What We Saw (original 2015; udgave 2015)

Kuharap kejadian seperti ini tidak terjadi lagi dibelahan dunia manapun.

Kalau aku adalah salah satu penduduk kota ini, akan jadi manusia seperti apakah aku?
Seperti Kate yang pemberani dan berhati lurus.
Atau seperti Ben yang menutup mata terhadap tindak pemerkosaan yang dilakukan teman-temannya terjadi didepan matanya. Dan bersikap seolah tidak ada yang terjadi dan berharap semua akan baik-baik saja dengan egoisnya.
Atau seperti memilih seperti Lindsey? Atau memilih bersikap seperti Rachel atau Christy?

Aku bukan pemberani seperti Kate jadi mengambil sikap sepertinya akan cukup sulit. Tetapi aku juga tidak mau menjadi seperti Ben, Lindsey, Rachel, atau Christy atau sebagian besar penduduk kota.


Banyak yang ingin kuungkapkan, tetapi tidak bisa menuliskannya dengan baik agar tersampaikan.




Tambah nyesek setelah baca kasus aslinya diwiki. ( )

A Recommended Read

If you are only going to read one young adult book in your life, then that novel should be What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler. This is a book that matters. This is a novel that is real life at its darkest but also at its most hopeful when one person is willing to speak up when others are not. What We Saw is a story that has the power to change how people think and it needs to be on every person's and every school's reading list.

What We Saw is written in first person from Kate Weston's point of view. A junior with a promising future ahead of her, she, along with several of her classmates attend a party at one of their classmates' home while his parents are out of town. After downing a few too many shots of tequila, her longtime friend Ben Cody makes sure she gets home safely and then he returns to the party to retrieve his car. The next day, social media (esp. Twitter) blows up with tweets, comments and pictures from the night before. One of the pictures going around is one taken of Stacey Stallard and she is drunk, passed out and slung over the shoulder of one of the school's popular basketball players. By Monday morning, whispers about Stacey begin and before the week is over, four popular basketball players will be charged with sexual assault. What really happened that night might have remained a mystery, a case of "he said, she said", if not for Kate Weston. Kate does not like how everyone is trashing Stacey's reputation and she does not like the fact that no one seems interested in knowing what really happened to Stacey. Kate wants to know the truth and she is willing to go against her parents and her friends to uncover it.

Sadly, What We Saw is a fictionalized account of an actual case that happened in 2012. Aaron Hartzler's portrayal of this case is remarkably true to life and it is sometimes incredibly hard to read, let alone fathom. The storyline challenges society's kneejerk reaction to place the blame on the victim and it also challenges many biased beliefs that a woman is "asking" to be raped because of flirtatious behavior, the way she dresses or drinking a little too much. Various discussions offer a thoughtful commentary on what constitutes consent and more importantly, these conversations make it clear that the inability to say no is not an implied yes. A well written, thought-provoking young adult novel that I highly recommend to readers of all ages. ( )

The previous reviews speak for mine. Rape culture has always been with us, as I learned as a small child (I am 46 years old, now).

Please read this book, and then,

think on ways that we can all work together to change this culture and these ways of thinking.

"Women's rights are Human Rights." and so are the rights of children.
Children's rights must become Human Rights, and that will help (I hope) toward changing the rape culture.


Toward Community and Human Empowerment,
ShiraDest,

31 October, 12015 HE
(Holocene/Human Era via The Holocene Calendar) ( )

The previous reviews speak for mine. Rape culture has always been with us, as I learned as a small child (I am 46 years old, now).

Please read this book, and then,

think on ways that we can all work together to change this culture and these ways of thinking.

"Women's rights are Human Rights." and so are the rights of children.
Children's rights must become Human Rights, and that will help (I hope) toward changing the rape culture.


Toward Community and Human Empowerment,
ShiraDest,

31 October, 12015 HE
(Holocene/Human Era via The Holocene Calendar) ( )

A terrifying look at rape culture and how people of all ages can view sexual assault ( )