I truly do not know what to say. This past month, even year, I feel as if society has failed me, failed us. Events that have taken rape culture to a new level, racism to a new level, sexism to a new level, homophobia to a new level, and overall just hate to an entirely new level. To whoever is reading this, I'd like you to take a moment to just think about the victims, all of them. The 50 lost and 53 injured just this week, the women known as "Emily Doe" in the Brock Turner case, Christina Grimmie, the singer shot and killed after her concert, and the 128 people in France who died in a terrorist attack in November. The worst part is that there are so many more victims than we can even wrap our head around.
I don't understand why these things happen, and no it is not because I am an "ignorant teen" because I've heard that before. I don't understand the hate that people have for one another, for people that have not done anything to hurt others, for people who are completely innocent, or the hate for others who don't share the same beliefs. It breaks my heart the people are killed because others are unhappy with themselves and the world. What breaks my heart the most is thinking about the victims' families, their broken hearts, their lives changed, and their loved ones taken away. I saw a tweet after the shooting in Orlando it said something like think about all of the investigators in the club who have to listen to all of the dead victims' phones ringing with calls from their loved ones searching and praying they are okay. This will haunt me for the rest of my days.
The Brock Turner case really hits home for me because it's something that can happen to me or my friends or my sister or my future daughters if nothing changes. This is something that can be fixed not in only in the case, but in all rape cases. But I don't want to preach here, I want it to be known that there are so many rape victims, not only some but men too, who are silent and their rapists go on out of fear. Fear for outcomes such as in the Turner case, fear that they will be treated different, and the fear that just surrounds the entire idea of rape. There is so much to be said and so much to be done.
In times like these I believe the most important thing that we can do is stand together, stand against hate, and be there for one another. We need to support one another, accept one another even if we don't believe in the same things, and just love one another. We need to hope for a better tomorrow and be the change that is needed in this hateful world. We NEED to come together.
