Dear Leslie Rasmussen,
I am deeply sickened and saddened and quite frankly angered at this "letter of support" you've written, there are so many things wrong with it that I don't even know where to begin.
Firstly, you express your sadness upon hearing the news of Brock Turner and the "horrible situation that he was involved in." You make it sound like he is the victim here, that is your first downfall.
You say, "it's pretty frustrating to see the light that people are putting him in now." People are putting him in the light of a rapist. Because that's what he is. He raped a woman, therefore he is a rapist. That is the fact of the matter.
"I'm not backing it up or making excuses but..." That is exactly what you're doing. You're trying to find some justification for his reasoning behind this. You're trying to point the finger at the victim, the university, the public. When the bottom line is, HE is the only one to blame here.
Let me paint you a picture, Leslie. Let's say you were at this party and you bumped into your old buddy Brock. Let's say you were drinking because, as you said, that's what most university students do at parties. Let's say you wake up in a hospital bed and your body is covered in scratches and bandages, and then you find out you've been raped but you don't remember it. Now imagine you're at work and you come across a news article. About you. You read in detail how you were sexually assaulted. And then at the bottom of the article, Brocks swimming times are listed. Let's say you go through hell with the trial because the only thing he will admit to is being drunk, despite the fact that two witnesses caught him raping you. Let's say that after being found guilty of three counts of sexual assault by a jury and facing a maximum of 14 years in state prison, the judge then sentences him to six months in county jail and probation because he feared that a longer sentence would have a "severe impact" on him - a champion swimmer who once aspired to compete in the Olympics.
Now tell me Leslie, how would you feel if it were you?
Would he still not be a monster to you?
Would it still frustrate you that he is no longer called a "swim star" but now "a rapist"?
Would he still be "such a sweetheart" because he always had a "huge, loving smile on his face and was always so sweet to everyone."
Would this all still be "such a huge misunderstanding?"
Would you still be to blame because of how much alcohol you consumed?
You said you thought about it a lot and from different angles. Which I believe to be a lie. Because if you had thought about this from the victims point of view, surely you wouldn't be justifying his actions. But then again, I don't know you and I don't know what kind of person you are. So maybe you are the kind of person who justifies rape. Maybe you are the kind of person who victim blames.
And woman to woman, that is a damn shame.
