Ted Poe calls for Judge Aaron Persky to be removed (C-SPAN/screen grab)
I never thought I’d be supportive of a conservative congressperson, but I am all the way with Ted Poe here.
Conservative Texas Congressman Ted Poe (R) on Thursday lashed out at Judge Aaron Persky after he sentenced former Stanford student Brock Turner to six months in jail for the sexual assault of an unconscious woman.
“The woman, just 22 years of age at the time, was being raped and the rapist was caught in the act,” Poe explained in a speech delivered on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. “Brock was found guilty of the sexual assault on three counts. His sentence, a mere six months in prison and three years probation.”
“Because the judge said a prison sentence would have a ‘severe impact’ on him,” the Texas Republican continued. “Well, isn’t that the point? Mr. Speaker, the punishment for rape should be longer than a semester in college.”
[…]
“This judge got it wrong,” he insisted. “There’s an archaic philosophy in some courts that sin ain’t sin as long as good folk do it. In this case, the court and defendant’s father wanted a pass for the rapist because he was a big shot swimmer.”
“The judge should be removed,” Poe remarked. “The rapist should do more time for the dastardly deed that he did that night.”
Poe added that he hope an appeals court would “overturn the pathetic sentence and give him the punishment he deserves.”
“The entitlement mentality of being a good college athlete and self-righteousness do not trump justice,” the lawmaker declared. “The criminal has given her a life sentence of mental pain, anguish and turmoil. When rape occurs the criminal is trying to steal the very soul of the victim.”
“Justice demands the judge be removed!” he exclaimed. “And we, the community, must assist the victim in all possible ways. Because rape is never the fault of the victim. And that’s just the way it is.”
Wow, sing it, Mr. Poe! Here’s hoping he is listened to, and yes, that travesty of so-called sentence needs to be overturned.
Via Raw Story.
A quick glance at his Wiki page shows that he’s wrong on pretty much every other issue, so I consider this a rare case of lucidity.
But he is absolutely right about this, and that seriously fucking matters. It matters so very much.
One of the nice side effects of trying not to have heroes is you can try not to have villains too. I don’t have to pass judgement on his entire body of political work just to say he’s right in this case, and he definitely is. His words aren’t the ones I would use but I know they mean the same things. Agreeing here is like compromising without giving anything up. It’s just agreeing that we… already agree.
I personally don’t fault the father for supporting his kid. I just think he should have understood that the best friends and family are the ones that stick with you even when you’re wrong… but they also TELL you you’re wrong or at least stand aside and let the larger society teach you that harsh lesson. Alcohol and hormones don’t make monsters. They’re just a thin veneer monsters sometimes try to hide behind.
Blah. I meant I don’t blame the father for supporting his kid but I DO blame him for doing so in a way that belittles the crime, diminishes or outright ignores the plight of the victim and basically suggests his son somehow wasn’t responsible for his actions.
Being from the UK, and having lived in a conservative stronghold most of my life, with, somehow, an MP I kind of admire, I’ve long understood that conservative politicians could hold reasonable positions while still identifying as a conservative… but, wow, I’m kind of shocked. “Rape is never the fault of the victim.” I’m kind of stunned to hear that spoken aloud by a Republican. Must be his background in law coming through? I totally agree with him. On this point. Some day soon, we, as a species, are going to have to take rape seriously, and treat it as the crime that it is, even when the perpetrator is a member of the in group.
…it is a very oddly shaped district that he represents.
Athywren:
Yeah, me too. I do think his law background is part of it, but I’d swear I hear the words of someone who was or is close to someone who was raped. Nothing changes your attitude like that does.
Stupidity snipped.
I don’t allow assholes here. Bye. -- Caine.
Stopped clocks and all that.
Incidentally you can get your rape apologist bingo filled out over on Oceanoxia’s coverage of the same event.
Oops, to clarify: in the comments of Oceanoxia’s coverage. Oceanoxia blasts the judge, and Turner.
Siobhan:
No thanks. I’ve had my fill of such shit over years at Pharyngula and other corners of the ‘net, and way too much in regular life. When your first intro into rape apologetics and rape culture is from the people supposedly on your side after you’ve been raped, it gets very old very fast, and I’ve had decades of it.
I’ve shied away from covering rape and sexual assault here because I don’t want all the assorted assholes descending on Affinity. I do a brief bit of coverage, and I see Edward Gemmer posting, a person I don’t anywhere near me in any way, ever. Fucking assholes.
Oh, I see it’s all Gemmer over there, too. In case you didn’t know, us long-timers at Pharyngula already know what an asshole he is, having been subjected to his loathsome views on a number of things before he was finally banned there.
After he was banned, he ran crying to the slymepit, which newer people might not know. They might not know that Gemmer will not shut up until he’s made to do so, one way or another.
Caine
I missed Edward Gemmer’s attempt but I definitely approve of your choice of font colour for the banning notice.
…
I still think your comments should have a different colour background and a rattie in the corner.
just a few wee lines of code, neh?
I’ve heard that Turner will also be getting out 3 months early, but I haven’t had the time to confirm that. (I know this was mentioned as a possibility ‘for good behaviour’.)
Anyway, this Republican dude -- nicely said, and good for him. I like his mention of the entitlement mentality; it makes me wonder, though, if there’s been someone close to him on the wrong end of sexual assault. It’s perfectly possible that he’s come to these views on his own via the evidence, but I can’t help but wonder.
or could I hope for rat-video substitutions?
…
or maybe I’ll just go to bed
Why is a Texas congressperson commenting on a rape that happened in California and calling for the removal of a Californian judge? I’m not saying he’s wrong--he’s clearly right--but what’s his interest? Is the defendant from Texas? Or the victim? I’m trying to figure out his angle for making this speech. Much as I would like to believe it was a random moment of genuine human outrage at suffering and injustice, I have the feeling that there was a secondary motivation involved.
Chigau:
There’s an idea!
dianne@15:
As much as I like the message, I too was curious as to the motivation.
Caine@7:
Thank you! I had some limited back and forth with him over on Oceanoxia, and his positions were infuriating and his arguments full of wrong. I really like reading your blog, and I am glad you have a low tolerance for such bullshit.
Oh, Gemmer doing his “what about the rapist” schtick again?
I will go out on a limp and say that I don’t care about the length of Brock Turner’s sentence per se as I care about him never ever touching a woman or anybody else without their consent ever again* AND I care about the length of the sentence compared to other sentences, because those things tell you about how society judges the crime. The USA are known for incredibly unreasonable prison sentences for trivial stuff. If the sentence for raping an unconscious woman is only a fracture of the sentence for smoking weed, then you’re saying something about how bad you think raping an unconscious woman actually is.
*Did you know, he still hopes to become a surgeon. Because that’s the person you want to be near unconscious women ever again. He completely lacks any insight into what he has done to this woman and his responsibility. He can rot in hell until he learns that for all I care.
Giliell @ 18:
Afuckingmen.
Yes. “oh, poor rapist will be put in a cage! *sob*”
I figure the rapist consented to being possibly caged the moment he decided to commit his crime (because he knew there would be consequences of some kind and it’s like reading the fine print at the bottom before you sign -- you made the decision, you face the consequences), and in this case, got lucky, as the punishment does not fit the crime.
Anyway, that’s a bit off-topic. I shudder to think that he would actually become a surgeon. I think it was in Canada there was a case who sexually assaulted victims during operations; he got ten years for multiple assaults. And oh look, Turner’s role model. *gag*