Dad, I need to say thank you. Dan Turner has made me think about this Father's Day, and he has made me think about what kind of a place this world would be without men like you.
Thank you for raising me in such a way that has kept my worldview open. Through your actions, not just through your words, you taught me that equality is a right, not a privilege.
Thank you for demanding that a standard of respect must be learned and practiced by and toward every variety of person.
Thank you for placing emphasis on not only equality, but also
fairness. You taught me that actions have consequences, and that those
consequences should be principled and just.
Thank you for instilling that no matter what state people are in--sober or drunk, smart or stupid--choices are exactly that: choices. You linked "choice" with responsibility and accountability.
Thank you for firmly emphasizing that my body is mine. You educated me about the negativity, as well as the positivity that society imposes on the female body, and thank you for reminding me that society can be skewed.
Thank you for being embarrassed that the perception of sex has been warped from a private activity between two people who respect one another to one that can be stripped down to "minutes of action." Sex is more than an action: it's a choice, a mutual decision, and sex is emotion. Thank you for guiding my view of what sex is, and making sure I realize the gravity that it can hold.
Thank you for not hovering, allowing me to learn on my own. And with that, thank you for instilling that responsibility is something that one must take. You placed importance on your own actions and words; by observing that importance, I learned that they are never frivolous and that each one is a choice.
Thank you for teaching me that life is all about choices, and that although one choice does not make the person, the sum of choices, big and minute, do. And that just because I excel in other areas of my life does not excuse me from taking responsibility for other aspects of who I am and what I do.
And thank you, Dad, for being more than a father.
For more information, please really take the time to read the 23-year-old woman's address to her convicted rapist, Brock Turner.
Dan Turner's full statement and stance on his son's felony charges and time served.
And here's some context about the Stanford Rape Case and how it has changed the nation.
