https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_v._Turner
Thoughts on the recent Stanford rape case:
In this instance like many others, people like to point out what’s wrong, but they don’t take any steps to actually change it. I’ve seen numerous of posts and stories that say the same thing: “this is bad, so I’m going to yell about it until someone does something.” But what does that accomplish? The people in power don’t care about the yelling because, no matter how awful or “scandalous” the story is, history tells them that it will all go away. By yelling and complaining about an injustice, we lie to ourselves by saying we’re better than those “awful people” who let this injustice go unpunished. However, our inaction is just as awful as their action to free a criminal.
We like to think that we’re in the right and their in the wrong, but that’s bullshit. By not taking any action further than just saying it’s bad, we’re enabling the corrupt system to persist.
People may claim that it’s out of their power, but that’s just lazy. What’s really happened is that they’ve decided it’s not important enough to pursue it further, because the awful truth is that most people don’t care enough because, more likely than not, they don’t think it will affect them – and their right. If 90% of women were getting raped one or more times in their life, the problem would be addressed with much more force because the majority would be directly affected, so more action would be taken.
At this point, I’d like to emphasize that I’m not innocent of this. I’ve accepted that changing how this country deals with rape and other injustices is not on my priority list. I’m just as selfish as everyone, but at least I’m not lying to myself.
People may think they’re powerless to change something, but history has shown that driven individuals with the vision to make changes have led entire social revolutions. Think of MLK, Jesus Christ, and . The things they argued against were things we now go “no duh, of course that’s right.” And that’s why they were effective. They saw an injustice in the world and decided to actually do something about it.
Using the Stamford rape case as an example, let’s run through a possible line of action of how to prevent this from ever happening again:
1) Charge the kid for rape: he has already been charged. Our law makes it so he can’t be charged for the same crime twice, so unfortunately he’s in the clear.
2) Charge the people responsible for making the decision: Unfortunately, although everyone can see how awful the outcome is, it is very possible no laws were “technically” broken. It is also possible that they did break the law, so if you think they did, prove it. The deeper you dig, the more likely you’ll find something illegal; however, you put yourself at risk by going against powerful people. Another unfortunate truth is that in deciding you’re too afraid to pursue due to the dangers involved, you’ve actively decided your wellbeing is more important than this girl’s.
3) change the law so it doesn’t happen again: Unfortunately, more likely than not, this guy is going to be fine. He most likely has connections, money, and though you might hate to admit it, intelligence (he is in Stamford). He’s going to do fine in life. However, just because he’ll get away with it, doesn’t mean we have to let others. Use this case as one of your foundations for why there needs to be change. Instead of saying “he and everyone involved in the decision should be punished”, change the law so that people who let others escape awful crimes should be able to have legal actions to be taken towards them. This not only provides an option to pursue injustice, but it also takes some of the power away from powerful and wealthy families that abuse the broken system.
People feel that they are powerless, but really they’re lazy. If there was someone who actually took a stand and was not afraid of being bullied by these powerful people, then they could lead the 99% of people who acknowledge the wrongs in this world. It’s just that people give up too easily. I’ve alluded to this before, but the wealthy, including lawmakers in Congress, know that this will eventually die down, and that it is more profitable to continue keeping the wealthy and powerful happy, as they’ll give them money and that people have very short-term memory. If we kept this level of rage constant, or even increasing in level, for the next 10 years, something would change. But it comes back to the idea that people decide that they’re lives are more important.
As i mentioned before, and I want to emphasize this because finger pointing accomplishes nothing: I AM NOT INNOCENT OF THIS. I accept that I’m actively deciding not to pursue this injustice because I’m not willing to devote my life towards this goal. I’m sure MLK would have loved to be a small town preacher, but he decided his wants, his family, and his life were not important enough to let an injustice go. I can’t say I’m willing to give up my future for this cause.
Does this make me selfish? I’d say so, at least partially. Though I have my reasons, this isn’t the time to defend myself. Does this make me a bad person? Maybe, but in saying that, you have to agree that you are too. Though I recognize my own faults as a person, at least I can go to bed at night knowing that I’m not lying to myself.
I recognize this essay does exactly what I’m complaining about. I recognize the hipocracy behind it. So if you want to contact me about how awful of a person I am, I don’t care. I just won’t read it. However, if want to tell me I’m wrong, feel free to do so, but you better have your own point ready to discuss. The quickest way to ending a discussion and starting an argument is to tell someone they’re wrong without providing their side. All it turns into is another shouting match that distracts us from the real problem. This fighting among ourselves is exactly what those in power want, because it divides us, which takes away our only advantage over those who prefer to keep things corrupt – power in numbers. We all want the same thing, so let’s work towards out together rather than against each other. We don’t want to make the lives of the corrupt any easier than it is already.
*add it earlier: we can all agree that what happened at Stamford was an awful and disgusting act. But that’s the problem. If it’s so clear to us that the act and how it was handled is wrong, why aren’t we doing more to change it?
https://www.vox.com/first-person/2017/11/17/16666290/brock-turner-rape
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/revisiting-the-brock-turner-case
https://sfist.com/2022/08/22/stanford-rapist-brock-turner-goes-viral-again-on-tiktok-in-ohio/
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