Brock Turner has been referred to using a few different terms. The most common has been "former Stanford swimmer". The correct term, however, is rapist. He was given a six month sentence after raping an unconscious female. During this trial, the concern was focused on the well-being of the rapist. Not the victim. The victim shaming involved has never been more direct. The female took advantage of her opportunity to speak directly to her rapist and has impacted many lives in the process.
"I had no power, I had no voice, I was defenseless."
These were the words you spoke in your letter to your rapist, Brock Turner. You were referring to the way you felt having no recollection of that horrible night's events. You felt as though Brock Turner had all the answers, and you desperately needed him to come clean and admit to every last detail of what he did wrong.
Although you felt as though you had no voice, your letter has proved otherwise. Not only have you given yourself a voice, you have given so many other victims a voice as well.
There could have been many other ways to go about reacting to a traumatic even such as this. You could have simply cut yourself off from the world. Feeling defenseless, you could have let your rapist win. The rulings made in court reveal that justice has not been served. However, that does not mean you lose. Your courage in writing this letter made you invincible.
As many writers know, saying what you truly feel is scary. It is intimidating laying out your emotions for the world to read. Accordingly, written words are the most intimate form of communication. Speaking to one another using verbal language reveals the first thing that comes to mind. It often is not well thought out and can easily be worded wrong and misconstrued. Emotions are usually involved and can also force the path of the conversation into unwanted directions. I, like many other writers, have trouble communicating with verbal language. I have too many thoughts, ideas, and emotions to purposefully convey the message I intend on passing along. Therefore, I choose to write. I choose to plan my words out in the most meaningful way possible.
I am not sure how you chose to write this letter. I am not aware of the writing process involved, if there was one. These words may have tumbled from your brain onto paper in an order that had no rhyme or reason. Or perhaps you have been contemplating this message for days, weeks, or months. Whatever the course of action, I would like to thank you. Thank you for choosing to write and release this message to the public eye. Thank you for giving yourself a voice. Thank you for giving the world an unforgettable outlook on your story. Thank you for being brave.
