It was almost like it was yesterday that the Casey Anthony verdict absolutely turned me off the idea of justice. Later, there was the Trayvon Martin case, and honestly, the cycle just became numbing and vicious for justice for the innocent. No matter how controversial these cases may be, nothing Nicks my Jonas more than people not getting what they deserve.

And that sounded totally morbid, but let’s be real: when justice is lost, what do we have left?

I usually do not comment on these things myself on social media, but there is always a presence of support that I like to give, so my opinion is pretty well-known on this topic. Although this situation may seem stale and overdrawn to some, it is still fresh on my mind. I am absolutely sick of seeing others step on others simply because of their privilege over their victim. This is exactly what Turner did, and this is exactly what the judge who gave this “golden-boy-gone-wrong” a lighter sentence did.

I have heard that the judge that handled this case is no longer handling criminal cases (real fact). And I think that that is just wonderful because it sounds like he really sucks at his job --or, well, sucked at it previously, all things considered. Personally, I do not even think that Persky should have been assigned the case due to his connections with Stanford biasing his opinion. However, I would not be surprised if Richie Rich’s mommy and daddy had something to do with getting him on the case. Or maybe that whole family was struck by unfortunate lucky streak in the moment.

Nevertheless, this does not ease the burn that the situation created. This does not right the wrongs. He does not deserve to be excused for his crimes because he is “destined for a bright future.” The idea of justice tells us that he deserves to pay his dues. Our justice system granted him a royal pardon, and a gaudy parade. He got what he wanted; he got away with taking advantage of a girl with a future just as bright by taking advantage of our broken system; he got his name plastered in the sky, and his face on every screen.

He may not be wearing a cape, but in a society that thrives off of the idea of fame and fortune, he is wearing a badge of grim honor.

Money cannot buy you happiness. It cannot buy you truth. It cannot buy you integrity. It cannot buy you religion. It cannot buy you morals. But it can buy you out of rape allegations. It can buy you out of rape charges. It can buy you out of murder charges. It can buy you connections. It can buy you a room full of fake people who will build a symbiotic relationship with you until you both get what you want.

Last week my suitemate asked me if I was going to the USC vs. Stanford game. I cynically joked that I would not be caught dead treading on the grounds of a safe haven for a rapist. A school that pushes victim-blaming, and excuses the actions of a product of rape culture is not somewhere I aspire to venture to for the weekend, but thank you for the invite.

However, I cannot simply blame a school for something that society has taught us to be too taboo. Too taboo for class, or church. Too taboo for trivial conversation, and definitely too engaging for smalltalk. We have been taught to excuse the wrongs of a rapist by scapegoating the innocence of the oppressed.

You might think it is old --hearing about how girls are tired of being hounded with the frivolous questions that surround being sexually assaulted, or harassed. However, this will become old news when there is no news of this happening, and at the moment, I do not foresee society taking a quick 180 in the distance, so I won’t shut up about how pretentious those who are exhausted by the sounds of our “grievances” are.

We have a broken justice system. Essentially, we have built Capitol Hill upon --well-- capital, and under that we have buried the guilt of oppressors because it is easier to forget than it is to confront the actual issue at hand.

So yeah, the Brock Turner case pisses me off still, and probably will never not piss me off. He got a “get out of jail free” card, and paraded around court wearing mommy and daddy’s money. He threw up a middle finger to our justice system, and they let him.

It is not about how much they drank; it is not about what they were wearing; it is not about whether they were flirting, or were “leading” the other person on. It isn’t about whether that person is a “slut,” or whatever --which honestly isn’t even a fair term. More often than not, it is the ones who are supposed to protect us the most that are responsible for the victim shaming, and I am so close to rolling my eyes in the face of authority more so than I already do because of this. I am exhausted. And I’m exhausted for the ones who are too scared to scream at the system because they assume that things won’t work in their favor.

That isn’t how sexual assault works. This isn’t how our justice system is supposed to work. I understand that the world isn’t perfect, but let’s be perfectly candid: it shouldn’t be a crime to beg for basic human rights. Well, first of all, you shouldn’t have to beg for any human rights.

It will be interesting to see what will become of this prep school mommy’s boy. Let this be a blemish on the American justice system. And let this be a stain on Stanford’s reputation. And lastly, let this be a warning to other universities because the rest of the country is watching your every move at this point to see if you will protect your students from sexual assault, or to see if you will be one of many to sweep sexual assault under the rug and pretend it doesn’t exist.

Ultimately, what are we going to do to fix whatever has become of our justice system? How is America going to dig itself out of the hole it’s gotten into? We have got to stop whining about corruption and actually stand up and see what’s up. Because next time it may not be a stranger; it could be your sibling, your significant other, your best friend, or even you.