Lately, as I scroll down Facebook, there has been a huge amount of focus on the Stanford sexual assault case. As sad as this news was, seeing the amount of outrage that has been caused by it, is a sign of hope. Hope in the sense that our society has become aware of the injustices around the world and that we are trying to do something about it.
In the Stanford case there were jurors who argued that the boy who sexually assaulted the woman should have less of a sentence because he has a life ahead of him and it’ll make a big impact on his life. It is crazy to think that there are people in the world who would still take the side of the boy knowing what he caused. He caused a young woman to feel unsafe, worthless and used through the act of sexual assault. Other jurors argued that because the boy’s alcohol content was twice the legal driving limit, and the women’s was three times, it isn’t fair to only punish the boy. They go on to say how it is unfair how he went from a Stanford athlete to a rapist and how the woman is just the victim. JUST THE VICTIM. As if being the victim is not enough punishment for all the things that happened to her.
This goes back to privilege and how people think punishing people who are on a pedestal is unjust and unfair, but punishing a young woman who was sexually assaulted while unconscious is totally fair and should have been acted upon because she drank more than him. Yes, we live in an imperfect world where boys and girls will drink and even to the point of unconsciousness. That is something we may never be able to change as humans. However, changing the mindsets of our youth is not something we can’t change.
Teaching girls and boys that consent is just as important as taking that one last shot, would help prevent situations like these to even occur. It would prevent the star athlete at Stanford from getting a sentence of six months in prison so that his life wouldn’t take such “hard” turns.
Furthermore, while we can be upset at this boy, we also need to take a closer look at what this case really is about. This boy was somehow conditioned to think that he could get away with sexually assaulting this young woman and that this was okay and completely normal behavior. When you think something is out of norm or unusual, your first instinct is to not do it and to avoid it. This means this boy thought what he did was normal and okay. While we can continue to point fingers, I think this is a good time to look at ourselves, and the society we have created for the youth.
Our society has created a place where women are objects, pieces of flesh that boys feel entitled to so much that finding an unconscious one leads to sexual assault. Whether his first thought was to use her body for pleasure or if he questioned whether or not to take her safely home, his end action was to use and violate her body. This boy is just one person who was caught doing this. I know for a fact, there are probably thousands of cases that have not been discovered.
So while we are so used to being angry and pointing fingers, lets take a look at ourselves for once. You can’t point fingers at everyone else blaming them for what our society has become while you are just as accountable as they are.
If you really think about it, the media and government wants us to point fingers and work against each other instead of looking at ourselves and seeing the wrong in what we have built. They don’t want us to come together and work together to create a place for all because if we do that, there is no use for the media or the government. We no longer would feel the need for “safety” because we would then live in a place where all are safe and considered.
Although we have been conditioned to take sides and work against each other, I do believe with the help of awareness we can become a society of peace and equality.
Remember don’t hate the player, hate the game.
