Night Rider.......

Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte

After reading this book, I felt somewhat irritated with the sensationalized violence that is being depicted in sporting culture in America. Of course, many athletes go to parties and can, occasionally, have non-committal sex with girls that may be fans of football, but Lipsyte goes too far in parts of the book. When “Co-Captain” Ramp sexually assaults another Chris after football practice with a baseball bat via anal intercourse, I realized that this was an extremely rare and heinous way to get the reader’s attention. I have read stories of violent incidents before, during, and after sporting events, but this was simply outrageous. In some ways, it promotes a crude myth of extracurricular violence in sporting culture, which is certainly not a common occurrence in high school life. Therefore, I would never use this book in class because it does not teach “literature” as life, as it propagandizes an artificially fear-based and sensational form of entertainment for the young adult reader. While I would not want dismiss the homosexual overtones of this story, I do not feel it teaches students to respect people from differing sexual backgrounds. In many ways, this book promotes an overly sensationalized view of “team” loyalty and it promotes a culture of unethical and immoral behavior as an acceptable paradigm in teenage high school social interaction. If my students read this book, I think they would respond negatively to the secrecy of the team after the sexual assault. More so, I don’t think any of them would really believe the story because of the blatant dramatization of violence and sexual assault in sporting culture.