By now, everyone has heard about Brock Turner, the rapist sentenced to only six months in county jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. After the sentencing, the internet erupted with anger at the lenient punishment and at those trying to keep the "star swimmer" in a positive light. Before Turner's sentencing, friends and family were asked to write letters to the judge in support of Turner, hoping to highlight his strengths and accomplishments to prove he is no monster. One letter, written by Turner's childhood friend Leslie Rasumussen, showcases the sheer ignorance many people today still have when it comes to rape and assault.
If one thing became clear through this entire issue, it is that rape culture is still alive and kicking in today's society and that fact is wrapped up in a single paragraph from Rasumussen's letter:
"I don’t think it’s fair to base the fate of the next ten + years of his life on the decision of a girl who doesn’t remember anything but the amount she drank to press charges against him. I am not blaming her directly for this, because that isn’t right. But where do we draw the line and stop worrying about being politically correct every second of the day and see that rape on campuses isn’t always because people are rapists."
This statement in all is appalling, but the first sentence alone is where one of the biggest problems lie. She states that she isn't blaming the victim for what happened, right after blaming the victim for what happened. It is very difficult to read, "decision of a girl who doesn't remember anything but the amount she drank," and not assume the writer is victim blaming. This in itself is why so many women don't speak out after rape and sexual assault.
Another problem with what Rasumussen wrote was that Turner is not the one to blame for the assault, but political correctness is. Political correctness did not remove the clothing of a woman without consent, political correctness did not forcibly insert himself into an unconscious woman, and political correctness did not ruin that woman's life.
If you sexually assault someone, rape someone, intend on raping someone, or anything in that spectrum, you are a rapist. There is no room for political correctness in the topic of rape and it boggles my mind that that even needs to be stated.
Since the release of her letter, Rasumussen has apologized via Facebook. Apologizing doesn't erase the victim blaming and it doesn't change the fact that she categorized this instance of sexual assault as a casualty of political correctness. Let the words she wrote be a lesson to all of us that cannot continue on with this rape culture.
