June 11, 2016 7:11 AM

Better to be thought a fool than to do an interview on CNN and prove rape culture exists

Attorney Stuart Taylor Jr. argued on Thursday that while Brock Turner got an exceedingly light sentence in his rape conviction, “the system worked” in his case…. “Although six months was a light sentence in the sense of that’s not a lot of time to be in jail, he also has hanging over him this sex offender registry thing,” Taylor told CNN host Jake Tapper. “For the rest of his life, everywhere he goes he’s carrying a brand. He probably never will be able to go to college — at least no time soon. His life is pretty well ruined. Those who say, ‘He’s not really being punished,’ it seems to me, are missing the point.”…. Both Turner and Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky have come under widespread criticism over the ruling following Turner’s sentence for raping a woman last January.

(A larger, and perhaps more readable version, can be found here. The victim’s letter can be found here.)

There’s an age-old caution about going where angels fear to tread (and without those who violate the caution I’d be out of business). You’d think that, given the popular outcry over the Brock Turner rape case, no reasonable, rational, self-aware person with any fear for their reputation would venture to offer comment on national television. Evidently the seductive power of the TV camera is a siren call some possessed of an outsized ego simply cannot say no to. Once upon a time, I use to bestow what I called the “Dumbass Awards, ” which went to those who did or said truly, unbelievably stupid things that fell just short of qualifying for a Darwin Award. Stuart Taylor, Jr. would back in the day have been a most worthy Dumbass Award candidate. For reasons fully known only to himself, Taylor thought it would be a GREAT idea to do an interview on CNN in which he voiced his considered opinion that “the system worked.” He proceeded to hold forth as to how those who are complaining that Turner got a light sentence “are missing the point.”

Yeah, about that….

Turner was sentenced to six months in jail for raping a drunk and unconscious woman behind a dumpster…when he could have (and probably should have) been sentenced to up to 14 years. Yes, as a convicted sex offender he’ll be required to register as such for the rest of his life. That’s no small thing to be certain, but to say that a six-month sentence means “the system worked” is, not to put too fine a point on it, asinine and the very definition of tone-deaf.

Both Turner and Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky have come under widespread criticism over the ruling following Turner’s sentence for raping a woman last January.

Persky worried that a harsher sentence would have “a severe impact” on the former college swimmer, prompting an online petition to recall him that has garnered nearly 950,000 signatures and at least 10 prospective jurors to refuse to serve in his courtroom.

It wasn’t just that the judge seemed more worried about a convicted rapist’s future than with the trauma suffered by the victim. It wasn’t just that the convicted rapist’s father was concerned only that the future of his son not be destroyed, displaying no concern for the victim. It wasn’t even that Taylor went to the race card, comparing Brock Turner’s sentence to that of an African-American football at Baylor University for what he called a “far more serious” sexual assault.

All of those thing factor into the outrage over the light sentence doled out to Turner, and that outrage is justified. What I think angers so many is that, beyond the light sentence and the lack of concern for the victim, this is yet another example of a blame-the-victim baseline attitude when it comes to rape

What was she doing drinking so much that she passed out? Why was she wearing that dress? Why was she flirting? Why was she alone with the man who raped her? All of those questions and so many more imply responsibility on the part of a woman, as if a rape victim must bear some responsibility for being sexually violated.

The only responsibility that should play into a rape case is the responsibility of a man not to rape a woman. A man is responsible for their behavior, regardless of the popular justification that “a man has needs,” or “boys will be boys,” or even “she was asking for it.” If men treated women with dignity and consideration and respected widely-accepted social boundaries, it wouldn’t be necessary to have this conversation.

No woman deserves to be raped…and men who rape women shouldn’t be coddled by a mindset more concerned with a rapist’s future prospects than with the trauma suffered by his victim. I’m sorry Stuart Taylor, Jr. was unable to remove his anterior from his posterior long enough to recognize his folly.

Men shouldn’t rape- no ifs, ands, or buts. If they can’t respect that legal and moral boundary, they have no business be allowed to roam free in society.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on June 11, 2016 7:11 AM.

The biggest waste of humanity you'll see today was the previous entry in this blog.

How to prevent rape: 10 easy tips for Penis-Americans is the next entry in this blog.

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