{"id":4380,"date":"2016-06-07T06:34:13","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T13:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/?p=4380"},"modified":"2016-06-07T06:36:37","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T13:36:37","slug":"criminal-journalism-the-sanitation-of-rape-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2016\/06\/criminal-journalism-the-sanitation-of-rape-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Criminal Journalism: Brock Turner and the Sanitation of Rape Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Such a heartbreaking story. Such a gifted young man, with a promising future. Sadly, he was brought down by a loose woman who drank too much and didn\u2019t know how to keep herself from getting raped while she was unconscious. It\u2019s a shame. Such a shame.<\/p>\n

You could read the article in the Washington Post <\/a>that everyone\u2019s talking about this morning, but I\u2019ll save you the trouble. That\u2019s pretty much the gist of it right there. As if you couldn\u2019t tell from the headline itself that this was going to be a profile of a good boy led astray. I mean, the thing leads with \u201cAll-American Swimmer.\u201d Not his name, Brock Turner. Not \u201canother privileged white boy who had every opportunity to NOT commit a violent crime.\u201d Not \u201caffluent kid who has grown up feeling entitled to everything including women\u2019s bodies.\u201d Just the qualifier\u00a0that is going to make this a story of all that has been lost\u2013for him.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, for him and his family. His poor, poor family. The father <\/a>who also blamed the young woman and the \u201cdrinking culture\u201d that had ensnared his poor naive son and led him into trouble. The father, who feels that his son should not be punished for something that, hey, only took 20 minutes!<\/p>\n

Was that supposed to be a joke? Was that supposed to be some mood-lightening reference to the lack of longevity when very young men engage in sexual activity? (Because he did say \u201cactivity\u201d a few times\u2026) If it was, it was absolutely, positively, the most unfunny thing I have ever heard. Assault\u00a0is not funny.<\/p>\n

And\u2013hear this\u2013rape is not sex. It is not activity. It is a violent, heinous crime and should be punished to the full extent of the law. Every time. No matter how white, privileged, and otherwise \u201cpromising\u201d the perpetrator.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know which part of this story is the most horrifying: the victim-blaming father; the \u2018there-there, boy, you\u2019ll get your life back after this\u2019 attitude of the judge\u2013the JUDGE, people; or the knowledge that this does not represent a single incident\u2013but a thing that happens every single day, more times than will ever be reported or convicted, in our country.<\/p>\n

But I know for sure it is all made worse\u2013a thousand times worse\u2013when the headline reads \u201cAll-American Swimmer Found Guilty\u2026\u201d and comes with his All-American Guy yearbook picture. And then the whole thing goes on to read like a human interest profile on an Olympic athlete. It might as well say \u201cbetter luck next time, pal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"This
This is a mug shot. This is what most convicted criminals get published in the media.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is shameful reporting. The Washington Post needs to beg the forgiveness of the American people, women everywhere, and\u2013most especially\u2013the victim.<\/p>\n

They need to redeem this inexcusable \u201cfall from grace\u201d story by telling hers. If she wants it told. She has shared this powerful account and commentary<\/a>\u00a0publicly. Perhaps they could start by publishing it. Perhaps they could follow up with an interview, when and if she feels ready, so that she can tell her story. Share how her \u201cpromising future\u201d has been affected by this crime. Perhaps they could do a wider piece on campus rape, or rape culture among \u201cbright and promising young men,\u201d or maybe the whole staff of the damn paper needs to spend their evenings and weekends scrubbing the floors and toilets at the a local domestic violence shelter for the rest of all time. Something, anything to acknowledge that this kind of journalism contributes, in big and powerful ways, to the culture in which a woman\u2019s body is never, ever going to be as important as \u201cthe All-American athlete\/scholar\/hero\u201d who was brought down by his proximity to her.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t make this happen, because they are not on trial, and I am not a judge. But let\u2019s all agree I\u2019d be a damn better one\u2013and probably, so would you\u2013than the ones who keep protecting and defending these criminals. With the judicial system at their sides, good looks and white-hetero-male privilege at their backs, and negligent fathers leading the way, maybe the best we can hope for is that the media, at the very least, call them criminals. Is that too much to ask?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Such a heartbreaking story. Such a gifted young man, with a promising future. Sadly, he was brought down by a loose woman who drank too much and didn\u2019t know how to keep herself from getting raped while she was unconscious. It\u2019s a shame. Such a shame. You could read the article in the Washington Post […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1154,"featured_media":4381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1270,159,9,1036,1271,1272],"class_list":["post-4380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-brock-turner","tag-feminism","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rape-culture","tag-stanford-rape","tag-washington-post"],"yoast_head":"\nCriminal Journalism: Brock Turner and the Sanitation of Rape Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Such a heartbreaking story. 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