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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRead Joe Biden's Open Letter to the Stanford Survivor of Sexual Assault
An Open Letter to a Courageous Young WomanI do not know your namebut your words are forever seared on my soul. Words that should be required reading for men and women of all ages.
Words that I wish with all of my heart you never had to write.
I am in awe of your courage for speaking outfor so clearly naming the wrongs that were done to you and so passionately asserting your equal claim to human dignity.
And I am filled with furious angerboth that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth.
It must have been wrenchingto relive what he did to you all over again. But you did it anyway, in the hope that your strength might prevent this crime from happening to someone else. Your bravery is breathtaking.
You are a warriorwith a solid steel spine.
I do not know your namebut I know that a lot of people failed you that terrible January night and in the months that followed.
Anyone at that party who saw that you were incapacitated yet looked the other way and did not offer assistance. Anyone who dismissed what happened to you as just another crazy night. Anyone who asked what did you expect would happen when you drank that much? or thought you must have brought it on yourself.
You were failed by a culture on our college campuses where one in five women is sexually assaultedyear after year after year. A culture that promotes passivity. That encourages young men and women on campuses to simply turn a blind eye.
The statistics on college sexual assault havent gone down in the past two decades. Its obscene, and its a failure that lies at all our feet.
And you were failed by anyone who dared to question this one clear and simple truth: Sex without consent is rape. Period. It is a crime.
I do not know your namebut thanks to you, I know that heroes ride bicycles.
Those two men who saw what was happening to youwho took it upon themselves to step inthey did what they instinctually knew to be right.
They did not say Its none of my business.
They did not worry about the social or safety implications of intervening, or about what their peers might think.
Those two men epitomize what it means to be a responsible bystander.
*Snip*
the rest: http://www.motherjones.com/media/2016/06/read-joe-bidens-open-letter-stanford-suvivor-sexual-assault
I love this man. I really do. I cannot stop crying.
Thank You! Thank you, thank you!.
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Read Joe Biden's Open Letter to the Stanford Survivor of Sexual Assault (Original Post)
one_voice
Jun 2016
OP
wryter2000
(46,039 posts)1. He's such a good man
I wonder if he can run for VP again. Is there a term limit on that?
Beaverhausen
(24,470 posts)2. I was just thinking the same thing.
I have a feeling he will still work on the issue of violence towards women even after he's out of office.
Rex
(65,616 posts)3. So the '20 minutes of action' really bothered Big Joe too, God that is refreshing to see from
a D.C. leader. I might not always agree with Biden, but I love the man he has a big heart and is not afraid to show it. I did not know he has been campaigning against college rape, but that does not surprise me at all knowing his character.
Both letter made me cry. Nobody should ever have to write either letter and I am glad Joe pointed out this is an EPIDEMIC. Strong words that need to be said more often.