Everyone and their uncle have commented on how terrible Brock Turner is, but they're missing part of the puzzle.
Brock Turner sexually assaulted a young woman and only accepts blame for being really drunk. She too was really drunk, but she didn't assault anyone. He claimed she gave consent. Her vagina was lacerated and her body was dirty and she was behind a dumpster.
The court case ended in a wimpy six months for the criminal. The judge said that a long period in jail would have too much of a negative impact on the rest of Brock's life. I know he didn't stop for a moment to consider how much Turner ruined that young woman's life in his twenty minutes of disgusting violence, but the judge is only one of the villains.
Brock is only one of the villains. There is a root of all evil here, and not enough people are talking about him.
Brock Turner's father, Dan Turner, needs to be harshly blamed for his lack of responsibility, disrespect of women, and contributions to rape culture. There is a reason Brock committed assault, and it's undoubtedly because his father is entrenched in rape culture.
Dan Turner wrote this letter. Below is the ending paragraph. It really sums up what he thinks.
"As it stands now, Brock's life has been deeply altered forever by the events of January 17th and 18th. He will never be his happy go lucky self with that easy going personality and welcoming smile. His every waking minute is consumed with worry, anxiety, fear, and depression. You can see this in his face, the way he walks, his weakened voice, his lack of appetite. Brock always enjoyed certain types of food and is a very good cook himself. I was always excited to buy him a big ribeye steak to grill or to get his favorite snack for him. I had to make sure to hide some of my favorite pretzels or chips because I knew they wouldn't be around long after Brock walked in from a long swim practice. Now he barely consumes any food and eats only to exist. These verdicts have broken and shattered him and our family in so many ways. His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life. The fact that he now has to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life forever alters where he can live, visit, work, and how he will be able to interact with people and organizations. What I know as his father is that incarceration is not the appropriate punishment for Brock. He has no prior criminal history and has never been violent to anyone including his actions on the night of January 17, 2015. Brock can do so many positive things as a contributor to society and is totally committed to educating other college age students about the dangers of alcohol consumption and sexual promiscuity. By having people like Brock educate others on college campuses is how society can begin to break the cycle of binge drinking and its unfortunate results. Probation is the best answer for Brock in this situation and allows him to give back to society in a net positive way.
Very Respectfully,
Dan A. Turner"
As it stands now, Brock's life has been deeply altered forever by the events of January 17th and 18th.
Yes, and it is Brock's fault. No one made Brock finger the body of a woman passed out in the dirt. Why didn't he call for help? Why did he run from her body? He was sober enough to know what he was doing was wrong, so he shouldn't have been doing it. Why are you begging for nice treatment instead of making your son take responsibility?
He will never be his happy go-lucky self with that easy going personality and welcoming smile.
Neither will the woman he raped, but you could care less. You still neglect the fact your own son is to blame for his own misery.
His every waking minute is consumed with worry, anxiety, fear, and depression. You can see this in his face, the way he walks, his weakened voice, his lack of appetite.
Wait a second. I see what you're doing here. You're trying to claim that the worry, anxiety, fear and depression Brock Turner is going through is punishment enough for what he did. Under some circumstances, I would agree with you. However, the young woman he raped didn't rape herself. She needed help she was not given. She suffers from stronger worry, stronger anxiety, stronger fear, and stronger depression, and she has not sexually assaulted anyone. Brock must be punished for his actions, not simply by his feelings. Wouldn't a good father want to teach his son responsibility?
Brock always enjoyed certain types of food and is a very good cook himself. I was always excited to buy him a big rib eye steak to grill or to get his favorite snack for him. I had to make sure to hide some of my favorite pretzels or chips because I knew they wouldn't be around long after Brock walked in from a long swim practice. Now he barely consumes any food and eats only to exist.
I'm sorry—are...are you trying to further your point by whining that Brock can't eat steak anymore? Can't eat pretzels and chips? What a travesty. His life will be forever altered. His heart will be healthier and there will be one less cow contributing methane to the ozone layer because your son raped someone. How sad. Can you sense the sarcasm? No one cares how his diet changed. If he's still such a great swimmer as the media claims, he's eating plenty, or his performance would be altered. Bite off.
These verdicts have broken and shattered him and our family in so many ways.
Seeing as you're a father who wants your son to be forgiven for a violent rape, I would say your family was already broken and shattered to begin with. You failed to raise a son who would help a young woman in danger during a party. You raised the kind of son who would assault her, instead. Imagine if some young boy had raped your wife in college. Maybe your wife wouldn't have had the courage to marry you and have a child. Her assailant would probably be walking free because of the rape culture men like you have created.
His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve.
Good. He has committed an ugly, violent crime. Ugly, violent criminals don't get to live the lives they dream of. They go behind bars where they belong. They are punished this way because that's how justice works. How it functions. How we give peace to the woman your son has mentally destroyed. If your son were a murderer, would you beg for this? He may as well have murdered her spirit.
That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.
I'm afraid I have to skip this one. It'll come last. I'll conclude with this piece of garbage, because this is the heart of the issue.
The fact that he now has to register as a sexual offender for the rest
of his life forever alters where he can live, visit, work, and how he
will be able to interact with people and organizations.
Yes, and that is precisely the reason why your son was registered. This registration will protect other victims and help them stay away from your son. Brock Turner will have less chance to sexually assault someone ever again, and you should be grateful. You should be happy that women everywhere are safer from him. I understand he's your son. I get it. If you love him so much, you should be helping him find those resources and teaching him that what he did was wrong. You continue to fail.
What I know as his father is that incarceration is not the appropriate punishment for Brock.
Yikes. When did you become a legal or moral expert? Do you have credentials? Doesn't being Brock's father give you truth bias that would be considered a conflict of interest in a court?
He has no prior criminal history and has never been violent to anyone including his actions on the night of January 17, 2015.
You clearly have no respect for humanity if you believe your son was not violent to that young woman. Her hair was covered in dirt and pine needles. Her shirt was hiked up over her body. She was covered in cuts and bruises. Her vagina was filled with dirt and lined with blood. The damage Brock did to both her mind and body has permanently changed her life. It has changed the way she will see men, and the way she sees herself. Your son was violent. If you had a daughter and some man had done this to her, you would scream about how violent this was.
Brock can do so many positive things as a contributor to society and is totally committed to educating other college age students about the dangers of alcohol consumption and sexual promiscuity.
The only person who should be doing any positive contribution to society is you. Brock should be behind bars. In my world, he'd be sterilized and neutered. You're the one who should be teaching other college age students. What you failed to do with your son, you can now teach to others. You should be teaching others not to rape so they don't end up like Brock. Alcohol does not cause rape, and sexual promiscuity? With sobriety and a condom, there is nothing dangerous about it. Many promiscuous people are kind and safe. The only danger is rape itself.
By having people like Brock educate others on college campuses is how society can begin to break the cycle of binge drinking and its unfortunate results.
No. Binge drinking is not to blame. Brock is. If you don't see that, you have no hope.
Probation is the best answer for Brock in this situation and allows him to give back to society in a net positive way.
So he can do it again? Is that what you want? Really?
Very Respectfully,
Another lie. You have no respect.
Now, let's get back to what you hid in the middle of your letter: That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.
This is what you've reduced a violent rape to: "20 minutes of action." This is what sex is to you. Action.
It's not an exchange of trust and intimacy that can be dangerous and life altering. It's not a consensual sharing of bodies. It's "action." You think your son shouldn't be blamed because he got lucky and had a nice time for 20 minutes. The mental suffering is not steep enough. A slap on the wrist is what your son got. He should have been punished for ruining someone's life—someone's trust, hope, chance at intimacy, and who knows what else.
You and your forgiveness of the unforgivable are the reason this continues to happen. You have failed as a father and frankly, a husband. You have made the world more dangerous for victims.
The only sympathy you've made me feel for your son is with regards to you and how much you've contributed to his crime.
