An open letter to anyone outraged by CNN’s reporting on Steubenville

I have a message for everyone who has been protesting CNN’s reprehensible reporting of the Steubenville rape:

Thank you.

While it is likely that CNN will continue to maintain its arrogant, self-justifying stance until (it hopes) the whole thing blows over, I want you to know that your words and your energy have not been spent in vain.

As a rape survivor, I am greatly encouraged by the sheer numbers of you who have weighed in.

You see, I was raped at a time when there was no support for the victim, any victim. I was not drinking. I was not at a party. I was not behaving provocatively. I was a 13-year-old bookworm, the shy, slightly nerdy smart girl, walking home from school in broad daylight with a stack of books in my arms.

Everyone at school knew. Everyone treated it as a joke. Danny and his football buddies, in particular, thought it was hilarious. Teachers and administrators turned a blind eye. Even my own family dismissed it as my own problem, something I would have to deal with myself. It was a lonely road to walk.

So today I am greatly heartened by your very well-placed outrage. I encourage you to keep speaking, even if CNN is too deaf to hear. Others like me hear you loud and clear.

And with every word of outrage you utter against such atrocities, we heal a little inside.

So keep writing. Keep talking. Feel free to forward this message to everyone you know and tell them to keep talking, too.

You are making a difference. You are helping, far more than you know.

God bless you all.

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