I strongly believe in trying to keep my controversial opinions off of social media. However, this is something that cannot and should not be held back.

This past Friday marks the release of convicted rapist, Brock Turner. He served a mere 3-month sentence that was shortened from the already shameful 6-month sentence he was handed back in the spring. You may look at this as just another article highlighting everything that is wrong with society. Sadly, it is issues like these that continue to go unresolved and unrecognized by a vast majority of society.

Turner is nothing but a disrespectful pig from a privileged, white family. Because let’s be honest how else would he have wiggled himself out of this little “mess” he made. He is not even worth a name because he is a rapist and that is all he will ever be in my eyes. He will likely never understand nor feel remorse for his actions, but he has successfully destroyed any hopes he has of becoming a respected man in society.

We could talk about what a backwards world we live in for hours and hours; about how victims of assault and abuse fear to come forward for being shamed by society. Or about how there is an obvious lack of basic respect amongst individuals. My heart truly aches for the millions (yes, millions) of men, women and children who have been violated and hurt in any and all forms. But ultimately, the constant banter back and forth about these disgusting crimes only has running in circles.

The criminals who have done so many wrong are simply not worth our time. They do not deserve the recognition and spotlight for their unspeakable actions. What we can do instead is invest ourselves into raising future generations with basic morals and values that we clearly do not have. Children are so easily influenced and that shows in their adult behaviors and actions.

Instead of focusing on all of the negativity that floods society when painful stories such as this one occur, we need to channel our energy into those who will soon be in our shoes. I never realized how much of a positive influence we have the opportunity to be on children until I started working with them. In a simple moment of disciplining children, I realized that I can influence how they act towards one another. It is as simple as teaching children things such as how to speak to each other respectfully or to respect each other’s ideas.

If anything positive can be taken away from situations like these, it is that we can change society by refusing to let our children grow up in a world where violence and disrespect is unacceptable. I am by no means saying forget about everything that has happened in the past, but use it as a lesson. Raise the kind of people you want to see in the world.