On Monday morning, I woke up and checked Facebook. I’m always intrigued by what’s trending, so I took a look. One of the trending topics was, “Stanford Rape Case.”
I quickly clicked on it and read the slew of news articles that were listed under the topic. It’s safe to say that a half hour later, I was truly shaking with anger.
Now, if you haven’t heard about what happened, here’s a summary from Us Magazine:
Brock Turner, a former swimmer at Stanford University, was convicted of three felony counts of sexual assault on Thursday, June 2, for his assault on an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. The 20-year-old Ohio native was sentenced to six months in jail followed by a three-month probation because the judge believed a longer prison stint would have “a severe impact on him.”
There are several things wrong with this case, therefore it’s extremely difficult to choose one aspect about it to talk about. The six months of jail time is absurd, but what really got under my skin was the letters from Brock’s father and his childhood friend, Leslie.
Brock’s father, Dan Turner, brought it upon himself to write a lengthy letter towards the case.
In the letter, he says points such as:
-his son's "life has been deeply altered forever by the events"
-his son "will never be his happy go lucky self"
-his son's "every waking moment is consumed with worry, anxiety, fear and depression"
And, the best one yet:
-his son's "jail sentence 'isn't an appropriate punishment' and that his son, who loves to eat, no longer can."
Dan Turner, you are completely right. Six months is definitely an inappropriate punishment for your son. How does a lifetime sound? I think it sounds pretty appropriate to myself and the rest of the world.
Those twenty minutes of “action” that your son participated in has definitely ruined his life forever. But, I think you’re forgetting someone in this case: the victim. What about her?
Did it ever occur to you that the “twenty minutes of action” involving your son raping this woman behind a dumpster would change her life forever? Change the words "his son" to "the victim." It fits, right?
In the letter written by his childhood friend Leslie, she goes on to say that this rape is a result of “idiot boys and girls having too much to drink and not being aware of their surroundings and having clouded judgment.”
Yes, they were both intoxicated. However, it doesn’t matter if they were sober as ever. Intoxication should not be an excuse for attacking an innocent human being and penetrating her against her own will.
Not only did Mr. Turner and Brock’s friend have something to say, but the victim did, too.
Her voice was heard loud and clear as her statement was released to the public. Addressing Brock directly, she lets him know that “This is not a story of another drunk college hook up with poor decision making. Assault is not an accident.”
The damage done to the victim will affect her forever. She even states in her letter that her independence, natural joy, gentleness and steady lifestyle had become distorted and like Brock, she’s unable to get up in the morning, too. However, he made her the victim and as a result, she had to relearn that a “drunk girl at a frat party” is not all that she is.
He may be an All-American swimmer at a top university, but she is a woman who has been damaged beyond belief.
How fast someone can swim does not cover up the extent of their actions.
But wait! He’s a swimmer. That means we should exempt him from his rape, right? Wrong. Because of a ruthless and immature decision, a woman is going to live her life in fear as the perpetrator gets away with a 6-month hold up in jail.
To the victim, we are all with you.
Brock, not only did you ruin two lives, but, as her letter stated, you “ignited a tiny fire.” Your mistake is a reason for all of us to speak even louder. Rape culture is very much alive and not okay.
A “back rub” is not consent.
Intoxication is not consent.
It’s time to stop finding excuses to blame the victim when clearly, the offender is wrong.
