About a week ago, I came across a 12-page letter on Buzzfeed of a woman, who was then 22 years-old, addressing her rapist for all the trouble he caused her. Not only did he rape her behind a dumpster while she was unconscious, but he made her go through a year-long trial that revealed personal information about her to strangers, and had her re-live the awful moment over and over again. The final punishment? Brock Turner was convicted of all three counts of sexual assault but only given a six-month sentence. After reading the letter and the outrage from college students on both sides of the party divide, I believe the Stanford rape case taught us a few things about America and sexual assault cases.
No one does social media like millennials do, and there is no better proof of this than how quickly this letter spread across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. The letter itself only came out on June 3rd, but yet there’s already one million signatures on change.org to get rid of the county judge involved in the six-month sentence. My favorite part about that is that it’s not about party politics but about a group of millennials who feel like justice was not properly served. They’re using their First Amendment rights to make sure something is done to correctly, and that’s a beautiful thing.
Another eye-opening outcome is the fact that more people are realizing that alcohol and parties are not an excuse for non-consensual sex. Yes, both victims were drinking and attended the same Frat party, but it was evident that the woman involved was unconscious and heavily intoxicated when the suspect assaulted her so there is no way that she could have given proper consent.
Either way, “party culture” is not an excuse for rape or “20 minutes of action” as his father indelicately put it, because there were many other things the suspect could have done for the victim, like walk her home, help her find her sister, or feed her bread and give her water to sober her up. Instead, he chose to sexually assault her behind a dumpster and was thankfully caught. I am sorry for what the victim had to go through, but by telling her story and sharing her statement, she is reminding the world that there is no such thing as “party culture”; rape is rape.
The last thing that I think this case has brought into focus is privilege and how that effects the sentencing or verdict of the case. What many people point out when discussing Brock Turner’s sentencing is his socioeconomic status, his athletic ability, his gender, and his race. The victim suffered enough after the sexual assault, a once independent 22-year-old, could not stand to be alone in her Palo Alto home, and that’s all because a 19-year-old college student decided it was okay to invade her personal space, and instead of apologizing and helping the victim find peace, Turner chose to go to court and attempt to prove he was not 100% at fault in the sexual assault. Brock Turner had the privileges to hire good lawyers and go through months of training to paint his image. Oh, and let us not forget why he only got six months: According to the judge, “A prison sentence longer than six months will have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others.”
Everyone is entitled to a fair trial, but what about people who do not have the advantages that Turner did? What about people like Steven Avery, the main suspect in “Making a Murderer” or other underprivileged defendants who may actually be innocent? I cannot help but think what the difference would have been had the defendant been a minority or someone from a different background or no sports ability at all. The judge in this case had a chance to show that the law does not see privilege and he messed up royally, and I think America is seeing right through it.
If there is anyone we can thank for this eye-opening party-neutral experience is the woman who had the bravery to direct her letter to Brock Turner and send it to Buzzfeed. Many people considered Anita Hill courageous when she brought her case to the Senate against Clarence Thomas, many years ago, but this young woman is no less courageous for making the country aware of what she went through. She may not have received the outcome she wanted, but I think she changed America for the better.
