To Leslie Rasmussen,
I don't know you, but I have a huge issue with the letter you wrote to Judge Aaron Persky in defense of Brock Turner for his case where he was convicted of sexual assault. I was so infuriated by what you had to say that I decided to write you a letter to clear some things up.
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You make a very valid point in your letter. You've known Brock Turner a lot longer than the thousands of individuals talking about him on the Internet, including myself. You've seen a different side of him than the "monster" persona that the media has created. From what you have said, it does make it very hard to believe that the same Brock Turner, who "was always very respectful of everyone," would do such a heinous crime such as rape. And maybe, if I were in your shoes, I could understand why you wrote that letter. You were trying to help, you were trying to save a friend’s reputation.
However, you said some very disturbing things in your letter, things that I cannot ignore.
The first red flag I noticed in your letter was when you wrote the words, "I tried to accept that maybe he didintend to harm this girl, but I just couldn't imagine that was the case." The debate of whether or not Brock intended on harming the victim is not the problem at hand. The problem is that he raped her. No, I don't believe he intended on raping someone that night when he went to that frat party, as you also state in the next paragraph,"... there is absolutely no way Brock went out that night with rape on his mind." But the fact of the matter is that it still happened.He still raped a woman and committed a crime. I don't know how to put it more blatantly than I already have: regardless of how "sorry" he is, or if he "didn't mean to," he still took advantage of an unconscious woman, and he stillrapedher. Unplanned rape is stilljust as badas planned rape, and still very convicting, if you didn't know.
The second red flag was the whole last part of this paragraph,"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that alcohol increases emotions and feelings. I think this is all a huge misunderstanding. I think that the bikers who found him did the right thing by keeping him there in case he was attempting rape, but that after the investigation, it should have found Brock to be innocent." Excuse me, but I know you did not just try to insinuate that alcohol increases emotions and feelings to the point where a regular person would rape another person. Alcohol is not the leading cause behind rape cases; a person viewing another person as unequal and believing they have the power to take something from them, such as sex, that is the leading cause. Your reasoning behind your logic is so severely flawed, Leslie, that it is at the point of making me sick.
And to your statement of the bikers doing the right thing by keeping Turner there "in case he was attempting rape," I'm just going to stop you right there. He was not attempting to rape her, he was raping her. There is a very significant difference there. Do not try to play down his actions. There was forensic evidence of his semen inside of her, along with dirt and pine needles. No one will ever know 100% what happened behind that dumpster, but it was not an attempt of rape. It was a full execution of rape, and how dare you try to undermine the victim and her experience. How dare you.
Contrary to your belief, Brock Turner is a monster. He forcibly entered a woman in sexual activity without her consent. And, it is fair to convict him on the charges he was given. Not because "of a girl who doesn't remember anything but the amount she drank to press charges against him," but because there was hardcore evidence, of both the scientific and witness kind, to condemn him for the crime he committed. And might I like to point out, Brock Turner tried to run away from the scene of the crime, so if he was really as drunk and as good of a guy as you claim him to be, why did he try to flee the scene? Why was he tackled to the ground by two male college students? The only logical explanation that I can come up with is that Brock Turner knew damn well what he was doing, and that it was wrong.
And, the most infuriating part of your letter (yes, it gets worse) is this paragraph:
"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. It is because these universities market themselves as the biggest party schools in the country. They encourage drinking. I think it is disgusting and I am so sick of hearing that these young men are monsters when really, you are throwing barely 20- somethings into these camp-like universities environments, supporting partying, and then your mind is blown when things get out of hand. This is completely different from a woman getting kidnapped and raped as she is walking to her car in a parking lot. That is a rapist. These are not rapists."
I'm sorry; I didn't realize that raping someone was a side effect of drinking. Ah, wait, it's not. I cannot believe that you are trying to blame the drinking culture on Brock Turner's decision to rape a woman. I know plenty of 18-22 year-old men who are part of the college atmosphere and would never think to rape a woman while drinking or at a party. Those are respectful, great men; your friend Turner unfortunately does not fall into that category.
Just like the saying, "guns don't kill people, people kill people," it is the same in this situation. Alcohol doesn't lead to rape; rapists lead to rape. People, drunk or sober, commit acts of rape, just like Brock Turner. The act of rape is not situational; it doesn't just happen when a woman is kidnapped. Did you know that three out of four rapesare committed by someone known by the victim? This did not happen because he was drinking in a "crazy" environment, it happened because Brock Turner does not understand the worth of other human life, and acted on his ownselfish instincts, completely throwing aside his victim's dignity and worth.
You seem to be a little confused on what the act of rape is, so I looked it up for you. According to the FBI, the definition of rape, effective January 1, 2013, is:
“Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
Like I said, it's not situational. Anyone who partakes in the definition stated above, which includes pedophiles,"men kidnapping women in parking lots", significant others, family members, and college kids (in fact, all people of all sizes, shapes, genders, and ages), means that they are rapists.
And, lo and behold, Brock Turner, by definition, is a rapist.
I also feel that, Leslie, you are not familiar with what consent is, and how truly important it is. To put it in the simplest terms so that you don't get too confused, here is a videowhere consent is explained through an analogy of making a cup of tea. Because as much as you don't want to believe it, that, "Brock is not one of those people [that takesadvantage of young women]," your ignorance is not flattering. In fact, it's infuriating. He did take advantage of that woman; he saw an opportunity to fulfill his needs, and instead of getting help, he decided that he was entitled to what he wanted, and heraped her.
If you have learned nothing from this, try putting yourself in the shoes of the victim. Waking up to the news that you have been raped, that someone who you did not give permission, was inside of you. It does not matter that she "drank too much;" no one deserves to be raped. You are victim-blaming, and nothing you can say will erase what you wrote. I don’t know you, so I don’t know how you were brought up, but majority of women that I know have been taught since we were little girls the do's and don't's of drinking etiquette in fear of the exact thing that Brock Turner did to that woman. We live inside rape culture, the fact that we are taught and warned of all these ways to not get raped, and you are so unbelievably naive to it.
I hope yourself, a friend, a family member, or a child,never have to experience what this woman has gone through. She is living through a real-life nightmare, and you are making it worse by your hateful, ignorant words. And I hope you realize one day of how wrong you were when you wrote that letter, and I hope you have a change in heart and apologize to the victim, whoever she is.
I say an extra prayer for everyone involved in this case, because Lord knows you all need some help and guidance.
