Customer Reviews

Our Guys

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is probably one of the most riveting and chilling books I have ever read. More of a sociological and cultural study than a "true crime" book, the author, Bernard Lefkowitz details the story of a young retarded woman ("Leslie") who was raped by "the Jocks" in the town of Glen Ridge, NJ. Many of these young men had been trouble since middle school years, but they were the golden boys, the star athletes, in a town that revered athleticism and competition. The behavior of one of the defendants was so disgusting and bizarre, for many years, but he was never held responsible. As Lefkowitz said, you walked into the high school and saw a huge trophy cabinet containing trophies, game balls, and all the other accoutrements of winning sporst teams. But where was the honor roll list?

These boys had been raised to feel empowered, that they could get away with things that other *mortals* could not. They treated most women and girls with disrespect. They had very little contact with girls or women in a situation where the girls could be their *equals*, since all of their activities involved sports teams. None of them did volunteer work, were on the school paper, or in activities where they worked on an equal footing with females. What was especially alarming and dismaying was that the girls, the Jockettes or Little Mothers, as Lefkowitz calls them---put up with the vile behavior of these boys and defended them!!!! I kept thinking of bits from "Reviving Ophelia" when I read about these girls. They must have felt that they had no identity apart from these boys.

Lefkowitz writes of the boys who raped Leslie: "'These Glen Ridge kids, they were pure gold, every mother's dream, every father's pride. They were not only Glen Ridge's finest, but in their perfection they belonged to all of us. They were Our Guys."

This next quote is from the book, and refers to Laurino, who was the prosecutor in the case: "But there was something else about this case, something that seemed to provoke him more than it provoked his fellow prosecutors: the values of the defendants. He discerned in their relatively brief lives a pattern of abuse of power, a corruption of decent intent, for which these young men andmany of those who had guided them shared responsibility."

It was beyond his reach, but if he could have done so, Laurino would have convicted the values of Glen Ridge. "They believed themselves to be invincible....that problems that would arise would be taken care of out of the deep pockets of their parents or the compassion of a small-town police department or the compassion of a small-town school system or the compassion of small-town residents who knew each other and wanted to handle things among themselves. They've been getting free rides all their life."

I would highly recommend this book, especially for parents, coaches, and teachers. This lionization of student athletes by these people ultimately does no one any good and can destroy lives. There has to be a better way.

I have seen some reviewers complain that this book stereotypes the rich or panders to stereotypes against athletes. Let me say that those stereotypes exist for a reason, and that this author is dead on. The high school portrayed in the novel and its predatory athletes reminded me so much of my school that I couldn't put it down. The boys in the book were allowed to get away with everything their entire lives, thanks to their doting parents who spoiled them rotten, their teachers who sucked up to them because their trophies and awards made the school look good, and the girls that fawned over them because of their looks. They knew they could do whatever they wanted, which is why they decided to sadistically rape a mentally retarded girl. This kind of stuff goes on in many perfect suburban communities, featuring "All-American guys", except most of the time it doesn't make the news. An excellent book on a disturbing topic.

"Our Guys" is a frightening account of a bunch of football players who sexually abused a mentally impaired girl, and how people in their social orbit rose to support them after the crime came to light.

Anyone from a high school where football players were special beings, or who is familiar with that phenomenon, will appreciate the focus of "Our Guys." The power these kids exercised in Glen Ridge was atrocious, as was their behavior. Enabled by their parents, teachers and peers, they dominated social situations, treated girls like trash, turned parties into destruction derbies and pretty much behaved like animals.

The story is told very well, making for interesting reading. And particularly if you have kids approaching or presently living their teen years, it will scare the H out of you.

Sports is famously said to build character and school spirit, and help young people mature into admirable adults. But it can also promote violence against women and help young people cement an offputting sense of entitlement. Parents, teachers and other influential adults who look the other way with a "boys will boys" attitude can, in fact, do a great deal of harm, and this book shows just how.

The author's interest in the Glen Ridge scandal was first piqued when he realized that most of the town apparently supported the boys who sodomized a retarded girl. The girl herself was "asking for trouble." The boys would be scarred for life, it was said, having to undergo a trial.

The author's investigation uncovered a long history on the boys' part of deviant and inappropriate sexual behavior and bullying to peers and even adults. Despite sporadic attempts at discipline, the jocks were mainly permitted to do as they pleased. Until the trial, that is.

The author's sympathies are clearly with the girl, and the reader comes to realize that she is far from the Lolita portrayed by the opposing side's lawyer. In addition, the author uncovers statistics on the correlation between violence and male athletes, even breaking it down by sport. Highly recommended.

Ten years ago today the rape that was the basis of "Our Guys" took place. As a Glen Ridge resident who has spoken out publicly on the rape many people have asked me, How is the town now? Fortunately,because of the book, the long period of denial has ended and the current Mayor, Tom Lincoln has tried to makes changes. A summit meeting was held last year with 130 people attending for two nights to come up with various plans on standards that have been implemented. A athletic forum addressed the problem of jockism. No longer are athletic trophies the first thing you see as you enter the High School. Now the Honor Roll is prominent. Of the 60 high school seniors 15 have National Merit commendation and 5 are finalists, a new type of competition. Students must do community service to graduate. Many new people have moved in who have brought diversity and a liberal awareness. A Human Relations Committee has worked to create a communications network, to establish an advisory link with the local government, to assist law enforcement and to organize public events to promote understanding, respect and concern for all people. Glen Ridge has come a long way.

Cherry Provost

I used to live in Glen Ridge. I went to the high school. To be honest, I wasn't suprised to know something like this happened. Its in the mentality of the town. A very good read indeed.

I agree with the majority of the reviews - it's compelling, tragic, insightful, and horrifying. Yet perhaps the thing that infuriated me the most and was most telling about the entire situation was the way the story ends. My heart lept with joy when the boys were found guilty (i had been fearing they would get off throughout the book), thinking finally someone opened their eyes and held them morally responsible. But when the judge turned around and sentenced them to what turns out to be a relative slap on the wrist, my heart sank to its greatest depths. The question of whether or not they should be punished for "one hour of their lives" seems to have been answered by the judge "no, they shouldn't be - they are good guys." It broadens the scope of the book to show that it isn't just high school or Glen Ridge but the very foundation of our society that makes allowences for those who are deemed 'attractive' to the society (and white, of course) and punishes those that are not (I consider the judge's humiliating sentence a punishment to Leslie for her inability to be a 'normal' memeber of society). Those pricks got off easy - as they always have and always will. And we wonder why there is so much vigilante-ism in our high schools? This book is a good place to start to understand exactly why someone would feel powerless against their opressors - it seems even the justice system is going to side with the jock.

Bernard Lefkowitz' Our Guys made me fear for my children, and shudder at bedroom community suburban America. The story of the Glen Ridge, New Jersey rape and subsequent trial, this book recounts how the seemingly anointed star male athletes in this upper-class town lured into a basement then sexually assaulted a retarded teenaged girl. Above all else, Leflowitz' book demonstrates the dangers of complacency. For years before the rape, the boys involved had been allowed to "get away with" ever-escalating misbehaviors, including conduct for which, if I knew my children were involved, would be visited with the most severe consequences. No such consequences ever befell the star athletes of Glen Ridge, with everyone turning a blind eye to problems and muttering the mantra, "boys will be boys." This book is extremely explicit in both descriptions and language, and is not for the prude. Likewise, I suspect it may offend (or appear unbalanced) to those of the "athletic supporter" mindset, including the fathers and sons of star (and seemingly exemplary) players. Nonetheless, Leflowitz gives us a story that must be told, in clear, compelling prose making this book hard to put down.

It's scarcely worth using up the space to detail how good this book really is. Read it and see for yourself. Impeccably researched, wonderfully detailed, filled with compassion for the everyone involved, this book will break your heart and lift your soul. An Instant Classic.

For some reason, my thoughts kept returning to William Whyte's famous sociological treatise: "Street Corner Society." This is an updated version of American Life. Excellently written in that you can just zip through it - the writing doesn't hold you back.

Also, it puts a new spin on the recent school murders. I found that I had discounted the "jock v. nerds" issue that has so often been claimed as a factor in the killings. I will now, probably, take such complaints more seriously. One has to wonder if such a terrible occurrence would be likely to happen in Glen Ridge today? Not that the gang rape of an innocent young woman isn't a terrible occurence. It just seems to me that in reaction to the "jockocracy" some of the other students today might resort to violence as a way of getting attention from the complicit school system and town leaders.

In any case, Lefkowitz, like Whyte, has given us a lasting model for our education about social patterns in certain American towns. We should be grateful to him; I know I am.