Read Joe Biden's Open Letter to the Stanford Survivor of Sexual Assault

[one_voice]

An Open Letter to a Courageous Young Woman

I do not know your name—but 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 out—for 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 anger—both 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 wrenching—to 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 warrior—with a solid steel spine.

I do not know your name—but 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 assaulted—year 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 haven’t gone down in the past two decades. It’s obscene, and it’s 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 name—but thanks to you, I know that heroes ride bicycles.

Those two men who saw what was happening to you—who took it upon themselves to step in—they did what they instinctually knew to be right.

They did not say “It’s 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!.

[wryter2000]

1. He's such a good man

I wonder if he can run for VP again. Is there a term limit on that?

[Beaverhausen]

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]

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.