Dear Mr. Turner: A Letter To Brock Turner's Father | The Odyssey Online
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Dear Mr. Turner: A Letter To Brock Turner's Father

From a college woman who is rightfully repulsed.

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Dear Mr. Turner: A Letter To Brock Turner's Father
MercuryNews

Mr. Turner,

I want to begin by acknowledging that the news of your son's crime must have been extremely difficult for you and your family to comprehend. I know you must be getting a lot of hate mail lately, but my point in writing this letter is not to bash you or your family. Rather, I want to bring to your attention what your statements and your "Brock Turner Family Support Page" are doing to fuel rape culture. I have read your letter to Brock's judge, and to say I am repulsed is a massive understatement. I am a college woman, but this is not about me. This is not about Brock and this is not about you. This is about the thousands of women who are survivors and the victims who have been silenced by the culture people like you are creating. This is about a community which is under attack. By supporting your son and his crime, you are single-handedly discounting the value of the lives of women everywhere. In this letter, I'll point out exactly what you're getting all wrong.

"In many one-on-one conversations with Brock since that day, I can tell you that he is truly sorry for what occurred that night and for all the pain and suffering that it has caused for all of those involved and impacted by that night. He has expressed true remorse for his actions on that night."

Sir, your son has raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster of a fraternity house. She has no recollection of her night except for waking up in a hospital bed bruised and in pain. Your son's meager "apology" is useless. It means nothing. Though her physical pain will fade, the toll your son's careless and inhumane actions took on her will forever be engraved in her mind. She will never be the same.

"Brock has an inner strength and fortitude that is beyond anything I have ever seen. This was no doubt honed over many years of competitive swimming and has been a major reason for his ability to cope over the last 15 months."

At this point in your letter, I have not heard you mention the victim once. Oh, your son has inner strength and is coping? What about her? What about the fact that she has to sit in the same courtroom as her attacker and has to see these articles on the internet every day, reliving that horrible night? We do not care about Brock's ability to "cope." He consciously took advantage of another human being who was not able to give consent for his actions.

"I can assure you that Brock always did well on these exams. While this example may seem trivial, it was an early indicator of the importance he placed on academic achievement that never left him."

This is absolutely asinine. Your son has raped a woman, and you choose to defend his character with his test scores? His ability to add and subtract does not excuse his inability to be a decent human being. While I'm sure you've had many good times with your son and love him as any father should, he is a danger to women. He has stolen this victim's right to feel safe in her own skin. Now, tell me what that has to do with math?

"In the late summer before Brock’s senior year in high school, he applied to Stanford with the dream of taking both his academic and athletic talents to the next level. Brock had a large amount of interest from many Division-1 coaches due to his swimming success and outstanding grades in school."

The woman your son raped applied to college her senior year too. She was accepted for her academic talents too. Her parents took her to college visits and watched her face light up when she found out she was accepted. They attended her college graduation marveled at their successful girl who had grown into a woman before their eyes. Their daughter spent a night at Stanford with her little sister, who says Brock tried to force himself on her too, but got to her older sister instead. Brock took the sparkle in that woman's eyes, her faith in humanity, and her sense of self and security. Again, his scores and "swimming success" do not begin to compare with a 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."

You go on to say that Brock, "has not prior criminal history," so incarceration is not the appropriate punishment for him. Since when does only raping one person excuse the fact that a rape occurred? Mr. Turner, your son is a sexual predator and has made a choice which warrants consequences such as registering as a sex offender. In a study by The University of Massachusetts and Brown University School of Medicine, it's shown that 63% of rapists are repeat offenders. Good student or not, Brock is a rapist and in my opinion, deserves to serve time in prison; much, much more time than six short months.

Now, here's the part which angers me the most:

"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 dangers of alcohol consumption and sexual promiscuity? Excuse me? Alcohol never raped anybody. First of all, Brock's victim was not promiscuous, she was incapacitated. Secondly, being promiscuous is a choice and absolutely never warrants an assault. Alcohol does not cause words to appear on someone's forehead that say, "it's okay to rape me now." Brock Turner took advantage of a vulnerable woman and permanently altered her life forever.

Mr. Turner, you are fueling rape culture. You are telling women everywhere, you are telling thousands of victims, that their choice to drink directly caused their attacks. You are telling young men that being drunk is an excuse to rape someone. By starting this "support page" you are blatantly disrespecting all victims. You are taking an immature and selfish stance on this situation and your son should never be forgiven for his actions. I urge you to please reconsider the message you are sending to the public and ask yourself, "If Brock's victim was my own daughter, would I be saying the same things as I am now?"

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