Dear Mr. Turner,
I write you openly because I, unlike the majority of Americans, want to thank you. No you didn’t misread that, and no you’re not dreaming. I’d like to thank you. You have done something that needed to be done. You, in your infinite stupidity, have brought rape into the national conversation. You have given people a topic that needs to be discussed and that is, in its entirety, rape. You have made rape an accessible topic to talk about—and that’s the only gratitude you’ll ever receive from me. Your “20 minutes of action”, as your dad puts it, will have endless minutes of repercussions. You are the epitome of the words “rape culture.”
In case you’re unaware of what a rape culture is—and obviously you are—allow me to explain. Rape culture has many definitions, but in short, it is the normalization of sexual aggression/violence towards women. Our society today is so desensitized to rape culture that we often blame the victim of the attack and not necessarily the rapist. Questions like “how much did she have to drink that night?” and “Well, what was she wearing?” automatically victim blame and cause society to hate the woman that somehow gets attacked, rather than the attacker himself. Yet, one is still a victim and the other, still a rapist.
This is where your “20 minutes of action” cause an issue. You see, Mr. Turner, those 20 minutes have done irreparable damage to a nation. You have caused problems for more than one victim here. That’s just it. There is more than one victim in this whole scenario. I’ll say that one more time: there is more than one victim in this whole scenario. Your parents are victims. They now have to live with the fact that a) their son is a rapist and b) you’ve managed to lose so many great opportunities because you clearly don’t understand that someone needs to be conscious in order to ask and receive their consent. Survivors of rape are now being revictimized as they see you, a figurehead for their own sexual offenders, getting three months taken off your already short six month sentence for “good behavior.” You have victimized the two men who found you and made your date behind the dumpster one that would hit the newsstands—the images they saw that night will forever haunt them. You have victimized and revictimized the young woman you raped.
You have victimized parents of young women that head off to college, both this year and in continuing years for obvious reasons.
The worst part? You have created future victims. Uneducated, white, athletic, young men now believe that if they rape someone, the most jail time they’ll receive is 3 months. You have now become the face of not only the rape culture of American college students, you’ve become the face of rape. Yours will be the case that’s always referred back to, the one that’s always checked against. Yours will be the case that young men think of when the word “rape” is mentioned. You have now made it seem like it’s okay for men to rape because they’ve seen what happens in court to rapists that might have a future that could be ruined with the association of the word rape. You, Mr. Turner, have created this mirage for young men that rape is something they can ultimately get away with. You have created an endless cycle that will have disastrous effects across America, and especially across college campuses.
Except here’s the thing, Mr. Turner. Just because one is a victim, does not mean that they lost. Both your personal victim and every other victim I just listed are champions. They are putting a stop to rape culture. Your case has gone so public that now people are being educated. People now know what it means to rape. America is teaching young men to not rape more so than teaching women to not get raped. No matter what she was wearing, no matter the time of night and no matter the location, rape is rape.
Blame it on the party, the booze, whatever it is that helps you sleep at night. It is no one’s fault except yours. You’re still a rapist. I hope that every time you hear that word, you understand it has extremely negative connotations. You feel that you deserved to be inside of her body so bad that you took your unconscious victim, put her behind a dumpster and began making her body your playground. Without. Her. Consent. That is not only entirely wrong, it’s inhumane. You are a sexual offender. You will have to put this on job applications.
“Why would I care what this kid thinks? I don’t even know him,” you may be thinking as your eyes gloss over the words I’ve so passionately written.
I’m aware you don’t know me Mr. Turner, but as we both know, that hasn’t stopped you before. I wrote this to let you know, in case you skipped to the end that your infamous “20 minutes of action” have made waves, to the point where a 17 year old in Chicago feels so angered that people like you exist. People like you simply think that no means yes and that they deserve anybody and any body they want.
The world owes you nothing, Mr. Turner. If you feel that the alcohol or what she was wearing, or her downright unconsciousness was an open invite for sex, you are completely mistaken. No means no, Mr. Turner, above the influence or under the influence. Stop making excuses and start listening to what your sexual partner is saying. And if she can’t say anything? She can’t consent.
Sincerely,
A 17-year-old young man who clearly understands more about consent than you do.
