For the past two days, I've scrolled past a handful of news headlines and facebook statuses decrying a sentence passed down by a judge where a 49 year old man was sentenced to 30 days in prison after the rape of a 14 year old girl led to her suicide. I didn't scroll past them because I agreed with the sentence. I scrolled past them because it didn't occur to me that, today, after all the publicity with Todd Akin's atrociously ridiculous claims of "legitimate rape" and the events of Stuebenville and Delhi that this could actually be true. After all, hasn't this been publicized enough? Surely people have started to realize how pervasive rape culture is and how devastating it is to our children. Our boys. Our girls.
I am furious and heartbroken that I was wrong. I'm appalled that, when I finally did click on a passing link, it wasn't to see an article from some backwater publication that needed to be double-checked for sincerity on Snopes. I don't have words to describe how awful it is to see a rape condoned because the victim was "troubled."
Judge Todd Baugh has defended his decision by saying that Stacey Dean Rambold has already lost his job, his wife, and will have to register as a sex offender...and hasn't his life already been ruined enough?
Except this is not about "ruining" one man's life. Whatever I feel towards Rambold, that's not the point. The point is that he did that ruination to himself. He is a (presumably) mature, sane, consenting adult.
She. Was. 14.
She had a name. Cherice Morales.
She had a future and it was stolen from her.
Has he suffered enough? That's not my call to make (though I would argue that, no. He hasn't. How do you ever "make up" for emotionally manipulating, sexually violating, and destroying a young life?). But what I do know is that this ruling sends a very clear message to all the young men and women who are in Morales's position right now. Because they're out there. They're broken and, yes, "troubled" and scared and tired. And they've just been told that, even if anyone found out what they were going through...well...losing your job and sitting in a cell for 30 days is penalty enough.
Because that sounds like a fair exchange, doesn't it?
Except this is not about "ruining" one man's life. Whatever I feel towards Rambold, that's not the point. The point is that he did that ruination to himself. He is a (presumably) mature, sane, consenting adult.
She. Was. 14.
She had a name. Cherice Morales.
She had a future and it was stolen from her.
Has he suffered enough? That's not my call to make (though I would argue that, no. He hasn't. How do you ever "make up" for emotionally manipulating, sexually violating, and destroying a young life?). But what I do know is that this ruling sends a very clear message to all the young men and women who are in Morales's position right now. Because they're out there. They're broken and, yes, "troubled" and scared and tired. And they've just been told that, even if anyone found out what they were going through...well...losing your job and sitting in a cell for 30 days is penalty enough.
Because that sounds like a fair exchange, doesn't it?
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