Dear Female College-bound/College Attendees,
In recent news, a Stanford University student was given a six-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. A young boy took advantage of an inebriated girl and raped her. She was not asking for it and she was not consenting. Her body was violated, life distorted, and psychological state impacted severely, but her assailant was given a pass. He was given a pass because he was a privileged white male who everyone saw as the “victim.” He never was and never will be the victim. He destroyed a woman’s life, but prison would have had far too much of an “impact for him.” He was never cut out for prison since he was such a “great” kid…
He was such a “great” kid that he went behind a dumpster to sexually assault an unconscious woman. I have had many critics tell me that rape culture is in my head and is non-existent. That privilege is not a factor in life and I’m just another “angry black girl.” Well, here I am, angry and black. Rape culture is when you have two witnesses openly say they saw him on top of the young woman with her legs spread open and the assailant gets six months in jail. Rape culture is when the girl who was attacked has to stand up and make a speech about how he decided that he could be inside of her without even knowing her. Rape culture is when a boy rapes a woman but people talk about how great of a swimmer he is rather than talk about how he forcefully assaulted someone. He is not great or charming or wonderful. He is a monster.
Privilege is when you have thousands of black males in prison because they looked “suspicious” or were in possession of marijuana, but a white boy rapes a woman with enough evidence to lock him away for good and he gets six months. Privilege is when Brian Banks, a black male who was falsely accused of rape, gets sentenced to 10 years in jail, but a boy like Brock Turner has enough evidence to lock him away and, again, gets six months. Brian Banks was a star football player, but his football stats were not listed in the article. He was simply portrayed as a black thug. Brock Turner's article displayed his swimming stats next to the description of how they found his victim's body.
Ladies, I am tired, angry, and terrified of the justice society we live in. I worry every time my best friend goes to a party or my sister decides to go to a club. I pray every night before I sleep that every one of my sisters and my own mother can make it through a parking garage without anything happening. Why was a case about a woman who was raped turned to where we sympathize with the boy that raped her? Why did she have to sit in that courtroom and hear that her body being taken advantage of without her consent was worth six months in prison? I cried for her. I am crying for her right now because that girl has to be the strongest girl in the world. I read her letter and I cried my eyes out because I could not do the same thing she did. I could not sit in the same room with the boy who attacked me and read him a letter of the pain he bestowed upon me. I applaud her for that.
To all the young and beautiful female college students, I want you all to remember to always look out for each other. Even if it is the girl you hate because her attitude is trash, watch out for her. Watch out for each other because the American justice society just showed us that they will not. You see a girl struggling to stand or being forcefully taken by a boy, speak up! Be annoying and loud and obnoxious because you saved her from something no girl is prepared for. Do not let your friend disappear, and if you see a boy put something in a girl’s drink, you better make sure that young lady’s lips never touch the rim of that cup! We have to have each other’s backs and be each other’s eyes. This is not about just you anymore, it is about all of us. Every single one of us is affected when a poor girl gets her rights taken away by a careless individual. I was hurt when Ke$ha could not get out of a contract. I was hurt when Lady Gaga sang her song of brokenness. And I am hurt now when a girl had enough evidence to lock this young man away and was told no, because he is a promising young swimmer who is not cut out for jail. This should not be the society we live in and I will not stand for it to continue. Be the change and help every one of your girlfriends, sisters, mothers, and anyone who looks as though they are not consenting out! No means no, even if she is not responding.
Sincerely,
A sister, daughter, girlfriend, and concerned friend
