I realize that writing this will open up a torrent of angry responses, but is no one allowed to address the fact that all individuals - male, female, transgender - have a responsibility to protect themselves from being victimized and from being accused, by not drinking to the point of blacking out? This goes for men, also - if they cannot remember what they did, they risk being accused.
My comment does not excuse the behavior of the convicted assailant, or the actions of the judge, but I feel that we have encouraged a culture in which personal responsibility is never taken into account. That's called blaming the victim, but it's not blame - it's a reasonable question about personal responsibility.
127
I totally get your point and in equal vein this whole case is about personal responsibility.
What is the personal responsibility of a man in a situation where he sees a woman in a vulnerable state (due to her lapse in said personal responsibility).
Is it to
1. Take personal responsibility to walk away?
2. Take personal responsibility to treat another human being with respect and maybe even call for help?
3. Take advantage of the situation then be held personally responsible for his actions within the full limit and to the full extent of the law?
What the Turners (Brock and his parents) wanted was no personal responsibility for Brock at all.
It was shameful that a judge also seemed to think so and decided that the victim should alone bear all the personal responsibility.
386
@DLM
All wrapped up in reasonableness aren't you? I heard a lot of reasonable men discussing why they couldn't vote for Hillary. For very reasonable reasons that had nothing to do with double standards or underlying misogyny. Nope. Just being reasonable and also maintaining the status quo.
55
@DLM
No, this is not a "reasonable question" -- it is an effort to change the focus of the conversation. In response to this article on a horrific assault and gross injustice -- you decide to write two paragraphs on what SHE should have done. That's what you want to discuss. It's called victim blaming because it IS victim blaming.
114
This is nonsense. Miller’s race has nothing to do with what happened to her or to Turner. Her gender is the issue. Turner’s race, on the other hand, is very pertinent. But that is a different discussion.
This newspaper and the editorial writers it publishes seem to bend over backwards to make everything about race. This case belongs to women. All women. How dare you try to steal it from us.
161
@Passion for Peaches
Actually it is her sex, her biological sex, that was the key factor here. The fact that she has a female body was central to the crime against her.
Yes, men will rape other men, children, animals, but most rapes are by those of the male sex inflicted upon girls and women.
12
But as you say Turner’s race is pertinent. Race is important here.
41
Read Malcom Gladwell’s newest book, Talking to Strangers, which describes the incident in great detail. Alcohol was the biggest contributor to this mess, as both persons were blind drunk. I haven’t read Ms. Miller’s book yet; does she acknowledge that fact? (No, I am not “blaming the victim”....context is important).
29
@Kathy What you write here is the definition of victim-blaming. And (as I believe Ms Miller herself has said) we don't punish people for getting drunk by raping them.
10
Somehow I don't think very many people think of a Chinese/American woman to be "woman of color". She's Asian.
I think that Brock Turner had very poor legal advisors. I think they somehow thought they could beat this with a "he said/she said" defense, and advised him to never admit to the charges or show any remorse. That was VERY bad advice.
In the end, justice does look at the life of anyone one charged, as it often reflects what the chances that this is only the first of what may be offenses in the future. I doubt that this will happen to Mr Turner again.
I still have trouble, even as a woman, of believing that a woman who chooses to drink to the point of passing out, in an environment in which too much alcohol and lots of hook-up sex are going on, is nothing less than naive if she doesn't realize that she is engaging in very risky behavior. That in no way excuses the behavior of Mr Turner, but young women simply must realize that such naiveté is very risky and avoid doing so in the future. Two young people with raging hormones and alcohol are a recipe that may well cause "regret" sex at the very least.
36
Bad legal advice? He got 6 months. It was amazing legal advice. Like so amazing his case is being covered years later since the sentence was so light.
I am not defending Brock turner. What he did was vile and cruel and he deserved a stiffer punishment. However, his representation was sound.
4
@India, you make the author's point. Justice does look at the defendant's life circumstances. If the defendant is privileged and rich, he can count on a slap on the wrist. Why would anyone assume that he wouldn't do it again, given that there were no consequences? Newspapers today are full of stories about rich, privileged men committing sexual assault for decades, and getting away with it.
4
@India
Your name suggests that you may be from India. I am also from India. But I disagree with you 100%. Regret sex is just that and it produces just that: regret. Rape on the other hand is about power. It produces trauma and psychological effects that affect one’s life forever.
Your comments about naïveté and raging hormones are offensive to all women
8
There is no excuse or justification for rape or sexual assault, as was inflicted upon Chanel Miller. Brock Turner, a criminal, was properly convicted of 3 felonies, but got an unconscionably light sentence. For that injustice, the judge was recalled, as he should have been for such an injustice.
But Chanel Miller is not a sympathetic figure.
At 22, she took her younger sister to a frat party; drank whiskey, vodka, and champagne; danced embarrassingly on a chair; stayed at the party after her younger sister left; and then drank to the point of blacking out.
That was reckless and irresponsible behavior which I’m sure Miller regrets. But Miller wasn’t a teenager. She had already graduated from college and was 22. Her younger sister, in leaving the frat party, had more common sense than she did.
Miller should have known better.
Miller is not at fault for her rape; Turner is a criminal; the judge failed to do justice. But neither is Miller a sympathetic figure.
Individual responsibility was thrown to the wind, and a clearly foreseeable consequence followed.
9
During the recall campaign it was revealed that Persky’s wife is Asian and his children biracial, just like Ms. Miller. This writer just revealed her own biases in assuming that Persky favored Turner because of race or class. Persky followed the sentencing recommendations of the probation officer (a woman). The problem with the public today is the expectation that sentencing should correlate with degree of emotional outrage, not the prescribed guidelines set forth in the legal system.
141
What can anyone say? Everyone but the privileged few recognize the needs for change. Whether it is Brock Turner or the Texas kid who killed 3 while suffering from Affluenza, Donald Trump or Boris Johnson, the lack of respect for the rights and safety of others do not even enter the equation.
"... although incarceration is not synonymous with justice, accountability or rehabilitation, only five out of 1,000 perpetrators receive prison time." This stat should/must change. Do the crime, U will do the time. "Deterrence is only possible if there is sure & painful consequences to follow."
2
She should bring a lawsuit in civil court. Since the crazy judge and Turner's father believe his great prospects in life should not be ruined, he can pay her for the rest of his life.
9
Despite the outrage, the accused will do just fine in life. That is just another feature of white privilege.
4
I do not believe that all men are or could be rapists. I do believe that some men (and women) use their position to get sex, perhaps icky but not rape.
Yes this woman was a victim although her own misuse of alcohol didn’t help. Now she will become wealthy from this book and various speaking engagements. If there is a takeaway for others it’s don’t get drunk.
10
I am a mixed-race woman living in the SF Bay Area with a racial background similar to Ms. Miller's.
This is a young woman from an elite neighborhood, went to an elite high school where Asians outnumber whites and attended UC Santa Barbara.
I do think the rape culture and excessive use of alcohol rampant in the Greek system should be questioned by anyone concerned about sexual violence.
Comparing Ms. Miller's rape to the abuse of women who lack financial resources or risk their immigration status - really!?!
88
This whole sorry episode can be attributed to drunken stupidity. It’s a mistake to read too much into it.
The truth is that both parties got off very lightly. They could have easily tried to drive somewhere and caused irreparable harm to others besides themselves. Neither was capable of understanding their actions.
A better judge might have been able to achieve a better result,
8
Seems to me that our latest Supreme Court justice did the equivalent act on some poor, passed out female student - the difference being, the witnesses did nothing to him, they just watched - unlike the two foreign students who chased down and held down the Stanford wanna-be-rapist student athlete.
Who didn't know the honor code of the preppies....
4
Thank you for writing this.
1
I have never met a woman who wasn't molested at one time
or another during her lifetime. Unbelievable, isn't it?
8
I found the 60 Minutes piece on Sunday night with Ms Miller to be very moving, thought provoking, and saddening. But while watching, I never thought “Hey, she’s an Asian American.” I only saw an Heroic American. I wish the Times would leave its identity journalism behind.
10
First we read: "When I learned Ms. Miller is white and Chinese-American...." White AND Chinese-American
Then we read: "she is Asian-American ... as a woman of color, assaulted by a white man, trying to obtain justice in a courtroom presided over by a white male judge."
Asian-American AND a woman of color.
So is she a white Chinese-American or an Asian-American woman of color? Can she be both?
9
A close relative of mine was raped by a neighbor, who, it was later learned, stalked her and learned when her husband went off to work daily. She was home with a new baby.
He held a knife to the baby and threatened to kill her if my relative did not "give in", so she did. Later it was also learned the man had a pattern stalking and attacking pretty young girls.....
The police did not believe her account. She was openly accused of having an affair with the man and blaming him for rape .....who knows why?
She was white and from a middle class background. These things don't only happen to women of color and poor women. I know they happen a lot to these women, but sometimes the narrative emphasizes the pain of only non white women, poor women.
ALL women are victims of sociopathic men, prejudiced police and courts. ALL OF US.
12
Saw the 60 minutes interview.
Agree; something off. Like she is medicated.
If it weren’t for the two Swedes passing buy, there would be no conviction. She was unconscious and being raped, they verified that, and caught the rapist.
She is eloquent in describing the circumstances and the pain involved. I think bringing race into it actually trivializes the impact. Just ridiculous; why was this even published.
A young man raping a unconscious woman; isn’t that enough?
11
The author of this piece does an important service by highlighting the varied experience of victims based on race, class, and other forms of privilege.
But in falls short in presenting Brock Turner's treatment as being about race. Any number of men of color have experienced similar lenient treatment when they have backgrounds in entertainment or sports. Consider NBA star Derrick Rose with whom his jurors posed for a photo after they acquitted him for gang rape. Consider Kobe Bryant, Jameis Winston, and R. Kelly. Or how about Tyga? When he was 25, he was dating a 17-year-old Kylie Jenner, and yet there's been zero outrage.
On a less high profile level, sexual assault by college athletes who are overwhelmingly POC, is routinely swept under the rug by powerful college athletic departments and sympathetic local police departments who care more about seeing State get a couple of extra wins than protecting young women at our colleges and universities.
This isn't a problem of race but of privilege and gender. Race can certainly be a form of privilege but frankly being white pales in comparison to being rich or famous or good at athletics. And on the gender front, it's on us men to do better, not just in our own behavior but in how we collectively police our own social networks and teach each other what it means to be a "man."
96
@Jon P
White men, rich or not, have gotten away with sexual assaults for centuries, far more than African American athletes. For you to state otherwise is disingenuous.
21
@Jon P
There is a lot of truth to what you write, but we have to be careful, because race itself can be a form of privilege. What you write about college athletes is true, that the privilege of being a worshipped athlete outstripped their race (put it this way, every statistic on crime and punishment shows that non white offenders get treated a lot more harshly than white ones, time and again). The other thing to be careful of is comparing how crimes are covered up, and it is important, that with the black athletes accused of things like rape that the university and police cover the crime up entirely (like the cops with Florida State), it never even gets to court in the first place, and Juries are a lot more subject to fame as influence than a judge is.
The real question to ask yourself is if Brock had been a black kid from a good family, if he had been an athlete at Stanford, and gone in front of Persky, would he have been that lenient? Personally I doubt it, I suspect a hangers on like Persky would be angry that a black kid, who had been 'privileged' to go to Standford, would commit a crime like this and would throw the book at him, while Yates was a 'good boy who made a mistake'....
51
@Vanessa Lol what? Of course an entire race over centuries will have committed more crimes than a small number of people from a group (college and professional athletes) that's only been a subgroup for a few decades.
But the reality is that women in POC majority countries tend to have it far, far worse. Consider the Korean "comfort women" who the Japanese army forced into sexual slavery. And do you know where child brides are still a thing - Muslim majority countries in the Middle East. And where is female genital mutilation still practiced? That would be Africa - the same continent where Boko Haram kidnaps women into sexual slavery, where virgins are raped (because the locals believe it cures AIDS to sleep with a virgin), and where sexual assault is used as a weapon in armed conflicts.
By all means, let's nail the Harvey Weinsteins and Jeffrey Epsteins of the world, but stop with the ridiculous group aspersions. The issue is not skin color. It's evil actions.
13
White defendant, white judge, Asian victim. Do the math. As an Asian American, I was and remain disgusted by this white judge giving a free pass to this white defendant. Minorities need to band together and remember minority victims of the justice system: Chanel Miller, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, all the children in cages at the border and the list goes on and on.
3
This reminds me of an account by a black woman from the US who'd spent a lot of time travelling abroad. She was often subject to cat-calling even while walking the streets in many European cities and subsequently had to be on her guard. In Italy, she was even assaulted at night while walking. I think there is a tendency to see women (of a minority group especially) as softer targets.
I also think these attitudes stem partly from foreign interventions abroad. During the Algerian War of Independence in the 1950s, French troops would abduct women from villages and rape them. They even took elaborate photos, which have been leaked. The French knew that these local women wouldn't be accepted back into their villages because they "dishonoured" their families.
US troops have a history of sexual violence against women in South Korea as well as in Guam and Okinawa. During the Vietnam War, female victims of the My Lai massacre were sexually abused before the executions.
Maybe this behaviour long predates the 20th century. In the 16th century, the Portuguese were already facilitating a vast slave trade of Japanese women. And Cristopher Columbus wrote in his own personal diary that his men preferred younger indigenous women because they were "tighter".
So these attitudes are centuries old and have been passed down throughout era of western dominance. It is also time to end them as the world becomes less and less western or white-centric.
62
@Jack
They were. When the German army invaded various places in Europe, rape and killing of women was common place, what they did inside Russia alone is enough to give nightmares. Women were kept a sex slaves by the German soldiers, they were raped, daughters were routinely taken and gang raped....and the Russians when they moved into Germany did much the same thing. Not to mention, of course, the way Jews were treated in western civilization. Ever read about the viking conquest of Europe? Or what the Crusaders did in the lands they went through as they moved east? Do you really believe the accounts of "chivalry" in the middle ages? You think the Romans when they conquered other lands didn't do these kinds of things?
As far as what happened to non western women, read about what happened with the various Islamic incursions into Europe, or read about what Ghengis Kahn and the Mongols did when they invaded parts of what is now Europe (hint, Genghis Kahn may have been the most far reaching 'father' in human history genetically, and many people in central and eastern Europe have Monglian DNA in them, and if you think that was done consensually, well...). Muslims used to enslave western women where they were part of various Sheik's harems, the Barbary pirates did the same thing.
11
@johnsmith
John, I believe the issue I'm addressing here is misogynistic attitudes propagated along RACIAL lines. When a woman is subject to abuse because of her ethnicity specifically, that needs to be called out.
And yes, misogyny doesn't only exist in western culture. But do you think the scale and scope of the abuses i highlighted in my first post would have been propagated against western women by western men in the same organised fashion? Ethnicity clearly played a role...
19
@Jack I was with you up until "attitudes are centuries old and have been passed down throughout era of western dominance" as though the West alone is responsible for misogynistic attitudes. These attitudes are centuries old but they extend all over the world and the West is one of the first world regions to take a stand against them loudly and actively and it's people like Chanel Miller we have to thank for that.
Meanwhile in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia women risk punishment for being raped. Have you heard of Nusrat Jahan Rafi? Probably not. She accused a teacher of sexual assault and was burned to death to stop her from speaking last April. Women in non-Western countries continue to be punished just for being victims of sexual violence and RARELY receive any form of justice. It's important to acknowledge that ALL cultures have misogynistic attributes and to fight against them.
102
I don't like this headline. It does NOT matter that she is Asian-American. She is a woman who was assaulted and that is all that matters.
2
I, by no mean wish to provide cover to Mr. Turner or the judge who sentenced him. That said, I find Ms. Ko's treatment of this topic to be an act of utter self-subjugation.
I am a black man born in Newark, NJ, in the early 1950s, a time when, and a place where, the world was considerably less welcoming to non-whites than it is today. That said, I had the benefit of growing up in a defiant family that refused to allow me to assume failure and injustice simply because the system was biased against me. Ms. Ko, on the other hand, seems more than happy to embrace every stereotype and bias, and seems more content to whine about injustice than to confront it.
Oppression always works better when the oppressed cooperate. And that cooperation easily can take the form of the oppressed simply assuming that the machinery of oppression is in place, engaged and ready to treat them unfairly. Ms. Ko might find it an interesting thought experiment to go through life assuming she is an equal and empowered member of society, asserting her rights when and where it is appropriate to do so, and carving out her own agency and happiness. She is likely to find that she is far less oppressed than she presumes to be.
78
@AR Clayboy Thank you, sir for lending a little common sense to the discussion. It means so much more coming from you, a black man. Had I, a white man, written it, I would have been called a racist. In fact, I post things all the time which are reasonable, rational and factual but not what "woke" people want to hear, so I've been vilified plenty of times.
15
One message I took from her testimony (there were others), was that if a black man had been the accused he would have received a far stiffer sentence. You can fight, but the system is biased.
29
@AR Clayboy I also grew up in a family which taught me I could be anything I set my heart to. But the reality is -- no matter how self-confident you are, how talented you are, and how much you think the system is unbiased -- it is and people do suffer from it, whether they want to be a victim or not.
Did you ever think about how much easier your path might have been or how much higher you could have climbed or how much quicker you might have gotten to your position in life? Did you ever think other people might have faced different or worse obstacles than you? It's not easy to note bias if if was hidden from you or you aren't even aware how someone with your exact or lower qualifications was treated better without skin color being an obstacle.
When I was younger, I too thought like you until various incidents -- like not getting credit for a project I partially led whereas my white, male peer (who hardly did any work) did - made me more aware of how the world works. Yes, I spoke up - at the risk of alienating my colleagues -- and yes, I got my credit because others supported me (including the boss of my boss) but my peer did not have to do anything at all.
39
Cue the white folk to declare that this is not about race in 3, 2, 1...
10
It really does not matter. This heinous act and the resulting judgement stands on its own as an utter disaster. Trying to make the ridiculous stretch to incorporate this worldview that all things are due to race distracts and minimizes this event. This article's premise is an utter shame and an extreme disservice.
72
@MM
The whites already have been doing that a long time (and I am white), complaints about identity politics, 'shredding the country' are usually combined with claims that the country has become 'anti white', that white privilege is nonsense, that whites, especially white men, are the victims. The real problem with many whites is that they want to live this fantasy of a post race world, where race doesn't matter and not only take a completely blind eye to the very real basis for the racial politics of the GOP and Trump, but they get mad when someone even mentions it. Meanwhile many of those same people live in places that are almost entirely white, and when they look at race and racial groups standing up for themselves, much like LGBT people have, you get the whines and complaints about 'identity politics'; but when the GOP goes on about the persecution of straight, white christian people, these people all either nod their heads or stay silent.....
10
@Joe I don't think you understand and your hostility towards this subject is a case in point.
6
Sorry but miss Miller was brought up in a bi-racial household, part Chinese, part Caucasian. What part of her name- "Miller' don't you recognize to be Caucasian? Embrace both races, and cultures, Ms. Ko.
4
Robert Kraft. Sex trafficked Asian women. And the NFL does nothing. Sadly, Boston and MA does nothing.
2
she is both white and Asian, and in some places she may even pass as white. the story would be different if the assaulted woman was Black ...
1
The amount of victim-blaming in these comments is sickening. All you folks on your high-horses, lamenting the fact that Ms. Miller had the temerity to drink, are contributing to rape culture. Shame on you.
9
Wow all the negative comments against the victim.
So according to many of you she is "half white". Look at her picture again. Does she look white to you?
And she is supposed to swallow hard and accept her tough luck, while Brock Turner complained about his privileged life ruined?
You people are really try to make a case for a privileged white rapist? 3-month sentence too long for you?
It's no wonder why victims often don't want to step forward. Look in the mirror. Shame on you.
7
I wept reading Ms. Miller's account and later signed the petition to remove Judge Persky from the bench. In an ideal world, his ruling would have been thrown out for being clearly biased and a mis-carriage of justice. I hope Ms. Miller is able to pursue her dreams, knowing she has brought needed light and education to this problem.
119
I still can’t help but feel that both her and Brock’s apparent alcoholism (she can’t remember the event, and was in the hospital for four hours before waking up) has been marginalized by the press. This would never have happened had she (not to mention he!) been sober. Period.
42
I once told my daughter to never come home crying if she was ever raped while drunk. I do believe in some level of personal responsibility. Then she was drugged and date raped. Did I then ask her”Why were you out? What were you wearing? Why weren’t you more careful with your drink?” No, I realized the awfulness of my previous statement. We do a disservice to women who have been raped and violated when we focus on their actions, and not the actions of the rapist. The crime is solely on the rapist’s shoulders. I hope others do not have to experience this trauma through their children to learn the difference. It has been several years now, and I am still heartbroken for what happened to my daughter and my previous callousness.
11
@Robert, as someone who was assaulted while at university, I disagree. Period.
6
Having one instance of blackout doesn't mean someone is substance dependent - chill with the armchair diagnosis of "alcoholism". People do get assaulted AND assault people when sober.
9
Maybe we should be teaching girl children about reality: That many men are predators and rapists, that male predation and sexual assaults have gone on for millennia; that the judicial system is populated by predatory men and their apologists. One study found that 90% of college men would engage in rape or coercive sex if they thought they could get away with it. In campus sexual assaults, 43% involve alcohol consumption by victims and 69% involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrators.
Maybe we would best teach girls to be wary of males, especially males using alcohol and maybe we should teach girls to understand that they need to protect themselves and keep their wits about them because society will not protect them. Instead we turn a blind eye to campus drunkenness, binge drinking, the crimes that accompany them and the reality that drunkenness makes girls & women easy prey for predators. This young woman would not have been victimized had she not gotten so drunk in public as to be insensate.
Yes, obviously, men should not rape, boys should be taught to respect women, and girls & women should be safe even if they are falling-down drunk. But that is Pollyanna thinking that ignores that we live in a patriarchal rape culture and porn culture in which girls & women are nowhere safe.
Maybe someday men will stop raping, assaulting and murdering women. Until then, women would do well to learn to protect & defend themselves, and to avoid making themselves easy prey.
39
Societal conditioning over millennia has contributed to the insidious acceptance of rape culture. Let’s start conditioning whoever we can to not abuse others. Let’s say “men rape women”, not “women are at risk of rape by men.” Let’s teach each other with compassion. Same goes for all abuse of power by all genders. It’s like John and Yoko said: “War (or rape, or abuse, or racism) is over... if you want it.”
4
Maybe, no we should teach our male children not to rape.
4
Rather than putting the continuing onus of rape prevention on women, how about we teach men not to rape women and what consent means? How about we not let men off the hook with the old “boys will be boys” argument and the excuse that “it’s been that way for millennia”? It’s a flimsy excuse.
5
QUOTE: Ms. Miller is more than her racial identity alone," UNQUOTE
No she's not. Not in a Court of Law, where she is LESS than her racial identity. In a Court of Law a person isn't a personALITY. It's a collection of rights. Not even the fact that Brock Turner is male and Miller is female matters. Turner is a PERSON who denied to another PERSON the right to an exercise of will equal to Turner's own. For that, he should have been locked away for decades. Only actions matter in a criminal case. Society's attitudes about Asians or women have no place in discussions of what should happen when SOME PERSON of characteristics unspecified violates the rights of SOME OTHER PERSON of equally unspecified characteristics. What someone thinks about who the perp is and who the victim is doesn't matter. When a crime is going on, events elsewhere in society have no bearing. Would this brutal rape have been less immoral if no white person had ever treated any Asian as a less-than-equal? Would this brutal rape have been less immoral if no man had ever treated a woman as a less-than-equal? What if Turner had raped an equally white, equally privileged, equally insider male? Should THAT matter? It shouldn't. Punishment should be the same.
But thank you for informing me that no Asian country has a long history of colonialism, imperialism, and militarization (OR sexism) all of which are unique to the U.S.A.. That kind of tongue-in-cheek humor is the priceless wink that this whole column is irony.
Oh, it’s wealth vs. poverty.
No, it’s color vs. white.
No, it’s religious vs. atheist.
No, it’s native vs. immigrant.
Actually, it’s the original and only meaningful difference,
Male against Female. The question is, when are we going to acknowledge the sheer amount of violence perpetrated against women, by men, and what can we do to stop it?
5
To all the people in this comments section who justify this violent crime (and yes, rape/sexual assault are defined as violent crimes since the assaulter must use physical force or coercion) with arguments of drunkenness and maintaining fairness in the legal system: You miss the point entirely. A drunk person who kills someone while driving has still committed homicide. A drunk person who beats up a stranger has still committed battery and assault. A drunk person who robs a bank at gunpoint has still committed armed robbery. Rape is a violent crime. What is it about sexual assault crimes, of which the victims are predominantly women, that has convinced you that such violence crimes can be dismissed with the excuse of alcohol? Who knows how many people in this country get drunk each day? And yet many of them are not killing people, assaulting strangers, and robbing banks. Do you not consider it to be normal behavior to NOT commit a violent crime even while drunk?
"A white, well off person should not be getting an unduly harsh sentence just because non white, poor men are unjustly sentenced." Again, you miss the point entirely. ALL ASSAULTERS should be given a HARSH sentence, especially since there are people being sentenced more harshly for possession of marijuana. There's a reason why rape is a VIOLENT crime, and I suggest that you read Chanel Miller's victim impact statement and other memoirs by sexual assault survivors and think about empathizing with that kind of trauma.
6
Oy. This seems a reflexive reach to me, and near rote - almost ethnic chauvinism, ironically. Seems any small hint must be given a full PC racial spin under the current ethos. Maybe it's just the swing of the pendulum after so many years the other way... but it must be questioned whether it harms credibility. And whether it sells books...
6
If Turner’s genius was curing cancer or inventing a machine that removed c02 from the atmosphere, that would be an argument for a jail sentence and lab access. But the judge using “swimming” as an excuse to give a light sentence is pathetic. Other people can swim in what ever lane would be emptied by his absence. And, his personal professional loss is a loss only to him; another body would have filled whatever job he might have taken.
See: Brett Kavanaugh for another example.
2
"When sentencing Mr. Turner, who was a student at Stanford University at the time of the assault, the legal system took into account his athletic and academic achievements."
"Judge Persky, a Stanford alumnus"
Judge Persky graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford (= athletic achievements). He was the captain of the Stanford men's lacrosse team (= athletic achievements), He also received a master's degree from Stanford.
He graduated from the UC Berkeley School of Law.
Perhaps Judge Persky saw Mr. Turner as a mirror image of himself (Not of course that I accuse Judge Persky of a crime).
"In contrast, Ms. Miller, who had not attended Stanford, had her own achievements dismissed and her history attacked, her “lost potential” not highlighted in the courtroom."
Turns out Ms. Miller had plenty of academic achievements (granted we know nothing about her athletic skills):
"Here is what you should know about Chanel.
She is a literature graduate, who has now written a book, Know My Name. She is a talented artist and would love to illustrate children's books, her drawings being a little surreal and - by her own description - sinister. She has also studied ceramics and comic books, and done stand-up comedy."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49755850
Judge Persky perhaps should have considered recusing himself.
Ironically, not withstanding Stanford, Judge Persky probably had more in common with Ms. Miller than with Mr. Turner.
2
It's a minor quibble but, when referring to Ms. Miller's ethnicity, it should be Eurasian. That is because there is no US American ethnicity.
1
If the unfortunate victim in this case had been 100 percent Caucasian, the result would have been exactly the same. The judge was the real problem in this specific case. The fact that the victim was part Asian had nothing to do with the outcome.
In a more general sense, one can certainly make the argument that race is a factor in an injustice like this. This particular case involved white male privilege to be sure, but the sentence would have been the same even if the victim had been white rather than of "mixed race."
8
From what I read in other articles was that Turner's sentence was consistent with others, including men of colour, convicted of a similar crimes.
What's different here is the high profile nature due to a well penned victim impact statement and identity politics.
Had Ms. Miller's attacker been black in a poor part of town, and she hadn't written her statement, we'd be hearing nothing of this.
Should justice be different because a story is good for ad sales in papers?
8
It's remarkable and sad how we continue to hear about these injustices in our judicial system.
3
"...the legal system took into account his athletic and academic achievements. "
Sounds like a certain Supreme Court member.
15
That 1) Ms. Miller is noted as half-Chinese is NOT the same as her being noted as "Half-"African American was not likely to be noticed by the half- or fully-drunken perpetrator and-or victim. 2) As a Stanford graduate in the 1960's, I have to say that we did not go around specifying the ethnicity of others. Hungarian, Hungarian-American, German, German-Hungarian-American, no one cared. We might have noticed the ethnicity of Africans, or African-Americans, but others only as an afterthought.
2
Thank you SO MUCH for writing this piece and for highlighting Ms. Miller's memoir. I relate to how Ms. Miller's feeling of "being unseen." I'm also half white, half Chinese, and in my 20's. When I'm in a group of white people, they freely share their (sometimes critical or offensive) thoughts about [fill in the blank] racial group. When I'm in a group of POC, they freely share their (sometimes critical or offensive) thoughts about white-identified people. In both instances I feel like a fly on the wall, like the white people are treating me like a white person when I'm with them, and like the POC are treating me like a POC when I'm with them. It is an unusual and bizarre social space to occupy and I respect Ms. Miller for raising this and other hard truths about our culture.
7
As ‘half’ Mexican, I know your experience, and I agree it is often bizarre to be perceived as two different people depending on the group you are with. Even more strange for me was growing up in the 80s being occasionally called a n^gger by white children, and then also having only white friends. It’s a conundrum I am still trying to understand.
Ms Miller is a hero. Women like her lead us to a better future.
17
What matters is Brock is from a moneyed family whose father almost seems to condone his behavior. These are our "leaders" and future "leaders"and there is very little wonder why our world is burning while the rich get richer and the poor stay poor. Not everything needs to be over micro analyzed in terms of race.
16
Privilege of the wealth certainly plays a role but many factors can in play as we in the real world do live in the intersection of wealth, class, race, gender.
1
The main reason most rapes aren't reported is because we don't know who the rapist is. He is protected be the anonymity of the streets & other public spaces. This rape victim was more fortunate than I was in that she learned the identity of her attacker & was able to have him prosecuted. It's unfortunate that he didn't spend more time behind bars, but at least he was outed as a rapist. I mean what woman wants to get involved with that? What educational institution or employer?
12
@Jenifer Wolf actually women usually know the the person who sexually assaulted them according to the data.
Lost in all of this is that sexual assault rates using criminal definitions have been going down. Along the way, activists in academia are pushing for broader definitions to make the problem seem as large as possible.
The challenge is that under their preferred survey tools and questions, most of the women the surveys categorize as victims of rape did not think what happened to them was serious enough to report. That paradox highlights how definitions matter and can skew the findings.
6
It seems along with Ms Miller most people commenting here have forgotten Ms Miller is half Chinese, the other half: Caucasian. The author of this article also has forgotten this fact. She is not Asian, she is biracial; Chinese and Caucasian. Why is so hard to accept this fact?
28
A great example of flabby intersectional identity obsession
42
This was such a ludicrous article; the entire premise is bogus. Implicit in the title is that if Ms Miller were black, or Latina, or (dare I say it) 100% white, it wouldn't have mattered as much. That is offensive.
And why is Ms Miller considered "Asian-American"? She is half white, but that doesn't count? It just shows the true emptiness of all this "identity" foolishness, and that, almost as much as Republican malfeasance, is what is dividing us as a nation. (Interestingly, foreigners don't care about our identity; to them, we're simply Americans.)
44
I still don't really see why her race would matter.
49
“Ask a man what his greatest fear is about serving jail time, and he will almost inevitably say he fears being raped. What can we deduce from the fact that jail is to men what life is to so many women?” — Soraya Chemaly, Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger
61
It doesn’t matter
A woman raped is a tragedy, a crime, and disgusting beyond words
13
Thank you for lifting up the healing of sexual assault. More and more, we as women are growing stronger, articulate and powerful advocates of our own governance. Women are no longer held to some antiquated shame when attacked sexually by men. We know that the shame belongs on the attacker not the victim. Thank you for this sharing of your strength in your journey as a victim of sexual assault. To address white male entitlement in my opinion would just distract from this superb article. Bravo and thank you Chanl Miller. Look forward to hearing more from you.
6
Brock Turner’ s sentence was a disgrace. However, sadly, men who commit rape and murder are acquitted, given light sentences, and/or not even charged daily. Let me reiterate, daily.
Often these men are African American and Hispanic. Times readers just rather talk about shire male privilege regardless of whether it’s reflective of reality.
5
Bologna. Rape is rape, no matter what the identity of the victim.
10
Ummmm...the only reason I believed “Emily Doe” to be “white” is because the pseudonym chosen was “EMILY Doe.” Nothing more.
12
@Vivienne, I never assumed anything about her identity. She had no race or skin color in my mind. She was just any young, female student at university.
I just saw this impressive young woman interviewed on the PBS Newshour. Three months for raping a human being behind a dumpster. Think about that....
15
I believe Ms Miller in coming forward is an absolute hero. Ms Ko trivializes Ms Millers contribution with identity politics.
15
There is no doubt that the parameters defining sexual assault are being refined, and tightened in our legal system.
I understand the whole discussion of elitism, far better than ethnicity brought out in this article as a key variable.
Turner is a life long sex offender....no easy yoke to bear forever.
Not all men (or women), nor elitists are centered on the bell curve of sex offenders.
But if ethnicity is a factor as claimed in the Opinion here... well then, let us add two more critical ethnic folks involved in this case.
Brock Turner was fit as an athlete at Swimming needs to be.
He was caught in the act by two ethnic MEN! At their yell, Turner ran. The Swedes (also elites) chased him down, pinned him til police arrived, and provided key eyewitness testimony.
But I prefer to think they acted as Men more than any particular ethnicity.
Those two MEN should be noted in any Brock Turner article, to show that opposite type character males are all around us, and often act instantly as needed...regardless of personal peril.
The Swedes by deeds removed the "he said"/"she said" dilemma and aided Emily as much in court, as by the dumpster attack zone.
(Uh....maybe more lights and cameras in that spot should be considered too!)
14
@Mocamandan, I don't think the author was accusing white men of being prone to rape. She was saying that a white judge, also a graduate of Stanford, seemed more concerned with the future of the rapist than that of his victim. She ascribed this to bias in the legal system, which we know exists.
Unfortunately, many men seem to take the #MeToo movement as a personal attack, a men-vs.-women issue. It is only about victims of sexual assault recovering their dignity and speaking out. Even though sexual assault is a very common experience, most victims are isolated.
#MeToo is about victims-vs-predators, not men-vs-women.
1
The ruling just showed that the Elite take care of the Elite.
Why Stanford students, after all supposedly the Elite of the Elite
of the Elite, need to host such parties and get massively drunk
and then attempt to rape people is the question that should
be asked.
10
It matters because the likelihood of justice received and justice delivered should not depend on the race and gender of the perpetrator and the race and gender of the victim.
4
Kudos to the citizens of California recalling the judge.
17
Ms. Miller should be given a full ride scholarship to Stanford, I expect she'd be a credit to the institution.
4
@Kevin Smith I believe that Ms. Miller already has a Bachelor's degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
From the accounts I have read of this incident both Brock Turner and his "victim" were so drunk that neither of them could give consent. Both of them got drunk at a fraternity party. In California it is illegal to serve alcohol to anyone under the age of 21. Mr. Turner was 18. I wonder if other laws were violated when two such inebriated people left a party. In addition to the sex which occurred they could have been run over navigating the streets around Stanford. Shouldn't the fraternity which was responsible for the inebriation be held responsible to the rape which occurred?
17
"When I learned Ms. Miller is white and Chinese-American, I realized I’d first assumed that Emily Doe was white, a reminder of how often we internalize whiteness as a default in America. Ms. Miller is more than her racial identity alone, but the knowledge that she is Asian-American necessitates a new understanding of what she experienced and how she was perceived — as a woman of color, assaulted by a white man, trying to obtain justice in a courtroom presided over by a white male judge."
This above paragraph characterizes the victim as both white and a POC. Which is it?
Are we supposed to believe that an Asian American judge would have been more just? Maybe he would have favored the victim, just as you insinuate that the white judge favored the defendant for racial reasons.
""Internalize whiteness" is a nice woke phrase. But remember, you did the assuming here. You own it.
11
Not only did I assume Brock Turner assaulted a white woman, I also presumed Ms. Miller was tall, slender and blond. (I am none of the latter.)
I was stunned by the realization of my own bias.
10
White men of privilege commit sexual assaults. Non-white men of privilege commit sexual assaults. White and non-white men of no privilege commit sexual assaults. They also commit other violent and non-violent crimes. When the evidence is there, try them and sentence them, and treat the pauper as you would the king, and vice-versa, no matter their color. And realize we're going to need more prisons, not fewer.
5
I wrote about this case in June 2016 and how Turner's race was a determining factor in his light sentence. Despite centuries of documented sexual assaults against women of color, White men have rarely been held accountable for sexual violence.
I, like many advocates, assumed Emily Doe was White. We must definitely hold ourselves accountable for that "default" logic. However, the revelation of Miller's Asian-American ancestry makes all of the sense in the world. Of course his life and welfare was prioritized over hers. We have yet to come to a point in American culture where Asian & Asian-American women are seen as fully human rather than as objects.
This ordeal should give us all pause. We must reconcile the extensive history of White male violence in this country. Anything less leaves us all at risk.
40
Cut yourself some slack. Stanford has more white people than any other group so I dunno if it's defaulting so much as understanding.
If this happened at a community college outside Newark I doubt you'd be self-flagellating for "defaulting" to white, you'd still have guessed wrong but so what?
Courageous second step in stopping assault, victims speaking out. (Better than understandable wishing it never happened and trying to forget about it.)
Best, first step, continuous teaching children how to relate to others with respect, immediate consequences if not. If parents can't, teachers must, more important than essential math and reading.
4
"...a reminder of how often we internalize whiteness as a default in America." Actually, that should have been the first person singular: "a reminder of how often *I* internalize whiteness as a default in America." I did not assume she was white and there is no evidence anyone else did.
23
@TJ, Amen.
4
How do we resolve the tension between the progressive desire to decrease the prison population and the demand that men convicted of rape serve long sentences? The so-called victory of longer mandatory terms is exactly the strategy that resulted in a higher percentage of Americans in custody than anywhere else in the developed world. Ms. Ko's inclination to conflate her righteous anger with justice is exactly the attitude that got us in trouble in the first place.
14
@Mary, The means to reduce the prison population would involve nonviolent or victim- less crimes, not sexual assault.
5
@Mary are you serious? Are you really suggesting that we shouldn't have mandatory sentences for one of the worst crimes out there? You realize there are other crimes? Have you considered unnecessarily harsh sentences for African Americans as one area where we can reduce number of Americans in jail?
9
@Donna Mandatory sentences of any kind are a blunt and cruel instrument that has led to the ridiculous number of people locked up in your country. Sexual assaults, like virtually all crimes, occur on a wide spectrum of seriousness and harm. Judges should have the discretion to take that into account.
I’ll play devil’s advocate and interject by stating that many of Judge Perksy’s colleagues have come to his defense. According to his supporters he was following sentencing guidelines that are in line with the crimes committed and should not be based on the amount of public outrage. The real issue here is the letter of the law. Many calling for his recall were looking for blood.
26
@I Heart
Former judge Persky had a history of cutting generous plea bargains for Stanford athletes. He had little interest in the plight of the victim. In an interview before the recall, he stated that he would give the same sentence if he had to do it again. This man learned nothing from this case and in light of his interview, the next Stanford athlete would get the same lenient treatment. He deserved to be recalled. Women deserve better treatment from the criminal justice system and no woman would get it from Mr. Persky.
56
@Donna that’s exactly why he was voted out of his position .
7
@Donna and other judges will take note and give much harsher sentences for all crimes, more often to men of color. Facts and context won't matter because judges will fear a recall vote.
Is this really the justice you want?
Interesting reading Malcolm Gladwell in "Talking to Strangers" about this and similar meetings of strangers.
3
I read Chanel’s statement she read in the courtroom. It was utterly astounding and so profound. I discovered how much of me I let men own.
I am so grateful she has written a book about this life changing event. I sent my 40 year old daughter Chanel’s statement. Though my daughter is a fierce feminist, as a book editor, she appreciates the power of words.
Chanel, you truly opened my eyes. It’s never too late. I am 73.
41
What is the overarching issue here? Why do white men of privilege commit sexual assault? Where did they learn that it is acceptable to take advantage of a woman in a moment of vulnerability? Did our society implicitly teach them it is acceptable because they are privileged, that they are in some way above it all? Who taught them these values? Isn't that the crux of this horror that has been given the light of day by the #MeToo movement. Are men and women complicit in having gotten us to this point because we failed to teach our sons that women are to be respected at all times under all circumstances? These are important questions to address since punishment alone of those caught and convicted in a court of law will not solve this problem. Teaching universal respect for women will.
25
I would argue that it is in men’s most base nature to take advantage of a situation like this. He may or may not have been educated in this area by caring parents, but when an opportunity presented itself, he behaved based on thousands of years of instinct, not hundreds of years of modern values.
6
Your statement is a slap in the face to the many men who would not act on, “base nature,” in causing the male students who interrupted him.
8
@Donna Meyer "Why do white men of privilege commit sexual assault?" What an absurd statement. And I don't care what color you are -black, white, brown or something else - this is an incredibly racist statement which, by today's "woke" culture standards, makes you a racist
Or, did you mean to ask: Why do some men of all colors and races and nationalities commit sexual assault?
1
Ms. Miller should be commended for sharing her experience. White male privilege is real and needs to be called out in situations like this, but I would also recommend reading Malcom Gladwell’s account of this event in his brilliant new book, Talking to Strangers. The culture of excessive drinking on college campuses, among men and women, also comes into play with horrific results. This too needs a closer look because it is also a real problem.
20
I have three white sons who have born into incredible privilege. I am so grateful to Ms Miller for her courage and for the reminder that I will do everything in my power to raise boys who are the opposite of Brock Turner. Swimming and academic accolades are meaningless if your character is so shallow.
144
@Carrie You are a good mom. Those boys (and their future spouses) are fortunate.
6
It is infuriating that this sexual abuser was not given more time in prison. If he were anything but white and privileged, the sentence would have been far different.
I do want all women to know how to defend themselves, so that if they are attacked, they know where to hit and how to hurt their assailant. Wouldn't it be fitting if the next time Brock decides to attack a woman, he gets what he deserves? A real hard kick right where it will hurt the most.
The brave victim should know, she is deserving of far more from the justice system, and from society. Please do not feel invisible, but feel proud of yourself, always. Never let others make you feel less than them, and know that many people in the USA, including me, an old white woman, support you and want only the best for you in the future.
268
@LovesGermanShepherds: I agree with most of your comment. However, 'fighting back' can escalate the violence against the woman. Women need to be prepared to gouge out eyes or break a windpipe in order to get away from an assault. Few women are actually prepared to do that after decades of conditioning to be care-takers of men. I fear telling women to simply fight back gives a false sense of confidence that women can easily do that when the perpetrators are generally larger and stronger and more naturally violent and sadistic than the person they're attacking.
53
Fight back? This woman was passed-out drunk. That in no way excuses the perpetrator’s behavior, but had she not been unable to function, this surely would not have happened. It was a case of poor choices and unfortunately bad luck.
As for the “sentence” he was given, there are no words to describe the miscarriage of justice, and the judge can’t even claim it was because he was incapacitated by alcohol.
39
@LovesGermanShepherds
She was unconscious when she was attacked. I understand your sentiment but I think it's just the wrong argument in the wrong place.
27
One need only compare sentences. A successful white actor, Felicity Huffman, pleads guilty to fraud and bribery getting her child admitted to an elite college gets 14 days in jail and community service. A poor black woman, Tanya McDowell, gets five years in prison because she was homeless and lied about her place of residence so her child could attend a halfway decent public primary school.
So much for a post racial society.
320
@Mattfr, if you dig deeper, you'll see that the five years were also due to two drug convictions, the five years encompasses all three. Check out the details on Snopes.
25
@Mattfr your comment reminds me of Bonfire of the Vanities, where a black kid who's trying to rob a rich white man get hit by his car and dies.
In the press, the kid becomes progressively more saint-like to push the narrative of rich white vs. black poor.
Ms. McDowell had already been convicted of drug offences so the judge in her fraud case made her prison time concurrent with the existing sentence. He actually did her a favour by not adding any time on top the 5 years.
5
@Ron
Does it matter to you that someone with a drug problem, someone who may need treatment, gets to spend years in the slammer? That she was homeless and destitute, and tried to get some money via prostitution? When was the last time you saw a john doing any time at all for purchasing the services of a prostitute? Or a rich white kid doing time for using illegal drugs in the frat house? Or that Brock Turner's drug of choice was alcohol, which is legal? (After all, our newest Supreme Court "Justice" seems to have a drinking problem as well...)
8
This young lady went through a terrible ordeal, as a woman; not as an Asian-American woman. not as a white woman, not as a black or Hispanic woman. Does the racial angle really need to be raised??
Well, of course, it does. Race HAS to be discussed whenever and wherever possible.
The writer states, "The legal system, and institutions such as Ivy League universities, have historically been invested in protecting wealth, white supremacy and patriarchy."
Is that so?? Is that why more women than men are enrolled in our nation's colleges? Is that why they're filled with Asian-Americans, there because they deserve to be, independent of race.
The media's obsession with race-baiting stories, and the constant message that we white males are all hateful, misogynistic and racist does a lot more to divide this country than it does to bring us together.
74
Attributing an outcome to a historically entrenched system of white supremacy and patriarchy is not a de facto condemnation of all white men. Instead of being defensive, educate yourself by reading more widely and understanding that we are in a moment of social debate. It’s actually not about you.
15
The reason you will find more women in colleges is because many more women than men go on to higher education.
1
Why is it that nominal liberals love to talk about race and ethnicity, but run in horror at the mention of class?
Try telling the white woman in West Virginia who lost her husband and two brothers to opioids and is current choosing between insulin and food, that she's enjoying her "white privilege".
And then explain to her why she should vote for politicians who make that claim....
70
@jrd I'll tell you why liberals who love to talk about race and ethnicity run from any discussion of class: Because wealth (which is not exactly class, but highly correlated with it) can be shared, given away, equalized, whereas race, gender, and sexual orientation cannot. They don't want to walk the walk. Talking about class raises the question: Why not give up more of your wealth? Why not sacrifice the one form of privilege that is fluid? The wealthy don't want to face that question, so they run from any discussion of class, money, or wealth. I'm liberal, but I am constantly calling out the hypocrisy on the Left. There is nothing worse that virtue signalling liberals who pose as more "woke" than the rest of us while they continue to enjoy their wealth (or, in the case of many women in that position, their husband's earnings) and would never dream of actually sacrificing their cash advantage for anything but a better neighborhood and private schools.
45
@jrd . Irrelevant and incoherent comparisons. In W. VA they might have called that 'mixing apples and oranges'.
3
Privilege is not a guarantee. Privilege is that people with white skin don’t worry about dying when they get pulled over by police. Privilege is about deference at a restaurant or pharmacy, an assumption that of course you “belong.” Privilege is seeing yourself reflected in media, music, offices, courthouses. Privilege is never being the “token” and not being “other.” Privilege doesn’t mean that your life will be easy, that you will not suffer greatly. It doesn’t mean that working hard will result in a comfortable life. It just means that the reasons those things don’t happen isn’t because of your skin color or your gender.
Privilege is the absolute certainty that if a black or brown man had raped an intoxicated white Stanford undergrad that night, he would still be in jail.
13
What a remarkable, talented human being. Her work will help so many others heal from their traumas. Her talent in voicing feelings and concepts that are very difficult to put into words will validate countless people. Thank you Chanel Miller.
16
@Natalie she maybe those things but when she is hiding and denying the other half of her ancestry (White) then she isn't the smart and talented woman she seems to be.
2
Maybe she grew closer to get Chinese heritage? I'm half white but grew up in the South of Texas close to my Mexican background. I don't deny I'm white but it's not the culture I grew up or identify with.
Young people go to frat parties half not knowing the possible consequences of their actions and intent. It's her choice to make her life public. It's her choice to make money out of her book. It's his choice to succumb to his id. It's all about choices. Don't equate everything with race.
22
@Pierre Dupin She's very intelligent and expressive, and was not very young when this happened. Am amazed that she got falling down drunk at a frat party. That's more typical of a younger, less learned person.
3
The outcome of his trial seems tied to his race not his rapacious actions.
2
@Pierre Dupin, it was not her choice to be sexually assaulted.
I'm always amazed by commenters who think sexual assault victims come forward easily, that a book compensates for the attacks she faces from those who don't know any better.
She is reclaiming her own dignity and independence from her abuser. She is not recounting her experience for public titillation. This is an incredible act of courage.
4
There's no indication that Emma Sulkowicz was actually victimized, and some evidence it was unlikely. But there's plenty of proof she and her advisor ran another student out of a major university, simply to benefit from the PR involved in doing so.
The university wisely paid him off to drop his suit, asking no admission of guilt. The Times could at least refrain from implying he is guilty.
27
Ms. Miller is a gifted writer. Watching the interview on 60 MINUTES Sunday, I turned to my granddaughter and said, “Your writing ability can be your weapon.” I feel hopeless and angry regarding my beautiful, bright, creative granddaughters chances of being raped in their lifetimes. This granddaughter has admitted to me her deep anxiety regarding adulthood. She is not alone. We vilify rape victims. We vilify young climate activists. We treat the Parkland survivors as if they are mere children, too young to have a response even though they were victimized. Frankly, our whole country needs an overhaul. Young women and emerging, feminist young men are our future. We are upside down, driven by corporate greed and denial. And entitled white males.
41
@GGram, Interesting that your reaction is so different than mine. I have not read her book, but I saw the interview. I was not impressed. I thought her demeanor and delivery was disturbing. She spoke almost as if she were medicated. I thought 60 Minutes did her a disservice, in that regard, with the way she was filmed.
While I am 100 percent in Miller’s corner on this (I have been assaulted myself), I am uncomfortable with the way she has used this to launch a career. It’s a strange choice.
13
Has Brock Turner ever APOLOGIZED?
Has Brock Turner admitted fault for violating another human, for committing an unprovoked act of violence and brutality on a defenseless individual, of willfully and consciously inflicting pain and humiliation on a woman?
I agree that Ms. Miller is not 'his victim', but Brock Turner is her 'brutalizer.
Brock Turner has a earned a lifetime of being known, being visible, of standing in public view - his employers, his friends, his girlfriends and wives, his mother, sisters and daughters, his children's teachers and other parents in his children's schools, at family reunions, in class, in the office, in the mens room, on back-to-school night, in the grocery store, going through airport security - we all need to know, be reminded of, look at him with that knowing look of repulsed recognition, and call him by his name, now and forever.
BROCK TURNER - remember his name!
Call him by his name!
109
@organic farmer
How difficult will it be to change his name? I for one will never forget what his face looks like.
2
@organic farmer isn't that the real punishment. Say he'd spent 5 years in prison. When out he'll still be a registered sex offender with limited options in life. Can't live in many places, few employers will hire him, can't get an education.
Murderers have it better after serving their time.
3
Hearing from Ms Miller was moving beyond words. I deeply admire her courage. Her descriptions were plain and to the point and I cried as I think many many people did.
Yes, her heritage is important, this is an intrinsic part of the lens of her experience and the Asian identity from which she experiences her life. I have been fortunate to spend long periods of time in South East Asia. There is a pride and discipline that is remarkable in the culture. Ms Miller has this way of conveying her experience with out ever feeling self pity. She has the ability to transcend self and her compassion for her own life is extraordinary and moving. Because of her compassion, she made profound changes in the laws. I am grateful for her voice.
24
I was told by the DA at the time "Who is the jury going to believe? A group of boys from good families or a little black girl from the projects". Those words will haunt me until the day I die. I was 13 at the time. I am now 53. It is unfathomable to me that this still goes on. Kudos to Ms. Miller for being so brave, much braver than I will ever be.
1283
@Zoenzo
This country is founded on racism ,implements racist policies, promotes whiteness every chance it gets.
The instruments of justice only provides justice for white people, and is extremely talented in providing no justice for anyone who is not privileged.
With that being stated we need to continue to fight for justice and never give up. You are brave in your own way, bravery is different for each of us. Be proud that you reclaimed your life, despite the assault and indifference of the police. You had the courage to not let this horrific experience define you . Continue to be strong, You walk with the angels.
There will be justice for you
93
@Zoenzo My first instinct, on reading this, is to argue that you are brave simply for surviving in a world in which acts of systemic and individual violence against Black girls and women are endemic, and carried out with impunity by criminals upheld by white supremacy and patriarchy. But who decided (me?) that it was your job to be brave? Whether you are brave, or good, or strong, or smart, or any of the things we all want to be, you are human and deserve respect and safety, and I'm sorry that such brutal efforts were made to convince you otherwise.
140
@Zoenzo:
I am so sorry that happened to you.
And in this case, has Turner been black and his victim white, we all know Turner would have had the book thrown at him. These racial disparities are so disheartening.
155
Actually, it doesn't really matter that she is Asian.
64
Well, it apparently doesn’t matter to you, but it does add context to the appallingly light sentence that Mr. Turner received for committing three violent felonies. If the victim had been a affluent white girl his sentence might have been much harsher.
36
@Melanie Unfortunately, it does. It reflects in the punishment of the privileged class - in this case, Brock Turner's. He got little or no time, perhaps BECAUSE she was not white.
27
Might have been.
Male violence against women and against men is a plague
35
@No name
Absolutely. Futa should be the future.
Unlike the author of this NYT article, I don't internalize whiteness perhaps because I wasn't born and raised here, however, I too was surprised to find out that Emily Doe is not white. I couldn't help but wonder if the amount of outrage would have been the same or that Aaron Persky would have been successfully recalled by the voters if they all knew that the Emily Doe is a woman of color.
10
@Cristina Pocket Aces:
If the victim had been known to be non white, I think the outrage would have been even greater, to be honest, it would have been seen as both class and race privilege if Persky had given an ultralight sentence to Turner.
One thing I can tell you for certain, if the kid who perpetrated this had been a black or hispanic kid, someone from the wrong side of the tracks or a Stanford student, they would have been handed down a lot more than a 6 month sentence.
Privilege obviously isn't always based on race, just think of Florida State or Michigan State where players, white and non white, committed horrible offenses, and because they were football players and hotshots at hotshot schools, the schools and the cops covered up the crimes....but with Brock Turner it was a classic case of privilege, an upper class white boy who was athlete to boot, in front of a judge who worshipped power and privilege. To be honest, I don't think the girl being Asian had anything to do with the lenient penalty given Brock Turner, I think it had to do with class privilege along with being white and male, had she been white he would have gotten off the same way, I can almost guarantee you that.
9
@music observer . I appreciate your comment but I think you missed my point. My point was not about the lenient sentencing. It was about the outrage that was shown to recall the while male Judge. Did you know how many votes needed to be collected within a short period of time in order to successfully kick him off the bench? I had doubts that the recall would have been done successfully, if at all, if everyone knew from the get go that she wasn't white.
4
@Cristina Pocket Aces
Really? You don't think this judge would have been recalled even in S.F.? I never considered her ethnic background at all and was not surprised either way
And doesn't the term People of Color make white people "The Other"?
2
Ms Miller is a strong woman and I wish her the best future and to heal as much as possible.
Brock Turner’s name should forever be linked to the word RAPIST
28
“Between 21 and 55 percent.” Shocking.
4
*sigh* You forgot the end of that line, “with rates varying based on ethnicity.” You know, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean... But go ahead and lump them all together, because, you know, they all look alike... /s/
1
A rare case where the guardian of elitist, white male privilege-Judge Persky -paid the price for his ridiculously lenient sentece. Here's hoping it's not a one off.
23
@Plainsman "The Santa Clara County Bar Association and public defenders defended Persky, saying that the sentence was based upon the probation report as well as being consistent with similar cases, and stated that his removal would be a "threat to judicial independence". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_v._Turner
So much for judicial independence.
10
"a reminder of how often we internalize whiteness as a default in America" from the article
It's great that further examination of this case is ongoing. However,I'm uneasy about the author's facile racial 'victimization' theme.
For instance, here in Washington DC most violent crimes are committed by blacks* but we only "internalize whiteness as a default" because the race of the offenders and victims is almost never reported. From reading the crime news here you would never know the racial make-up of either the victims or the perps unless you saw the mug shots.
*https://mpdc.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mpdc/publication/attachments/homicidereport_0.pdf (see p. 10)
8
@Stanley Gomez
I think you missed the point about internalized whiteness. To be blunt, reading the account in the paper, where the victims race was not known, and it being at Stanford, I can guarantee you a lot of people assumed the victim was white, that the horrible act must have happened against a white women.
The other side of this, quite frankly, that because Brock Turner was a white, upper class, Stanford student, the judge and a lot of other people seemed to assume this was a good kid who made a mistake; if it had been a 20 year old black kid with a rough background, they would automatically assume he was a thug.
And oh, yeah, when you talk about minorities and rape, a lot of white people assume that the victims are overwhelmingly white, when most white women who get raped are raped by men they know or are similar to them, ie white. Non white women are a lot more likely to be raped than white women but they aren't reported, and part of that is a lot of law enforcement treats non white victims as less important, a statistic.
2
White guy: "But I never raped anyone."
Me: "That doesn't mean that others don't."
White guy: "But I'm not a racist."
Me: "Just because you personally didn't lynch anyone doesn't mean that it didn't happen a lot."
White guy: "But why am I being lumped in with the others."
Me: "Life isn't fair. How do I know you're not like them. Take this opportunity to check your bros. Practice enlightened self-interest and stop other men from besmirching your good name."
20
I'm confused by this...if "life isn't fair," is it wrong to demand fairness or not? Or is it only wrong for some people?
"...Mr. Turner’s father arguing that his son’s life was ruined by “20 minutes of action”..."
A nice demonstration of the heritability of privilege and entitlement. Perhaps the father also ought to experience some mandated consequences, like atttending a group for male sexual offenders, or enrolling in a self-financed academic program studying sexism, racism, and multiculturalism.
39
I find it amazing that in your zeal to complain about the stereotyping of Asian-Americans, you resort to stereotyping Asian-Americans. Group victimhood and group blame is the essence of bigotry and it ought to stop.
P.S. My maternal grandparents were born in Shanghai, but I have never put myself in the group "white and Asian-American," whatever that is.
41
I don't care about the ethnicity of the accuser or the defendant. I don't care about gender, financial status, or any demographic that either falls under. It's not easy but we as onlookers have to think less with our hearts and more with our minds.
The victim reported the crime. There was an arrest and an investigation. The defendant was convicted of three felonies after a trial. The sentencing guidelines called for six months in jail. The judge followed the guidelines. Our imperfect system worked, whether we like it or not.
Was it fair? Each one of us gets to decide that for ourselves. How we move forward is a reflection of who we are as a society: hypocrites who just want to get our way or reasonable people who understand that blind justice doesn't always see things the way that we do.
20
@Angieps - Good, thoughtful post. Was once involved with the legal system (I refuse to call it the justice system) myself. While my story had a happy ending, it did open my eyes to its many imperfections.
2
@Angieps - One of the many things that I got out of the experience was that the system seems to be set up so that everybody gets a cut. While the case against me was easily dismissed (my attorney literally laughed at it), there should have been no case to begin with. But then, what would all those court employees have to do to keep their jobs? Nothing to type, nothing to mail or file. BTW - I do NOT blame those employees, but I do blame the system.
@Angieps
You are wrong. The sentencing guideline gave judges at the time discretion on sentencing, and the 6 months was I believe the minimum the judge could give. What you and your buddy below who responded leave out, is that the DA's office submitted a sentencing request that would have required a sentence of several years and the probation department likewise recommended a several year sentence, and the judge went against both of them. I don't know where you got this idea that the judge was following sentencing guidelines, he basically gave the kid the minimum penalty allowed under the law, he wasn't forced to give 6 months, he wasn't told to give him 6 months by the probation department and the DA didn't ask for 6 months, that all came out of Persky's idea that the kid was some sort of angel who had made a 'little' mistake.
And if you believe that if a black or hispanic kid had done this that Persky wouldn't have given them the max, you really live in a dream world. It wasn't entirely Persky's own fault, the fact that the law allowed such a low sentence for rape also shows the bias in the system, the lawmakers who made those rules probably envisioned that a 'good kid' would "make a mistake' and put that loophole in there to protect 'good kids' in the first place.
8
Thank you for speaking for all of us, Chanel, for creating that empty space where I could find myself in your eloquent, outraged words, and then for letting us know you. I was first molested at age ten, many decades ago, when there was no recourse but shame and silence.
222
One of the unusual things about this story is how this rape was discovered and the perpetrator caught. Two Swedish men, students saw it and were so appalled they caught him and called the police. What does it say about our culture and its history of misogyny? I wonder if they had been two Stanford American male students if they would have acted or turned a blind eye? I admire Chanel Miller's courage, and her generosity to all victims of sexual assault. Thank you and thank you to the young men who saw this and treated it as the horrible crime it was.
187
@Minerva19: The Swedish men should have given him a beating! Perhaps Brock Turner should start looking over his shoulder from now on....
1
I'd like to see a lot of discussion of The Justice for All Act of 2004. The law provides that crime victims can get a court hearing even if there is no active prosecution and it provides rights for crime victims. It includes "(6) The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law." I don't know about the statute of limitations issues but I would have thought she could have sued him for a lot. I don't think he could have avoided paying by declaring bankruptcy. Why didn't she sue him? Can she still?
1
@Kay Sieverding
Let's apply this to the Cornell arson murders of 1967, nine premeditated murders. Reported in great detail by the NYT Magazine recently. The dead cannot demand a hearing, but their survivors and the injured can.
The probable culprit is known.
2
I, along with other survivors, quietly or passionately applaud Ms Miller. I look forward to reading her book because I constantly seek wisdom and understanding from those I know share the experience of putting themselves back together again after such violate betrayals. Throughout history there have been writers, artists, whose works convey something of the feeling, of the time and work it takes to find peace. I'm grateful we live in a time where the experience of healing from sexual assault is beginning to no longer be a shame the survivor has to bear in silence, and that roadmaps home (to self) are beginning to be discussed and worked on collaboratively and more openly. It can only be to our benefit.
7
@jonjad28
Also, to all: The Violence Against Women Act hasn't yet been reauthorized by the Senate. Stay on top of it! <3
3
I am speechless. I am hurt. I am angry. When do we as a society stop violence against women?
15
@Mary
One of the ways to respond is that women report these horrible crimes to law enforcement as opposed to calling Sports Illustrated.
3
@Shamrock
Many of the victims did, and law enforcement basically did little to nothing. Do some reading on Florida State or Michigan State and how the police forces there basically snowed over any complaints against athletes, read up on Jameis Winston and how they worked with the atheltic department there to cover up what he did and did a half baked job when it was finally forced into the open. People reported it to Sports Illustrated because they figured they had a better chance of getting action then reporting it to the likes of the Tallahassee police department or the Gainesville Police department or the Norman Oklahoma police department....and how come none of the law enforcement people behind these coverups have been charged with aiding and abetting a crime?
Want to stop violence against women? Make clear that anyone who commits violence against women will be investigated, charged, brought to trial and sent to jail, and anyone, whether it is university officials, police, da's, whoever, who covers up crimes like this will be criminally charged with covering up a felony, and the school will face sanctions the way Penn State did and other schools should of. Want to see big time sports programs stop covering when players commit assault? Give them the death penalty and hit them with $$$$$$, want to see them suddenly become zero tolerance?
4
Sexual assault is about power. It has nothing to do with the clothing or actions of the victim. It has everything to do with the actions of the perpetrator. It is the only crime in which the victim is blamed until proven innocent and even then she (because the vast majority are female) will be marginalized.
Imagine a man being robbed of his expensive watch. Now imagine the interrogation of the woman robbed of her being.
Police: Why did you wear such an expensive watch out in public? Were you trying to get robbed? Had you been drinking? What drugs did you take? Were you alone? Where did you get such an expensive watch? How can you afford it? What did you do for it?
It's about power and not sex. It is about a human being deciding he wants something that is not his and taking it by force whether it's an expensive watch or a woman's body. While not equating a watch to a woman's body, it's the treatment of the victims that needs to be equalized. The vast majority of sexual assault victims do not come forward. How much longer are we going to tolerate re-victimization?
53
its about certain guys using their greater strength to get what they want: if he wants your expensive watch he'll rob you to get it-but it doesnt follow that the robbery was about power-in itself,its just the means,the tool etc-same for the case of rape;men dont rape women to demonstrate power,no more then they rob to show power-but they USE greater physical power to get what they want &, in the case of rape,what these men want is instant gratification of perverse & intense sexual desires
Oh my. Where to start? Ms. Ko would have us believe that Ms. Miller's experience within our legal system was somehow more challenging and harmful because she is half Chinese than if she was simply white. Yet the facts do not support this. Her treatment as the victim in this case had nothing to do with her family tree. In fact, no one knew her racial identity until recently. And Mr. Turner's light sentence, whether a result of white privilege or just poor legal analysis by the judge, again, has nothing to do with Ms. Ko's race.
Next, Ms. Ko makes this bold statement:
"The legal system, and institutions such as Ivy League universities, have historically been invested in protecting wealth, white supremacy and patriarchy."
This is unmitigated slander, with zero supporting facts. It's exactly the kind of stereotyping - applying a sweeping base negative paradigm to a group - that folks like Ms. Ko rail against when it suits them.
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@John
Wait a minute! The judge and law enforcement knew her race. John, is it just a little possible that this knowledge influenced his decision?
22
@John the judge who sentenced Brock knew the victim from court proceedings.
17
@John
"Her treatment as the victim in this case had nothing to do with her family tree. In fact, no one knew her racial identity until recently."
Nonsense. The judge who imposed the grossly wrong penalty was certainly aware of the race, gender and class of the perpetrator and victim. He made that clear in his own comments during the trial which centered on the race, gender, class and lost opportunities of the perpetrator but ignored all of that for the victim.
30
Where is Malcolm Gladwell on this thread? I hope he reads this and sees all the new variables being presented in addition to the ones he has willfully chosen to ignore for his new book. Ms.Miller continues to stand up to bullies such as Gladwell and assert herself with a grace that Gladwell will never know for himself.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Ms.Miller for creating this space for survivors and the people that love them.
21
I want to thank Ms. Miller also for going public. Like the author, my first impression was not that the victim was Asian-American, despite knowing that rape/ sexual assault/ abuse happens to everyone. I think her coming forward will make other Asian-American women and men who suffer from such crimes feel less alone and able to come forward.
26
Stanford itself is a perfect picture of what the brave and brilliant Ms. Miller confronted. All other things the same, an Asian-American applicant (not Asian but rather Asian-American) is at least six times less likely to be admitted than the equivalent white applicant. Like Harvard and most other selective universities, Stanford uses racial quotas to exclude Asian-Americans. Stanford refers to Asian-American applicants using racial stereotypes. At Stanford legacy applicants are four times as likely to be admitted as non-legacy applicants. Numerous back doors (legal or merely immoral and unethical) benefit mostly white wealthy applicants. The perpetrator of the crime who was a Stanford student, his family, and the judge who was a Stanford graduate spoke and acted in a manner that was wholly consistent with this regime of gross entitlement, blatant racism and fundamental unfairness.
40
@Robert And how much more likely would a black student with much lower qualifications than either group be admitted?
@John J.
I believe there is no conflict here between, on the one hand, well-justified affirmative action and, on the other hand, getting rid of the Asian-American quotas. These schools once all had Jewish quotas and those are now gone because they were transparently anti-Semitic. The seats that Asian-Americans deserve on the merits are at present going almost entirely to less qualified rich white applicants. That is in line with what we know to be the general trend over the past three decades, namely, that rich students are taking the seats that middle class students once had. At Stanford and other such schools, more students now come from the top 1% of the richest families than from the bottom 60% of families by wealth. That said, on average, at such schools it is still the case that some groups have never had a fair and equitable share of the seats, e.g., black Americans or working class Americans.
Last week, Susan Collins was crying crocodile tears for the Supreme Court newest judge. How sad that women were still coming after this dedicated public servant with their accusations, oh my. she had no tears for the women who had been his victims because she as a white woman is also privileged that is why it is easy for her to vote the way the serial abuser tells her how she better vote.
White male privilege is in our face every minute every day. California seems to have specific judges who will become pretzels not to hurt the outstanding opportunities that these privileged children are entitled . There happiness is the only thing that matters no matter how horrific their crime is.
I watched this composed, strong young woman on 60 Minutes the other night . I so remember her impact statement as if I heard it an hour ago when she originally delivered it.
Everyone in this country is disposable except the privileged white male We see it being played out all around us decade, after decade. Their needs, their feelings. We see how no one stopped Mr. Epstein, no matter what he did. Its everyone else's fault never the white men.
I hope with the writing of the book, talking will continue to provide healing. So many people have been destroyed by our justice system. Elected officials just want to protect the elites. Let us all work together to bring forth our humanity, be there for these women who have been assaulted because it could be our own child
26
@Tony
It is a sad testament to our society that some of the biggest defenders of white, male privilege are women who have been the victims of discrimination and worse perpetrated by white men.
2
@DLM, what about the moral decency of NOT taking advantage of who is drunk? i have the moral decency to not give bad refrigerator food to the homeless, not tip lower the waitress who is tired and sick and still had to come to work, not let my drunk friend drive, not give wrong instructions to the hopelessly lost driver on my street. That is called humanity.
85
@Pompom
As I understand it, both parties were blind drunk. I don’t believe that Turner was even capable of discerning that Miller was too drunk for legal consent. This to me is less about male privilege, more about an opportunity to discuss how great a danger irresponsible drinking can be to all involved. Ms. Miller would do a great service to other women by warning against allowing themselves to be put in such a vulnerable position. Is that a pc statement? Probably not, but it’s a stone cold truth nonetheless.
4
Thank you. And think of the film, Wind River.
4
As an Asian American, I've not found my outrage towards the justice system in this case enhanced or diminished with the added "specificity" that the victim happened to be Asian. Honestly, it adds nothing to my reaction...which is horror that a privileged individual can get away with such a heinous act.
365
@Roger
Not sure your comment jives with the facts or what Ms. Ko describes here. Says this member of an Asian-American family. Ko writes convincingly that the entitlement of the perpetrator of the sexual assault--a white male Stanford student--and the grossly insufficient sentence imposed by the judge--a white male Stanford graduate--were not only a direct consequence of the privilege associated with the race, gender and class of the perpetrator but also a direct consequence of the race and gender of the victim. Stanford in and of itself embodies the same inequity. All other things the same, an Asian-American applicant is at least six times less likely to be admitted than the equivalent white applicant. The causes of that inequity include racial quotas, racial stereotypes, legacy admissions (which favor mostly white wealthy applicants) and back doors, illegal or merely unethical (which also mostly favor white wealthy applicants).
27
@Robert I'm surprised you're upset at someone, who also happens to be Asian-American, who is simply saying that the specifics of identity don't add to the horror that person already felt about it, which seems to be tremendous.
18
@Sm
Not upset at Roger. I can see where you're coming from though. Roger says he is not more or less outraged at the justice system, after learning the about the identity of the victim. I myself however found the situation even less tenable. I am in agreement with Ms. Ko here. Given the statements and actions of the perpetrator, his family and the judge, the identity of the victim did meant that she did not receive the justice she deserved.
13
While Mr. Turner is certainly the beneficiary of white male upper class privilege, I wonder if the punishment would have been so lenient had Ms. Miller been a white fellow Stanford student.
What concerns me most is that when authorities turn a blind eye to certain classes of women, they essentially declare open season on them. 'Feel free to do what you want to her--there will be no consequences.'
The dignity of all women rests on how well we (men and women) protect the most oppressed.
87
Who gets to have a future? This trauma brings to light the messed up way Americans think of the future as a divine or "natural" right.
In this case, the Stanford guy fits the Leland Stanford narrative: the baron who built the continental railroad and was at the ceremony that drove the golden spike completing one phase of Manifest Destiny, and the attendant "rape" of native lands.
The Stanford "boy" also gets to drive the spike, and still gets to manifest his destiny. But who laid the track?
The metaphors in this reveal the privilege that comes with the Stanford branding, show us that a dark history is still alive in this trauma, and frame the intense courage of Ms. Miller to shape her destiny.
She's beautifully claiming her future.
34
What’s usually omitted from the analysis of this case is that the probation department recommended a six-month sentence. Judges routinely follow the recommendations of probation at sentencing. In this car, that routine practice proved fatal to his career.
By all accounts, Judge Persky was a good, fair judge and was well liked by the criminal defense bar. So, while I understand the perception that a six-month sentence is light, the defendant in this case was not going to go to prison on these facts. Furthermore, he does have to register as a sex offender. I don’t think removing Judge Persky from the bench was the right response, at all.
33
@Jesse Adams Gosh, you make it sound like judge Persky is incapable of making a decision for himself or being able to recognize injustice when he sees it. I tend to agree with you...in which case he’s not fit to be a judge and was rightfully voted out of his position.
11
I remember the day Ms. Miller's statement was released - it tore through our dorm like wildfire, a maelstrom of rage, indignation, disbelief and empathy for what she endured.
I suppose that, like Ms. Ko, I initially assumed Ms. Miller was white (since whites make up the majority, why wouldn't I?), though to be honest I don't recall wondering about her ethnicity. It didn't seem important - she was a woman who was subjected to an attack no woman deserves but far too many experience, to say nothing of the treatment she received afterward. I'm still not sure how important her ethnicity is. What matters most is the crime, her treatment, her stand against it. At least, that's how I see it - I've never been subjected to anything like what she endured and pray I never will be.
I haven't read her memoir (though I intend to!), but from what Ms. Ko reports here, I suspect she and I have had very different experiences. I would never say I feel unseen or unknown. I'm all too aware of the fetishization and have certainly heard my share of crude remarks. To my mind, those things are not my problem; they're the problem of the person repeating them, perpetrating them.
The quote in the final paragraph says it perfectly, that Ms. Miller is not Brock Turner's anything. She doesn't define herself by him, by the crime, by anything he (or they) have said or done. None of us should.
22
glad you said you assumed the victem was white due to the odds & not due to "internalizing whitness"--good god
1
God bless you for your courage and strength. May you always be blessed. May justice prevail.
16
Thank you to Ms Miller for her courage and her voice.
Thank you to the author of this piece for writing it.
23
Wow. What a thorough and well written article. Thank you for centering her and informing us of her book. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness in discussing so many important elements of social justice in this piece!
21
“Ms. Miller takes control of the narrative on her own terms and opens up more space for others who choose to do so.”
She takes control of the narrative. Good for you Ms. Miller. I am applauding you.
37
I wonder whether the fact that Ms. Miller was not a Stanford student played an equally significant how the judge decided to sentence Mr. Turner, and Brock Turner's behavior towards her. A different form of class distinction and discrimination, but a form of class distinction and discrimination none the less.
280
@Elizabeth As Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw taught us (1993), it is often the "intersectionality" that matters.
10
Good point. I’ve wondered the same. I think it would have made a great difference in the judge’s mind at least. As an Asian American woman, I am always amused (and frankly, disgusted) at how differently I am treated when people find out which universities I’ve attended. Suddenly I’m someone worth acknowledging.
19
@Elizabeth Valid question.
6
When I saw her picture in the article about her memoir yesterday, she just looked like some generic young American woman. I didn't think about her race -- just that she was denied justice by a judge who eventually got his due. It's too bad that after reading this I now have to put her in a special intersectional victim box.
82
@JS I'm supposing you're not Asian-American or have many Asian-American friends? Because I knew instantly when I first saw her she was part Asian (because I am), just like I can usually guess with many people I meet. That's not your fault as I'm sure I'm not as good judging people coming from other backgrounds.
It's not a special box anyone wants to belong to but the truth of the matter is people who are not white often don't get treated the same as ostensibly white people, whether the person is a plaintiff or the defendent, in legal situations. This is not opinion: there are reams of data on this topic.
32
@JS
It's not "putting her in a special intersectional victim box", it's opening the field of view further to consider how race AND gender show up in the justice system, and inform public health, et cetera. Isn't that the article author's point? To reflect for a moment on the cultural and historical factors that have made it seemingly statistically less likely for a young person with a similar background to Ms Millers coming forward? Naming identities doesn't limit a person's humanity, it invites reflection on how we interact with one another, and why. In the pursuit of a world where consent is a universal practice, it's worth the time IMO.
17
@ms my wife is east asian, my kids are biracial and I’ve lived in asia for 10 years. I don’t disagree that people treat others differently depending on their perceptions. However, focusing on racial delineations only perpetuates racial delineations.
3
What did Chanel think was an appropriate sentence for Brock Turner? Is she arguing that long sentences should be imposed on both first time offender from an underprivileged background and Turner, or that Turner and an underprivileged offender should both receive a light sentence?
I get she wants them sentenced equally, but which sentence - the long or the short one?
I have heard defense attorney's criticizing the recall of Judge Persky since it now makes it more likely that judges will impose the maximum sentences to avoid criticism.
A judge should weigh the circumstances of a case and have latitude in sentencing. Mandatory sentences have a bad history, as they tie a judges hand.
36
@James I won't presume to speak for Ms Miller, but what I want is this: I'd like to see convicted rapists get sentenced in accordance with what they've done, rather than see their sentences reduced by any aspect of their identity. Judges have had the discretion you believe they ought to have, have had it all this time, and have misused it to excuse the crimes of some defendants, inappropriately, in my view. If the result of Judge Persky's recall is to increase the likelihood that convicted rapists get sentences closer to the maximum allowed, and to decrease the likelihood that they get sentences so light as to serve as an additional injury to the victim, I'm fine with that. This pendulum has got plenty of room to swing the other way before we need to worry about rapists being treated unjustly.
26
@Dawn Helene
I might want to remind you that Brock Turner was not convicted of rape. That always gets overlooked in all of this. While Ms. Miller brings up a good point about privilege and the severity of sentencing, so does James. Our justice system is based on fairness, but none of us were in the court room. Privilege buys fairness that poorer defendants do not have access to -- the ability to provide experts and witnesses, not to mention adequate legal representation that can only money can buy. I have no opinion about Brock Turner, one way or another, we all know her much better than we know him.
6
@Dawn Helene Your comment reveals a lot of the problem. You called him an convicted rapist, but the 2 rape charges were dropped by the prosecutor. So, expecting the Brock Turner to have received the same sentence as a convicted rapist isn't a fair expectation.
Unfortunately, that is how the legal system works. Maybe the misperception about what was alleged vs what was charged fueled some of the outrage. He was convicted of felony sexual assault, not rape.
Whatever changes are made to ensure that another Brock Turner doesn't get away will be effect 100 underprivileged defendants for every 1 person of means.
The sentence was in line with the probation report and similar cases. And there is a lifetime predator registration requirement, potentially the most consequential part of the sentence. Throwing out the judge in this case was likely short-sighted and will effect more than rape cases, as few judges will want to risk their job by applying leniency to a convicted robber, car thief, or other non-sexual crime.
6
Thank you Ms. Miller for coming forward. You speak for me, and I appreciate your identifying yourself. I know this hasn't been easy but know that you are not alone. I hope that my granddaughters will someday be astonished at what women had to deal with when they accused men of rape.
67
grateful for Ms. Miller's courage in speaking up, and for this profile. hopefully all of us, including myself, can overcome our stereotypes and see each person as a human first and foremost.
40
@Tamarine Hautmarche This is not a profile (it is an opinion piece).
2
I remember reading Ms. Miller's victim impact statement. It was just a few months after my own sexual assault hearing after I had reported to my university. The line "he bought me a ticket to a planet where I lived alone" put into words something I had been experiencing for ages at that point. I'm proud of her for going public and I hope she knows that by making that statement, she made me feel less alone on that little planet I was stuck on. Thank you Chanel.
405
Yup. Elite white male privilege. There it is, right there, in all its hideous glory. Ms. Miller was right to hide her race, and right to point out that the offender would have fared much differently if he had been from a different race or economic stratum.
591
@Metastasis, we recalled the judge. There will be more to follow if the judiciary doesn't heed that message.
16
@Metastasis If the defendant had been left to a public defender, rather than a high priced defense attorney, the outcome would have been different, regardless of his race. Unfortunately, it is money, rather than race, that is the deciding factor.
11
@CDN please stop perpetuating ignorant stereotypes about public defenders. They are often the best-qualified and most dedicated lawyers money can’t buy. As an attorney who does ineffective assistance of counsel cases, I can assure you that big-name lawyers are often not worth the price.
7
"We’ve also been found to report rape and other forms of sexual violence less frequently than women of other races. "
I'm not trying to downplay your interest or the overall concern about sexual assault as it affects Asian-American women, but you misrepresented the linked article's data with the above quote. The study reports that Asian-American women experience the lowest prevalence of rape/assault compared to American Indians, African Americans and Whites. That is, they have the lowest prevalence of rape by self-reporting of racial groups in America.
This is very different than Asian-Americans having the lowest "willingness to report having been raped if perceived as having been raped," to paraphrase what you've presented in your article. This is not a conclusion of the study.
Your assertion may be correct (the number of Asian Americans respondents to the survey was low), but there is absolutely no data to support what you present in the article either.
Nonetheless, thanks for your perspective on this matter.
124
@Doc It's possible the author has more data but given the focus of the article and any NY Times limits (I've published elsewhere and there are restrictions like word counts), she might have omitted them.
I can tell you as an Asian-American MD who also has family members working in the psychology and psychiatry fields that our experience is consistent with her conclusion. They may discuss it with us but not necessarily report it to the police.
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@Doc The study in fact concludes "Asian/Pacific Islander women were least likely to report rape and physical assault victimization," which to me lines up pretty well with Ko's statement.
That said, the study is 20 years old (nothing newer?) and itself makes the distinction you draw: "More research is needed to determine how much of the difference can be explained by the respondent’s willingness to report information to interviewers and how much by social, demographic, and environmental factors."
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@ms Anything's possible...but if that's the case that data should be cited instead. Respectfully, in an era when scientific data is ignored or, even worse, manipulated for personal gains by press and politicians alike, the integrity of scientific conclusions have never been more important.
I can tell you as an MD working in behavioral health I've seen marked reluctance to report rape among my female (and male) patients, but I cannot anecdotally say one race is more dis-inclined to do so than the other. And, respectfully and as a colleague in science, I assert neither can you.
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Ms. Miller's interview on 60 Minutes last Sunday was was so riveting and breathtaking. It actually brought tears to my eyes. What an amazing and brave woman!
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