In case you've been hiding under a rock or been on a social media cleanse, here's a quick run down of the Brock Turner rape case:
Now that you've been acquainted with the situation, here are a few more things you ought to read before you go join the conversation: the victim's letter to Brock, his statement, Brock's father's letter to Judge Persky, Brock's mother's letter to Judge Persky, 10 reasons this case is much worse than it seems at first glance, a response to the argument that the victim could've prevented her rape by being more responsible, and a father of three sons' view on parenting to avoid rape cultural.
It is ridiculous to me that this athlete, Stanford student, white male, young man rapist has received such a lenient sentence (especially in the state of California -- a state which television had led me to believe was the most progressive of the 50). What disturbs me the most about this whole debacle is that Brock Turner did not learn his lesson.
Despite being tackled by two heroic students, arrested, put on trial, convicted of three felonies, forced to listen to his victim's account of her trauma, sentenced to six months in prison jail, Brock maintains a belief (unclear whether he is truly invested in it or just trying to save face) that his "lapse in judgement" was due to binge drinking and not his own disregard for the safety and feelings of the woman he assaulted. This "belief" is supported by his mother and father's attitudes toward his actions -- they both, in their own way, make excuses for their son, claiming that his privileged past should justify a lighter sentence than that of a mere six months in county jail.
The main point I'm trying to make here is that the ramifications of his family's dismissive attitude, his own denial of his wrongdoing, and a lenient sentence are that he will not learn from his mistake, no one else will learn from his mistake, and in six months time a sexual predator will walk among us again. Which makes me, my daughter, and every woman unsafe.
That being said, rather than let myself succumb to depression in response to the heinous miscarriage of justice that is his sentence, I will instead focus on this fact: almost everyone is up in arms about Brock Turner. This case, his sentence, has sparked a conversation and people are realizing that sexual assault is no joke, that there is a problem with society and the judicial system, that we all need feminism.
