Nerd Furious About Cheerleader’s Rape! Draws On His Talents To Help A Stranger

Some things are so terrible they make our blood boil. We rant, we rave, we tell everyone how fucked up it is — but how often do we actually try and help?

A couple of months ago we published a story about high school cheerleader Hillaire S. getting kicked off of her squad for refusing to cheer for her rapist. After her parents sued the school and lost, they ended up with $35,000 in fees. In a recent twist, Hillaire has been receiving donations from an unlikely source: a comic book artist and self-proclaimed “nerdy misanthrope.”

Jason Ho, illustrator and assistant art director of Bongo Comics, was disgusted upon reading Hillaire’s case and decided he had to help. He started offering $20 original sketches on his blog and giving the profits to Help the Cheerleader. Ho got 130 requests in a single day, and was so swamped with sketches to draw that he had to pause the campaign. He wrote:

• The less I say about it, the better, cause if I start talking about it, I’m just gonna get mad. Suffice it to say, this is utterly unacceptable, and if we can help, we should.

Jason Ho’s extreme anger about Hillarie’s case brings up a significant point: rape is not just a women’s issue, it’s a human issue. Men are just as disgusted and angered by rape as women. Ho was able to use his blog and his talent to raise money for a good cause. Cheerleaders, nerds, teacher’s pets, we can all unite over issues of rape and sexual assault, especially when justice is not served.

Contact the author here: jennY@morningquickie.com