Chloe Nguyen, Period 5, 11/10/20, Day B

Chloe Nguyen
PD 5
11/10/20
Day B

Socio-political Consciousness

What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

*TW: rape

I have always had a morbid fascination with true crime stories, from dissecting the method to the madness behind infamous serial killers to critically examining how authority figures tackle cases of fraud, abuse, etc. More often than should be permitted, the court of law fails to properly indict the criminal with an appropriate sentence for their offense and diverts the blame onto the victim, as observed particularly in situations of sexual assault; police fail to thoroughly investigate and walk away from crime scenes that could have been prevented if they had just taken a second longer to notice the truth in plain sight.

Recently, I read the memoir, “Know My Name” by Chanel Miller, in which she elaborates on the personal details of her experience with rape, both the legal proceedings and her constant healing process. Previously known as Emily Doe, Ms. Miller was raped behind a dumpster at a Stanford frat party by her assaulter, Brock Turner, who had managed to insert his fingers inside her naked, unconscious body before two Swedish transfer students bicycling through saw what he was doing and had to physically restrain him so he couldn’t attempt to escape for the second time. Waking up at the hospital with pinecones in her hair and her underwear missing, she only learned the extent to which she was truly violated over a week later, when it was published in the news for the world to see. You would think it would be very obvious her assailant was undeniably guilty, judging from the state she was found in, but no. Due to the fact that she was unconscious, that she could not fully remember, Ms. Miller could not confirm there was a lack of consent, that she should be prepared to stand trial and lose. For more than a year, lawyers would make her relive that evening, poking and prodding at her private life to paint her as a loose, frivolous woman and make it seem like it was inevitable; all while, there was article after article portraying her rape as the fall of Brock Turner, successful swimmer whose future has now been ruined because of college campus drinking culture. Reading her story, I was truly able to grasp why so many victims are afraid to report sexual assault because the legal process was not designed to give closure. It is designed to close a case. Yes, Chanel Miller may have won the trial, but all her struggle and suffering was not just for her rapist to be sentenced to six months in prison, only to actually serve three since he “behaved well” and make it out unscathed, living his best life and working at an entry-level job five years later.

Another example of people in power failing to properly protect the victim can be noted in one of the Jeffrey Dahmer murders, in which the serial killer manages to lure the fourteen year old boy into his apartment, drugs him, sexually assaults him, and drills a hole into his skull where hydrochloric acid is injected into his brain. Against all odds, the boy manages to escape and seek help from a group of women who call the police. Yet, when the cops arrive, they do not look at the boy who is terrified, naked, and bleeding from his but, nor do they listen to the women or their justified concerns. Instead, they believe Jeffrey Dahmer when he introduces the boy as his drunk nineteen year old boyfriend who was causing a scene. They even escort the boy back to the apartment, where another corpse is added to his collection that night.

These kinds of stories always fill me with an unbridled sort of rage. They make me realize that power can only ever be considered “powerful” if it is actively used to help defend those who are vulnerable to their circumstances. Otherwise, it becomes another tool to further oppress already disadvantaged groups of people. Specifically, in relation to these types of cases, I would hope to see change surrounding the stigma of sexual assault in media and have these changes translate systematically into law as well.



How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

I find that the best way to reflect on my own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences is to be open minded and consume a variety of media from different sources before forming a concrete opinion on something. It is important to gain exposure and become more educated and self aware about a topic, rather than simply spoon-feeding myself the information I want to hear. Of course, this is not only limited to news, but also books, movies, games, TV shows, music, etc. At the root of it all, we must remember that prejudice is taught, not born with. At a young age, people may “learn” prejudice by adopting influences from the cultural environment they were brought up in, or by being raised in such a way that they associate negative emotions and qualities with minority groups. For instance, such social bigotry is especially relevant to this current time, in which the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked ignorant animosity and hatred towards Asian Americans who are somehow correlated and held responsible for the “Chinese virus” by a hefty segment of the general public. Therefore, how the media portrays Asian Americans plays an essential role in determining society’s treatment of us and how we measure ourselves against Western standards. I believe that it is especially essential that the media give a platform for diverse creators to share their own stories and voices.