Another awful decision made in the U.S court system, giving Brock Turner six months of jail time after forcibly raping an unconscious woman on campus. If you read that sentence and don’t realize the issue, you’re part of the problem. You are actively a part of why rape culture is the way it continues to be.
Let’s understand the circumstances from what we know, as released from the media and from a letter the victim herself wrote. She went out to a party with her sister and since her alcohol tolerance had gone down, she became more intoxicated than she intended to be. The next thing she knew, she was waking up on a gurney. She later found out that Brock Turner had taken her behind a dumpster to rape her. When two bicyclists saw this unfold, Turner tried to run away, but the men held him down until the cops arrived. The evidence is all there, there’s no denying the guilt he holds, and he got a measly six months in jail.
What has come during and after the trial has made me question many things.
Brock Turner has sparked an idea to tour campuses and give seminars on drinking on campus along with promiscuity. I, personally, would love to hear the bullshit that comes out of his mouth regarding it. I think, why even blame alcohol? Your judgment changes when you drink, but not to the point of being inhumane and abusive, unless that is already a part of you.
Instead of looking at the victim as an object that wanted to have sex with a man whom she didn’t know, while she was intoxicated, let’s look at the root of the problem. What on earth persuades a person to violate an unconscious woman? To jump on top of her in the open? You can’t blame alcohol on this one. Most of us would never, ever have that thought even run through our heads after having a few. He had intention. Isn’t it time we give women some rights? It is 2016 and we just let a man go with 6 months of jail time for this disgusting crime.
Then, there are people trying to play the “she was asking for it card” and I am repulsed. Asking for it means, “I want to have sex” being said loud and clear from her mouth, or a response to the question “Do you want to have sex?” with a resounding, “Yes,” that all being said when the woman is in the right state of mind. Let's get that straight.
Others add that he had a clean record, but I do not give a crap about his clean record. Everyone starts with a clean record, but when you mess up, you pay for it. Some say he has a promising future ahead of him; he’s a star swimmer and has goals to accomplish. It was just a mistake. In what world do we not pay for our mistakes? It shouldn’t matter where you came from, what color your skin, or what is ahead of you, you should sit in jail for your wrong doings. It’s as if we’re dismissing what he has done because he’s white, privileged and a male who has a lot going for him.
In comes the most disturbing thing to be found surrounding this case, the letter written by Brock Turner’s father. This letter details what a great human being Brock Turner is and that this event has deeply hurt his life. Also that he has lost his appetite and can no longer stomach a rib eye steak. (Okay?? Relevance?)
You are not inducing pity in anyone, Mr. Turner. By saying, “His every waking minute is consumed with worry, anxiety, fear, and depression,” we are disgusted. Brock made a choice and he has caused these feelings times 100, and so many other, worse, feelings to the victim. I understand that it is his son, but at some point he has to understand he is also a sexual offender.
The worst line of this whole letter and the thing we need to react to is this: “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.”
His dad, his family, his support looks at his raping of a woman as 20 minutes of action. That about says it all, folks.
The dimly lit bright side to this entire case is the change the victim is making by speaking out on what she has gone through. I cannot imagine the way she feels or the pain this man has caused her, but she chose to not let it define her and to use it as a stepping-stone in life. She may not realize it now, but this may end up being the turning point in the rape culture embedded in our society. There are people talking, realizing that this is a serious crime with serious repercussions. I thank her and commend her for having the strength to speak up and not allow January 17th to define the person she is. She is so strong. So, tremendously strong.
