If you have any exposure to social media or the news, you definitely saw the outcome of the Stanford rape case. For those of you who either live under a rock or recently came out of a coma, Brock Turner, an swimmer at Stanford, was convicted of raping an unconscious woman. He was sentenced to only six months in prison, and some say he could get out in three months with good behavior. That emotion you are feeling right now is called anger. The citizens of the internet sure expressed that. Many of my fellow Odyssey writers wrote scathing articles against the decision. There was one glaring issue most of these articles contained. They talked about rape culture.

Several articles I saw as I scrolled down Odyssey's front page described how this verdict is proof of rape culture in the USA. This is where I vehemently disagree with them. American society does not have a rape culture. The result of this verdict is due to the one who assaulted her, his father and the judge. Three people suddenly defined American society as a whole. The media's coverage of the case only made it worse.

Brock Turner, who committed the assault and rape, was under the influence of alcohol. That is not an excuse to anyone under any circumstances. He raped her behind a Dumpster. He was hiding. When two male cyclists saw him, he ran. If rape culture is so prevalent, why did he need to act like such a coward? It is because rape is not glorified or normalized. It is despised and criminal.

Dan Turner, Brock's father, penned a letter reacting to his son's sentencing. Doing his best to garner some sympathy for his son describing how Brock has changed due to the trial already riled many, but what set everyone off was describing the assault as only "20 minutes of action." I think this article sums up everyone else's sentiments perfectly. Is this rape culture? It's as close as you'll get to it from the average American, but he is only one person. No one has come out in support of him or his act of desperation. As far as I can guess, the only culture Dan Turner has is the bacteria in his intestines based on the amount of crap that comes out of him.

Aaron Persky, the judge who gave the sentence, has obviously been criticized for his decision. Just look at Twitter to see how many people decried his decision. People are flocking to this petition to have his ousted, almost half a million strong as I write this. While people are looking at the race, gender, and athletic role of Brock, they are failing to notice one actual connection between the two. Stanford was Persky's alma mater. Now, I usually chalk things like this up to coincidence, but I think Persky may have been influences by this affiliation and he should have recused himself. Now had this been a result of the combination of rape culture and privilege, many more rapists would probably have had similar outcomes.

The media is not getting a pass here, either. Sensationalizing any crime is worthless. It is demeaning to both parties. A Washington Post article garnered ire for its depiction of Brock, despite the fact it was mostly factual. I must set one thing straight though, "All-American" was not an adjective, it is an honorific that was given to him for three years. Something that I hope is revoked. People latched onto this description and instead of doing a little more research, they clamored about how it perpetuated rape culture. Only very rarely was the photo used in news, even on stations and sites that cry rape culture, the mugshot shown below. It was a more professional looking photo and everyone used it. Even when the mugshot was released, not many picked up on it. Once again, each media company is run by a minute fraction of America. So do the decisions of these few people constitute the American culture? I think not.

This is not rape culture. This was evil and people crying out against the evil in life. If the U.S. had a rape culture, the outcry would not have been as strong as it was. In fact, if I lived in a rape culture, I don't know if I'd even have enough information to write about it. If we lived in a rape culture, Brock Turner would have been found not guilty. Brock raping that unconscious girl was not an act of culture, it was an act of vile selfishness.

Trying to teach men not to rape is not going to help. Rapists will try to rape not because they have been taught to. They do it because they want to. Most of us men have morals and self control. It is those individuals who lack either that are the problem. We cannot always protect each other, so we need to learn to protect ourselves. If we cannot do that, then we all are vulnerable to the evils of this world. We need to stop blaming society for tragedies like these and focus on the ones who do wrong and bring them to justice. I will make no claims that our system is perfect, but it is the best we have to offer.

I pray that the victim can heal and move on with her life. I wish that she receives nothing but love and the privacy to heal in. I hope people will not blame the actions of an individual on a whole society. I know there will always be evil in the world, but I also know we can combat it. Don't call it rape culture, call it evil. That is what it really is.