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‘You Are A Warrior:’ Joe Biden Writes An Amazing Letter To Stanford Rape Survivor

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Biden’s letter is packed with emotion

Vice President Joe Biden weighs in on the Stanford rape case.

Vice President Joe Biden did something truly remarkable, speaking for women everywhere, when he wrote a moving letter to the anonymous woman who was raped by former Stanford University Swimmer Brock Turner. She is a hero, he noted, her story laid bare for the rest of the world to see. Only 23, she was shockingly and horrifically brutalized, and the impact statement that she read when the trial was concluding hit a nerve.

It went viral. And it hit a nerve with Biden.

Biden’s letter, which he titled An Open Letter to A Courageous Young Woman is illuminating in its kindness.

“I do not know your name—but I know that a lot of people failed you that terrible January night and in the months that followed,” he wrote. “It must have been wrenching—to relive what he did to you all over again. But you did it anyway, in the hope that your strength might prevent this crime from happening to someone else. Your bravery is breathtaking.”

For ages, Biden has been a staunch supporter of women’s rights. As a Senator in 1994, he wrote the Violence Against Women Act. He’s supported public awareness campaigns that educate men about domestic violence, such as the White House’s “It’s on Us” campaign.

The tone of his letter suggests that he realizes this case is an example of white privilege in the extreme.

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On the night when the assault occurred, Brock literally treated her like garbage, raping her behind a dumpster. The trial concluded with Santa Clara County superior court judge Aaron Persky shamefully sentenced him to a ridiculous six-month sentence.

Turner and his father Dan, have both tried to spin this as if the young man didn’t know he was doing anything wrong by raping an unconscious woman. But the fact that he tried to run away when he was discovered by two other students exposes his nonsense as the lie that it is. Without a doubt, he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he’s tried to give it a slightly more positive spin.

Related: Think The Oregon Standoff Isn’t White Privilege? Take A Look At MOVE

And Damon Young, writing for The Guardian, illustrates this brilliantly, exposing white privilege for all its ugliness:

“Following Turner’s conviction, the prosecutors recommended six years. This is when Judge Persky took the soufflé out of the oven, tasted it, and said: ‘You know what this soufflé is missing? A dollop of white privilege. Actually forget a dollop. This needs a quart of that shit.’ This resulted in a six-month sentence, with Persky’s rationale being that a ‘prison sentence would have a severe impact on him’ and that ‘I think he will not be a danger to others.’”

He continues:

“Let’s forget for a moment that the point of putting rapists in prison is for it to have a severe impact on them. If you want to be moderately impacted by something, eat a Chipotle burrito, get on the elliptical, and feel it moderately impact your digestive system. Also let’s even forget that Turner still hasn’t taken any real blame or possessed any real remorse for his act. Perhaps he’s not dangerous to other men, but he’s definitely dangerous to women. He is a remorseless and privileged rapist who received an ‘eh’ punishment for his crime. This is the very definition of dangerous person.

“Instead, let’s focus on what Persky claimed to base his decision on: Turner’s age and lack of a criminal history.

“And then ask yourselves if there’s any doubt whatsoever that Turner wouldn’t have received the same deal if he possessed the same age and the same lack of a criminal history, but happened to look like Kimbo Slice (RIP).”

I couldn’t have said that better myself.

And if you’re white, remember that it’s highly unlikely that you’ll have to worry about going to prison–something that one-third of all black men have to worry about in the U.S.

Brock Turner was sentenced to six months in prison. That’s not even a slap on the wrist. It’s more like a manicure. But for the woman victimized twice-over in this case, first by Turner, and then by the court system, this is a festering wound that will scar her life. It will almost certainly color the way she views men.

Her words are harrowing, and if you are the least bit compassionate they cut right through you:

“This was how I learned what happened to me, sitting at my desk reading the news at work. I learned what happened to me the same time everyone else in the world learned what happened to me. That’s when the pine needles in my hair made sense, they didn’t fall from a tree. He had taken off my underwear, his fingers had been inside of me. I don’t even know this person. I still don’t know this person. When I read about me like this, I said ‘this can’t be me, this can’t be me.’ I could not digest or accept any of this information. I could not imagine my family having to read about this online. I kept reading. In the next paragraph, I read something that I will never forgive; I read that according to him, I liked it. I liked it. Again, I do not have words for these feelings.”

And this poor woman will likely run this through her head for as long as she lives. This is a horrible tragedy for her, and Biden praises her for her bravery in coming forward.

“I do not know your name—but your words are forever seared on my soul. Words that should be required reading for men and women of all ages.

“Words that I wish with all of my heart you never had to write.

“I am in awe of your courage for speaking out—for so clearly naming the wrongs that were done to you and so passionately asserting your equal claim to human dignity.

“And I am filled with furious anger—both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth.”

Currently, a petition to recall Persky has garnered more than 951,000 signatures, and that’s fortunate. I think this judge needs a new job. One that’s well away from the court system.

Here is the entire text of Joe Biden’s letter, courtesy of BuzzFeed:

An Open Letter To A Courageous Young Woman

“I do not know your name—but your words are forever seared on my soul. Words that should be required reading for men and women of all ages.

Words that I wish with all of my heart you never had to write.

I am in awe of your courage for speaking out—for so clearly naming the wrongs that were done to you and so passionately asserting your equal claim to human dignity.

And I am filled with furious anger—both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth.

It must have been wrenching—to relive what he did to you all over again.

But you did it anyway, in the hope that your strength might prevent this crime from happening to someone else. Your bravery is breathtaking.

You are a warrior—with a solid steel spine.

I do not know your name—but I know that a lot of people failed you that terrible January night and in the months that followed.

Anyone at that party who saw that you were incapacitated yet looked the other way and did not offer assistance. Anyone who dismissed what happened to you as ‘just another crazy night.’ Anyone who asked ‘what did you expect would happen when you drank that much?’ or thought you must have brought it on yourself.

You were failed by a culture on our college campuses where one in five women is sexually assaulted—year after year. A culture that promotes passivity. That encourages young men and women on campuses to simply turn a blind eye.

The statistics on college sexual assault haven’t gone down in the past two decades. It’s obscene, and it’s a failure that lies at all our feet.

And you were failed by anyone who dared question this one clear and simple truth: Sex without consent is rape. Period. It is a crime.

I do not know your name—but thanks to you, I know that heroes ride bicycles.

Those two men who saw what was happening to you—who took it upon themselves to step in—they did what they instinctually knew to be right.

They did not say ‘It’s none of my business.’

They did not worry about the social or safety implications of intervening, or about what their peers might think.

Those two men epitomize what it means to be a responsible bystander.

To do otherwise—to see an assault about to take place and do nothing to intervene—makes you part of the problem.

Like I tell college students all over this country—it’s on us. All of us.

We all have a responsibility to stop the scourge of violence against women once and for all.

I do not know your name—but I see your unconquerable spirit.

I see the limitless potential of an incredibly talented young woman—full of possibility. I see the shoulders on which our dreams for the future rest.

I see you.

You will never be defined by what the defendant’s father callously termed ’20 minutes of action.’

His son will be.

I join your global chorus of supporters, because we can never say enough to survivors: I believe you. It is not your fault.

What you endured is never, never, never, NEVER a woman’s fault.

And while the justice system has spoken in your particular case, the nation is not satisfied.

And that is why we will continue to speak out.

We will speak to change the culture on our college campuses—a culture that continues to ask the wrong questions: What were you wearing?

Why were you there? What did you say? How much did you drink?

Instead of asking: Why did he think he had license to rape?

We will speak out against those who seek to engage in plausible deniability.

Those who know that this is happening, but don’t want to get involved. Who believe that this ugly crime is ‘complicated.’

We will speak of you—you who remain anonymous not only to protect your identity, but because you so eloquently represent ‘every woman.’

We will make lighthouses of ourselves, as you did—and shine.

Your story has already changed lives.

You have helped change the culture.

 You have shaken untold thousands out of the torpor and indifference towards sexual violence that allows this problem to continue.

Your words will help people you have never met and never will.

You have given them the strength they need to fight.

And so, I believe, you will save lives.

I do not know your name—but I will never forget you.

The millions who have been touched by your story will never forget you.

And if everyone who shared your letter on social media, or who had a private conversation in their own homes with their daughters and sons, draws upon the passion, the outrage, and the commitment they feel right now the next time there is a choice between intervening and walking away—then I believe you will have helped to change the world for the better.

You can watch the video below, courtesy of CBSN:

[brid video=”41063″ player=”5260″ title=”Joe Biden writes open letter to Stanford rape victim”]

Screengrab courtesy of CBSN

 

The post ‘You Are A Warrior:’ Joe Biden Writes An Amazing Letter To Stanford Rape Survivor appeared first on ReverbPress.


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