If you're on the internet at all, you've probably read something about the release of Brock Turner. You've also probably seen the public outrage from this decision, I myself am included in that outrage. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here's the low down.
Brock Turner was a student at Stanford University, and a swimmer on the school's team. One night, Turner decided it would be a great idea to sexually assault an unconscious girl. He was stopped by two foreign exchange students. The cops got involved, surprisingly, and he was convicted. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted rape and penetration with a foreign object, but was released the same day by paying his $150,000 bail.
He was indicted on January 28, 2015, on five charges: two for rape, two for felony sexual assault, and one for attempted rape. Which he somehow pleaded not guilty to. How that even remotely makes sense is beyond me.
After the whole court ordeal, his potential sentence was 14 years. They argued and fought until he got his final sentence. Six months. That's it. And you know what the worst part is? He only severed three because he got released for good behavior. How does a potential 14 year sentence get dwindled down so much it ends up being three months?
Through out this court case, he has been painted as some poor athlete who made a "simple mistake". His dad played the whole "boys will be boys" card, and no one ever dared to call him what he was. A rapist. Plain and simple. He assaulted an unconscious girl and no one is doing a thing about it. Do you know what Stanford University did? They banned alcohol at parties. Which is already illegal for most of the kids drinking it anyways.
The worst part of this is that he's not an outlier or some random occurrence. Men and women across the country are being assaulted and no one is doing a damn thing about it. The media won't tell the truth and they paint these elaborate stories to make the rapists look like good people who made a mistake. But I'm sorry, that's wrong.
These people make the deliberate choice to invade someone else's body against their will. I don't care if they're an athlete or not. That shouldn't matter. Unfortunately, that's not how our country works. These athletes get special treatment and ridiculously small sentences. Why? Because they swim fast or throw a ball far.
I shouldn't have to be afraid to walk alone at night or go to a concert or party by myself. I should feel safe enough putting down my drink for even a minute. But unfortunately, there are people who prey on those alone moments and those stranded cups. They attack and drug people and they get away with it.
It's clear that the rape culture in our country is out of control. Rapists don't get jail time and the rare time they do, their sentences are a joke. The media spins stories to make the victims look like they asked for it or it was their fault or somehow what they were wearing was a good enough reason to get assaulted. Our country and our media would rather side with the rapist then protect the victims.
