My sister would like to call this 'Alcohol: The Elephant'-but there are plenty more Elephants to discuss and they all combine into this disaster of a parade (That's a herd of elephants. I did my research).
Ok so we've all heard the Brock Turner (No photo necessary) case and we've all found it necessary to pass rightful judgement, spit (our words) in his face and cry for a greater sentence.
Even though we don't know the guy, or the victim, or anyone else in this situation, we've felt the need to comment as if we knew this kid right from the start of his swimming career.
And I may be doing exactly that.
Now before I start I want to clarify a few things
1. I'm going to try and not take sides
I mean, there's obviously a 'right' side but that's not the point
2. I think I've done my research
So I've read the multiple blogs, the victim statement, the perpetrator statement, the dad, the 'apologist' (all of her statements), and the comments etc. Let me know if you've read other things/if I'm wrong.
3. I sure hope no one thinks I'm a rape apologist
Literally my fear while writing this. But yes, I hope people don't get the wrong idea since I will be elaborating on something Brock said. I'm not using it to justify his actions, I'm using it to raise awareness of what appears to be a serious issue that is relevant to this case.
Let me clarify, he's definitely in the wrong and needs to own up-which he does if you read his statement closely and he does sort of apologise- but owning up also means taking the consequences that comes with it, which he obviously isn't. I don't believe in jail (long story short: I'm a hippie) but if I did, then yes, a longer sentence is necessary and he should deal with it just like his victim is forced to have to deal with her situation and this aftermath for the rest of her life.
In saying this, I'm not American
I have no idea what the actual culture is there. I've never lived there and I've never gone to school there. Hopefully what I say will be relevant and relevant to those outside of America too. If not, let me know.
So here's the issue:
Brock Turner suggests:
The current college/university lifestyle/youth lifestyle is depicted as indulgent and without consequences.
'I’ve been shattered by the party culture and risk taking behavior that I briefly experienced in my four months at school.'
''I will never put myself through an event where it will give someone the ability to question whether I really can be a betterment to society.'
'I know I can show people who were like me the dangers of assuming what college life can be like without thinking about the consequences one would potentially have to make if one were to make the same decisions that I made.'
The truth is that what he said above is right. That's why he's off the hook. And that's why things need to change.
'We're young' is not an excuse because you're not. You're an idiot.
Though he uses this to excuse his behaviour, I'm saying that this is an issue and it shouldn't excuse his behaviour.
It should be discouraged from the root so the victim would never be in this position.
What I'm saying is that this should've never been a thing so that the victim would be safe or Brock would have
nothing to defend himself with.
Here's a few examples of how Brock is right:
Exhibit A: Appropriation of drunkenness
Drunkenness has become a norm. If you haven't overindulged in alcohol to a point where you gag, you're perceived as weird, weak ('lightweight') and often juvenile.
Prestige is attached to how much you can drink and how capable you are to continue daily activities such as going to work or sitting an exam (or dare I say it, drive) while intoxicated/hungover.
Alcohol then becomes an excuse when it never should have been/be one.
Actions while intoxicated are inexcusable. If you push something too far while inebriated, that's your fault. There is no such thing as blaming it on the alcohol. You had one drink to many? I mean it's literally a drink??
And I see this rightly being commented on in the rape case- just because he was drunk doesn't mean what he did was ok. It doesn't justify his actions.
Then why do we share posts like the example below on Facebook that support this: (Warning: offensive language)
Edited: One more image doing the rounds recently
Yes people that liked anti Brock Turner statements liked this. You're literally saying the same thing he is. You're perpetuating this idea.
You're letting him justify his actions.
P.S. Imagine this ideal situation where Brock Turner knew rape was wrong, and he knew intoxication made him commit idiotic and damaging actions. Where he instead spent that night chilling with some mates and never even thought about what he did.
I know it's just a party, but you don't know what the intent of someone's heart is. You don't know what will happen if they go too far. A lot of people don't rape, especially when intoxicated, but it's hard to decipher who those people aren't.
He is an outlier and he went too far. And yeah, he's ruined someone's life because of it.
In the end, Brock is responsible for his own actions. What he did was wrong. But again, allowing this meme to circulate is giving Brock an excuse.
Exhibit B: This vomit worthy list.
TOP 10 MOST SEXUALLY ACTIVE COLLEGES OF 2015
YES THIS IS A REAL LIST-DON'T EVEN READ IT. It's just here to prove me right.
Additionally, the writer tells you to not be offended if your school doesn't make the list.
WHAAAAA???
You should be offended if your school DOES make the list. It's literally the most rapey attribute your school can have and you should leave right now if your school on that list.
Now before we claim it's just a list we have to wonder why it is a list. Why did the person who wrote it, write it? Who is their target audience? Who are they encouraging? What behaviour will their target audience invoke with information like this.?
Hint in case you're not getting it: All images are of girls, mostly in minimal clothing, and the information given is-well you get it. (Though the writer does mention rape and assault once, it's taken lightly and as if there is no correlation.)
'Florida State and the University of Florida get every single hot girl from the state of Florida, but Florida State seems to get slightly hotter girls and parties harder. When the temperature is 90 degrees year-round, the girls wear very provocative clothing. On the downside for the women, you have to look out for FSU’s football players who think they can get away with sexual assault and battery.'
Like hello, that's a big problem. It's like yoooo there's so many girls to sleep with boys but hey girls watch out because boys may coercively want to sleep with you because I told them there was like so many of you to freely sleep with since you're all 'slightly' hotter.
I'll give you another quote from the link:
'
You probably won’t even remember your four years at the University of Texas since you’ll be black out drunk and having sex 98% of the time. '
And I'm sure that's what Turner was hoping for. This is what he uses to justify his actions.
DON'T LET HIM USE THIS AS AN EXCUSE.
We perpetuate the idea that this is all university is about. We need to let Brock Turner know that it isn't and that he's wrong- but right now, we can't.
We can't advertise uni as a safe place while we crack jokes like this or endorse ideas like this.
In saying this, I'm an outsider who's not from America. Maybe this isn't the norm?? But this seems to be highly visible. If this wasn't the norm, then why is it being projected onto those that aren't Americans that it is. Wouldn't you want something else projected like 'our alumni have high stray animal adoption rates when they leave school' or 'we have a great reputation for academia because we are a
university.'
Exhibit C: The Stats and Facts
OK, yes we all know the one in five stat is misleading and inaccurate
But there are stats that prove that this is an issue. Just a simple google search will do the trick. But even if the stats proved that only one in a million girls (or guys) are raped every 20 years-that is already one too many.
Plus i
t doesn't have to be explicitly rape to be assault/a vile thing to do. Brock Turner's actions actually weren't classified as rape. Yes that's true people, he wouldn't have even made the rape stats. You do the math. Now look at the bigger picture. Yup that's right, we have a way larger issue at hand if we already have high rape stats without the inclusion of assaulters like Turner.
And then there are all the other cases that are not reported.
Additionally, rape is still being perceived as a myth or being perpetuated.
I haven't read this whole article yet, but it indicates that there is a problem. That is that some male athletes have some serious comprehension issues with what assault is.
And yes, the juice is used as an excuse:
These NZ stats show that indulgence is used as an excuse and has proven to get us in dangerous situations.
'For students, alcohol is not just a social lubricant.
Victoria University students spoken to by The Dominion Post said many of their peers relied on dutch courage to initiate sexual encounters.
The binge-drinking common in the 17-to-24 age bracket affected their decision-making.
"The university can ply them with as many brochures about sexual health as they want - drinking the way that young people do, a lot of your common sense just goes out the window," Ms Blake-Kelly said.
Harry Evans, 20, agreed. "I know very few people who haven't had a dumb, alcohol-fuelled sexual experience."
Molly McCarthy, 21, said students were more likely to have unprotected sex when they were "wasted".
"When else do you think it's appropriate to go home with someone you've just met?"
First-year students living in halls of residence were particularly likely to take risks, she said.
"You're in such close confines. You've gone out drinking together, you come home together - all the ingredients are there."
Mr Evans agreed that first-year students' new freedom facilitated risky behaviour.'
Bigger issue. Solve it people.
So.
We are focusing on Turner and his sentencing and rightly so, but we need to focus on a bigger picture. How many Brock Turners are out there? How many are encouraged to do things or aren't discouraged to do things?
Prior to this, he needed someone to steer him in the right direction. The problem is he obviously didn't. His friends (who are excusing his behaviour), and even his family (who again are excusing his behaviour) didn't.
Why?
Because there is a generalisation that this is a norm.
And when you put the pieces together, though these examples given are indirect to rape, you can't help but see how Turner can use them as an excuse for his actions.
DON'T GIVE HIM AN EXCUSE.
I've like put that in bold and italics and underlined and put it in capitals so I obvs think this is important and hope you do too!
Unfortunately, the only way we've found to stop rape in the future is for Turner's sentence to be prolonged.
I want to offer a new solution.
Let's discourage rape from it's very root. Rapists are obviously not thinking about the consequences. If they did, then we wouldn't have rape. And when consequences are put in place, they'll rebut it because they obviously did not think about it when committing their crime.-LIKE BROCK IS
Here is my solution, there will be no pathetic excuse for rape such as 'being drunk' because there is no such thing as excusing drunk actions, misogynistic articles and turning away from the facts.
And I know many of you know that.
But again, unfortunately I've had the same people that liked articles in support of Turner's victim, like images and articles like this probably not putting the two and two together.
So then, how can Turner then be proven wrong if we promote excusing his actions?
Nothing we do is opposing rape at it's root. Think about it. Accept the facts. Now think about the right solution. Because telling boys and girls not to rape when heavily intoxicated in a university just isn't working in situations like Brocks.
And he's right, he definitely was not a betterment to society with his actions. So make it stop.
To conclude, I want to turn your attention to my favourite art piece of all time just to think about.
Marina Abramovic's Rhythm 0
I never saw it, but by golly I wish did.
Here's what it's about (thanks to Wiki)
To test the limits of the relationship between performer and audience, Abramović developed one of her most challenging (and best-known) performances. She assigned a passive role to herself, with the public being the force which would act on her. Abramović placed on a table 72 objects that people were allowed to use (a sign informed them) in any way that they chose. Some of these were objects that could give pleasure, while others could be wielded to inflict pain, or to harm her. Among them were a rose, a feather, honey, a whip, olive oil, scissors, a scalpel, a gun and a single bullet. For six hours the artist allowed the audience members to manipulate her body and actions. This tested how vulnerable and aggressive the human subject could be when hidden from social consequences.[2] By the end of the performance, her body was stripped, attacked, and devalued into an image that Abramović described as the "Madonna, mother, and whore".[2] Additionally, markings of aggression were apparent on the artist's body; there were cuts on her neck made by audience members, and her clothes were cut off of her body.
Absolutely tragic.
Here's a quote from Abramovic:
"What I learned was that ... if you leave it up to the audience, they can kill you. ... I felt really violated: they cut up my clothes, stuck rose thorns in my stomach, one person aimed the gun at my head, and another took it away. It created an aggressive atmosphere. After exactly 6 hours, as planned, I stood up and started walking toward the audience. Everyone ran away, to escape an actual confrontation."
Just think, if our actions had no consequences, would we continue to do what we do? How far would we go?
Its a stretch but I do see a similarity between her show and this rape case. Both women did not react, Abramovic as part of her art and the victim as she was unconscious- and both were taken advantage of.
Are you real society?
Are you conscious?
Are you considerate?
Are you real?
Can you not be sober in spirit and prevent rape from crossing your mind without having to think about the consequences?
Maybe something for future discussion.
