to make restitution. He did not need to give them graceful way out.
Your disaster of an outcome is possible but unlikely IMHO. But remember the reason any of this nightmare happened was the team being a bunch of organized thugs. If it goes wrong it is still was set in motion by their crimes.
And what's to say the suicide didn't confess before he killed himself and sent that off in a letter to the FBI. If they can't be tried again due to double jeopardy there is always Federal Civil Rights and Criminal Conspiracy charges.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
Jusice is tricky
I just thought the whole faked interviews went beyond justice into something else. So I postulated that by creating those phony confessions, the real crime gets swept under the rug. Thanks for commmenting
Dorothycolleen
Well, to be fair ...
... the principal wouldn't have executed the outing first -- that was a last resort if the coach agreed to help the principal deal with the town's insensitivity and prejudice and then broke the agreement. If the coach had tried an end run around the tape recorded evidence from the locker room by going to the media at the start, Principal Steele in my story would have destroyed the edited confessions and let the DA go ahead with the prosecutions. The plan to change the team name and colors would have remained the principal's little secret. In the end, none of the evidence for the blackmail would have existed to weaken the taped evidence of their guilt, and it would have been the coach's word versus the Principal about any sort of blackmail effort. Since the tape clearly showed them to be guilty as sin and there was no existing evidence of the other material, it probably wouldn't have played out as you suggested in your story.
As for your John? He went out with everyone else and hurt other kids just like himself -- kids who were trying just to be themselves -- while trying to hide who he was. And in the end, he killed himself because his father kept pushing him to admit he was TG and he kept denying it. I'm not going to blame your Principal Irons for his death, as you have his brother do. It was the father's issue, and John's. The tape may have been the catalyst for the conflict, but it was how John chose to deal with the conflict that brought on his decision to commit suicide rather than admit the truth. And then to admit the truth anyway in his suicide note? That doesn't really make a lot of sense.
I know from your comment on the story that it disturbed you. But I made very sure in my story to build the trap in such a way that the best option they had was to confess, if they didn't want to be under the principal's thumb.
I hope your continuation of the story brought you some peace. I know when I write a story in response to one that gets under my skin, it calms my own demons. Thanks for caring enough to reach into a might-have-been for your own version ... an alternate play, if you will. *hugs*
Randalynn
I think it was written as a "what if" story
I think that Dorothy's story was written based on just one possible outcome of your story.
John in Dorothy's story could be a realistic person. It's not uncommon for gay-bashing to be committed by people who are gay and do not want to admit it, even to themselves. He may have finally felt that it was not important to hide it anymore when he was dead, which would be why he would leave it in a suicide note. Even if his dad had found the note, he couldn't have done anything about it, and John would not have had to endure his dad's feelings.
I'm not saying this is the most likely outcome, but it could have happened, in theory.
-Kylie
your story hit me hard, Randalynn
I know because this response took me less than twenty minutes to write. Unfortunately, a lot of gay-bashers struggle with being gay themselves, and hurt others to diminish their own pain. As for the note, I figured he planned on his brother finding him, and making the call on who would know the truth. And since he was going to be dead, his secret didnt matter anymore.
Dorothycolleen
Way over the top
Randalynn's story was over the top, but then so many are. It's the idealized revenge story so many of us conceive of, where the thugs are put in such a situation that they have no way out, just a choice of which punishment they face.
Frankly, there is no scale to compare the evil the principal threatened vs the evil the football team had actually perpetrated. I would have no sympathy for any of the team, no matter what the reasoning behind any individual's action. Yet you seem to suggest that the suicide of a player who participated in assault with deadly weapons, conspiracy to commit murder, and attempted murder is worse than what their victims had to endure. I don't recall that any of the victims killed themselves, but surely being beaten with baseball bats, as well as hockey and lacrosse would result in life-changing injuries.
Your story hit me much harder than Randa's, and was far more ob***********.
* * *
"Girls are like pianos, when they're not upright they're grand!" Benny Hill
Karen J.
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb
I wouldn't say it was worse
but it isnt a lot better, is it? I doubt even the victims of the original assaults would be happy with this result.
Dorothycolleen
RL intrudes
Actually, I probably would. I can be a vengeful bitch, and while I would never be able to administer the physical pain and humiliation I endured on a daily basis, I would have certainly loved to see my abusers brought down in this manner. I don't care what their reason was for doing what they did, they did it, they go down. They showed no pity, they get no pity.
* * *
"Girls are like pianos, when they're not upright they're grand!" Benny Hill
Karen J.
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb
U R Right
2 wrongs don't make a right.
I'd go on, but see previous line.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Unintended Consequences
What a bitter irony! I hope that Mark can forgive himself.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
"What if?" I hate what ifs! They go on and on and on...
The only time I enjoy "What if" is when they result in fanfics! Giggle, giggle...
What if stories are for the most part writers versions of alternate endings for another authors story they do not agree with. Hey, a lot of us have done just that, I know I've done it. They serve a great purpose to individuals by giving them an alternative way to show a different viewpoint without causing a flame war to erupt for the original story that started it all. Giggle, giggle...I'm all for these stories! I might not agree with them and some of them are far from realistic, but they all make us think don't they?
If more of us did this then we wouldn't have the dangerous and hurtful flame wars that erupt from time to time in the comments section for a story.
In this way the "What if" stories are a very positive answer to what has often been a negative comment for a story! I wish more of us would do these what if stories instead of flaming or making hurtful negative comments for someone else's story!
TEN KUDOS for the "What if" stories!
Huggles
Angel
"Be Your-Self, So Easy to Say, So Hard to Live!"
"Be Your-Self, So Easy to Say, So Hard to Live!"