This Dad's Emotional Letter to the Father of the Stanford Rapist Is Incredibly Powerful

By Lisette Mejia
Twitter | johnpavlovitz
Twitter | johnpavlovitz

This week, a letter written by the father of Brock Turner — the former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster — sent the internet into a frenzy for being completely insensitive. He referred to the rape as "20 minutes of action" and said his son had suffered, too.

Now, a letter written by a North Carolina pastor named John Palovitz addressed to Brock Turner's father is going viral for addressing the problems with our rape culture and those who perpetuate them whether they mean to or not. The blog post is titled "To Brock Turner's Father, From Another Father," and Palovitz writes an emotional message that everyone, not just parents, should read.

He writes:

I need you to understand something, and I say this as a father who dearly loves my son as much as you must love yours:

Brock is not the victim here.
His victim is the victim.
She is the wounded one.
He is the damager.

If his life has been "deeply altered" it is because he has horribly altered another human being; because he made a reprehensible choice to take advantage of someone for his own pleasure. This young woman will be dealing with this for far longer than the embarrassingly short six months your son is being penalized. She will endure the unthinkable trauma of his "20 minutes of action" for the duration of her lifetime, and the fact that you seem unaware of this fact is exactly why we have a problem.

This is why young men continue to rape women.
This is why so many men believe that they can do whatever they please to a woman's body without accountability.
This is the reason so many victims of sexual assault never step forward.
This is why white privilege is real and insidious and usually those with it are oblivious to it.

I understand you trying to humanize your son in your letter; talking to the judge about his favorite snacks and swim practice and about the memories that are sweet for you as his father — but to be honest I don't give a damn and if his victim was your daughter I'm quite sure you wouldn't either.

The letter has garnered praise on Twitter:


@johnpavlovitz You, Sir, speak for many fathers -- not just of sons, but of daughters -- like me - who is seething at #BrockTurner & his dad

— Eric E. Eglin (@Eglin) June 7, 2016


Thank you @johnpavlovitz "because one vile act against another human being is too many" https://t.co/1HTuoGnTFa

— Ashley (@AshleyNicMah) June 8, 2016


This man needs to be a parenting coach! To Brock Turner's Father, From Another Father https://t.co/etVwPq8jOZ via @johnpavlovitz

— The Madness of Joy (@madnessofjoy) June 7, 2016


A voice of reason. To Brock Turner's Father, From Another Father https://t.co/xxmm16Nysx via @johnpavlovitz

— Geneva (@Gconvention) June 8, 2016

You can read the whole thing on Pavlovitz's website.