The Brock Rape - Injustice at its best

Reading the victims side of the story in the Brock case broke my heart. It made me feel so helpless and vulnerable, and I can only imagine how the victim actually felt living this nightmare, when all of these emotions took over me just after reading her letter.

I cannot even begin to imagine what it’s like to go through all that she has but I believe it must be terrible. I have not experienced what she has, yet reading that letter made me feel like I was part of this nightmare along with her, like I was somehow a victim in this situation.

I know that simply because my emotions took over it does not make my point of view important or credible but at this moment; as I am typing right now, I feel like I have the power to voice my opinion, like this message would change at least one persons’ attitude, like writing this would help that innocent girl and empower her in even the slightest way possible, and most importantly like I have some control over what happens with my body and my life.

My very first reaction after reading the letter was despair and then fear. For it dawned on me that I could be a victim of rape. It could have been me and not her. It could be me next. Just because it hadn’t happened to me yet did not mean I was safe. It is true what they say, that you can never judge another person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Although when it comes to this particular situation, I do not want to walk a mile in this girls’ shoes, for I cannot even imagine this horror happening to me without tears running down my face and my body shaking in alarm. In fact, I wish no one would ever have to walk that path ever again. No one deserves to feel that way or be treated that way, and worst of all no one deserves to live through such a tragedy for the rest of their life while the committer of such a crime gets to walk away with no real punishment.

The judge convicted Brock Allen Turner on three felony charges and stated that he should serve just six months in prison for his crimes. One of his felonies evidently being rape, which is essentially sexual activity without consent; sexual intercourse with an unconscious female in this case, is considered a crime anywhere in the world. Rape isn’t the victims fault. So what if she was drunk? What if they kissed? What if she massaged or tapped his back? That is not giving consent for having sexual interactions.

We’ve all been drunk and made a few bad decisions at some point in our lives, but never have we thought that having a couple of drinks could get us raped. Do we need to start thinking this way? WE SHOULD NOT have to worry about people having sex with us without our permission. Yet, we seem to live in a society where people blame a drunk girl when a man touches and enters her body without her permission. How is this normal? How is this fair?

The jury said that a longer sentence would have a “severe impact” on Brock’s future. What about the victim? Wouldn’t this be something that she would have to carry around for the rest of her life? Is that not considered a severe enough impact? Is she expected to just forget about this and move on?

So what if Brock was a brilliant swimmer? What if he had the capabilities to compete at the Olympics? Is this a way of pointing out that the Olympics are much more important than the life of an ordinary girl?

In my opinion his future may be ruined but he ruined an innocent girls’ life and that should not be taken lightly. He should get the punishment he deserves.

Many questions flood my mind regarding this situation and the verdict of the jury. Did they let Brock off the hook easy because he was a talented swimmer who had the potential to represent the United States? Did they think this case should be taken lightly because the girl was considered less significant in comparison to superstar Brock? Did her life just not matter simply because she was a woman? Is Brock more important because he is White? This seems to be my biggest question since just recently a black man was sentenced for life in prison for committing the exact crime that was executed by the white male Brock Allen Turner.

This does indeed look like a case of white privilege, and if it is so I am ashamed to say that our society has not advanced in anyway. It is saddening to witness this sort of occurrence in the modern world where we boast of accomplishments in terms of equality and justice. However, I refuse to believe that Brock did not pay for his crime as he should have, due to white privilege because that would mean that we have not developed from the days of the slave trade.

I hope justice will be served in this situation and that Brock would pay for his crimes just like he should. I know none of this could change what happened that night, but it will surely give us hope that rape is not taken lightly. Nothing can erase what happened to the victim and it would be something that would haunt her for life, but at the very least she will have the assurance that she is now safe and her rapist is behind bars and not within reach to harm her or anyone else ever again. I believe this would also reinforce the message that “rape is rape no matter when, where or how it occurred; the specifics do not matter.”

Rape is a crime. A crime that comes with a very expensive price.