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The tear-jerking open letter Joe Biden wrote to the Stanford rape survivor

"I do not know your name — but your words are forever seared on my soul."

The tear-jerking open letter Joe Biden wrote to the Stanford rape survivor

Joe Biden at the podium.

This article originally appeared on 06.09.16


Vice President Joe Biden penned a heartfelt letter to the victim of the Stanford rape case — a story that has left the country stunned, outraged, and heartbroken.

The case's convicted perpetrator, Brock Turner, was given just six months behind bars, despite sentencing guidelines that could have resulted in him facing up to 14 years.

Why? Jail could have a "severe impact" on the 20-year-old criminal, Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky had determined.

The injustice doesn't stop there. It appears Turner — a former swimmer at Stanford University, whose athleticism somehow seemed disturbingly pertinent throughout the trial — will likely only spend half that time behind bars for good behavior, The Chicago Tribune reports: just three months.


Along with the rest of the country, Biden is both outraged over the injustice and saddened for the survivor.

Biden — who led the charge in passing the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 and has since been an outspoken advocate on the issue — wrote an emotionally-charged open letter, published on BuzzFeed, which both praises the 23-year-old survivor for coming forward and slams "a culture that continues to ask the wrong questions" for failing her so badly.

Here is Biden's "open letter to a courageous young woman" in full (emphasis mine):

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.

To do otherwise — to see an assault about to take place and do nothing to intervene — makes you part of the problem.

Like I tell college students all over this country — it's on us. All of us.

We all have a responsibility to stop the scourge of violence against women once and for all.

I do not know your name — but I see your unconquerable spirit.

I see the limitless potential of an incredibly talented young woman — full of possibility. I see the shoulders on which our dreams for the future rest.

I see you.

You will never be defined by what the defendant's father callously termed “20 minutes of action."

His son will be.

I join your global chorus of supporters because we can never say enough to survivors: I believe you. It is not your fault.

What you endured is never, never, never, NEVER a woman's fault.

And while the justice system has spoken in your particular case, the nation is not satisfied.

And that is why we will continue to speak out.

We will speak to change the culture on our college campuses — a culture that continues to ask the wrong questions: What were you wearing?

Why were you there? What did you say? How much did you drink?

Instead of asking: Why did he think he had license to rape?

We will speak out against those who seek to engage in plausible deniability. Those who know that this is happening, but don't want to get involved. Who believe that this ugly crime is “complicated."

We will speak of you — you who remain anonymous not only to protect your identity, but because you so eloquently represent “every woman."

We will make lighthouses of ourselves, as you did — and shine.

Your story has already changed lives.

You have helped change the culture.

You have shaken untold thousands out of the torpor and indifference toward sexual violence that allows this problem to continue.

Your words will help people you have never met and never will.

You have given them the strength they need to fight.

And so, I believe, you will save lives.

I do not know your name — but I will never forget you.

The millions who have been touched by your story will never forget you.

And if everyone who shared your letter on social media, or who had a private conversation in their own homes with their daughters and sons, draws upon the passion, the outrage, and the commitment they feel right now the next time there is a choice between intervening and walking away — then I believe you will have helped to change the world for the better.

Biden's words — as well as the survivor's letter she read aloud to her attacker — are rippling across the internet for one very important reason: Millions of us are disgusted, fed up, and demanding change to a culture that's allowed this atrocity to happen.

To every warrior with a spine of solid steel: We hear you, we support you, and we stand by your side.

old letter, 1959, tony trapani, letter, secret letters, love letter, love stories, dads, fatherhood, father and son, parents, parenting
via SHVETS production/Pexels and Suzy Hazelwood/Pexels
Tony Trapani discovers a letter his wife hid from him since 1959.

Writing a letter is truly a lost art form, and many young people will never know the joy of it. You had to choose your words carefully and say everything you wanted to say. Once you sent it off, there was no way to be sure it was delivered. No way to know if it had been opened or read. You couldn't take it back or send it again. You just put it in the mailbox and hoped for the best. It was excruciating and magical all at the same time.

One story of a letter never delivered has captured the hearts of readers everywhere. A heart-warming local news story gone viral for the best reasons.


Tony Trapani and his wife were married for 50 years despite the heartache of being unable to have children. "She wanted children,” Trapani told Fox 17. "She couldn't have any. She tried and tried." Even though they endured the pain of infertility, Tony's love for his wife never wavered and he cherished every moment they spent together.

letter, secret letters, love letter, love stories, dads, fatherhood, father and son, parents, parenting Tony Trapani received the most important letter of his life, but he didn't see it for 50 years Photo by Álvaro Serrano on Unsplash

After his wife passed away when Tony was 81 years old, he undertook the heartbreaking task of sorting out all of her belongings. In particular was a mountain of papers stuffed into filing cabinets. Trapani diligently went through every single one.

That’s when he stumbled upon a carefully concealed letter in a filing cabinet hidden for over half a century.

The letter was addressed to Tony and dated March 1959, but this was the first time he had seen it. His wife must have opened it, read it and hid it from him. The letter came from Shirley Childress, a woman Tony had once been close with before his marriage. She reached out, reminiscing about their past and revealing a secret that would change Tony's world forever.

"Dear Tony, I bet you are surprised to hear from me after so many years. I was just thinking about you tonight like so many other nights. But I thought I would write you and find out how you are," the letter reads. "Tony, please don't be angry or surprised to hear this. I have a little boy. He is five-years- old now - grey eyes and beautiful black hair. What I am trying to say Tony is he is your son."



"Please, Tony if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, please come and see him," Shirley wrote in the letter. "Every day he asks me where is his daddy and believe me Tony I can't even answer him anymore. I would be forever grateful to you if you would just see him. ... I'll close now hoping and praying you will answer. P.S. His name is Samuel Duane."

Now, Tony faced the fact that he had a son that would be around 60 years old and he set out to find him.

For over a year, Trapani’s sister tried to track down the mysterious Samuel Duane Childress, until she finally contacted his wife, Donna.

Tony and Samuel met in January 2015 and he felt like a new dad. After meeting his father, Samuel said his mother told him she sent the letter, but Tony never responded. "Why my wife didn't tell me," said Trapani, "I don't know. She wanted children. She couldn't have any. She tried and tried."

It's easy to understand why it may have been hard for Trapani's late wife, Dolly, to pass along that sort of news. Though we'll never know what exactly must have been in her heart and mind when she hid the letter all those years ago.

"I always asked my mom, I said, 'Well what does he look like?'' Samuel said. "She said, 'Well, go look in the mirror."

The two met and caught up on a lifetime of memories with the understanding that they could never change the past. "Just to know him now is so important to me. It's going to fill that void," Samuel said.

But just to be sure, Tony took a paternity test to ensure they were father and son. Stunning everyone involved, the test came back negative. Tony was not the father.


letter, secret letters, love letter, love stories, dads, fatherhood, father and son, parents, parenting Tony and Samuel didn't waste time thinking about what might have been if he'd seen the letter earlier. Photo by Ire Photocreative on Unsplash

The news upset Tony and Samuel, but they still had a unique bond. They shared a relationship with Samuel’s mother and both have been on an incredibly wild ride after Tony found the mysterious letter.

“They're keeping that bond,” Donna said. “That paper doesn't mean anything to him. That bond has been made—and we're going to move on from here.”

Tony Trapani passed away in 2017, leaving him just two short years to connect with the man he once believed to be his son. If he'd seen the letter earlier, maybe they would have had more time. But that's all in the past, and by all accounts the men treasured the time they got together, and the relationship that they did have — not the one they wished for.

This article originally appeared earlier this year. It has been updated.

Education

4 gestures that can make you instantly more likeable, according to a communication coach

Draw people in with these facial expressions and body language tips.

likeability, likeable, how to be more likeable, facial expressions, body language

Communication expert shares facial expressions and body language tips to become more likeable.

Being a likeable person can help you build strong, healthy personal and professional relationships. How you carry yourself and the gestures you make can impact if people perceive you to be likeable.

"Based on various research in neuroscience and communication, the brain processes nonverbal cues up to half a second before it processes words," Tatiana Teppoeva, a certified communication coach specializing in nonverbal communication and founder of One Nonverbal Ecosystem, tells Upworthy. "Facial expressions, tone, and body signals are decoded almost instantly, long before we consciously register verbal meaning."


Your nonverbal communication and body language can speak volumes to others.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"These rapid cues shape whether someone seems warm, safe, confident, or emotionally attuned," she adds. "When your body language communicates presence and ease, people intuitively perceive you as more likeable and trustworthy."

These are four gestures that make you instantly more likeable:

Gesture #1: The softened eye look

"A slight narrowing of the lower eyelids that signals warm, focused attention," says Teppoeva. "This type of eye expression makes people feel truly seen, which increases warmth and connection."

She offers a few examples of celebrities as great examples. "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson uses this micro-gesture often when someone shares something meaningful with him. It shows genuine focus without intensity," she shares. "Zendaya uses a softer, empathetic version of the same look in interviews, especially when she is listening closely or responding with care."

zendaya, zendaya gif, zendaya body language, soft eyes, empathy Public Media Actors On Actors GIF by PBS SoCal Giphy

Gesture #2: The sincere, welcoming smile

A slow, natural smile that appears as you take in the moment, not a quick or automatic grin," explains Teppoeva. "The brain interprets these kinds of smiles as sincerity and emotional presence, which boost likeability almost instantly."

Two celebrities who model this well are Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts.

"Tom Cruise is known for his delayed, spontaneous smile that reads as genuine rather than posed," Teppoeva says. "Julia Roberts has a warm, gradually unfolding smile that consistently feels authentic and inviting."

@steven

Behavioural expert Vanessa Van Edwards teaching you how to become more likeable with these simple tips 👀 Full conversation on The Diary Of A CEO #podcast #podcastclips #clip #expert #bodylanguage #vanessavanedwards #tips #advice #didyouknow #trythis #relatable #teamwork #interview

Gesture #3: The encouraging nod

Nodding communicates empathy and understanding.

"A gentle, supportive nod while someone speaks," Teppoeva shares. "This gesture validates the speaker and increases likeability because it shows true engagement."

"Idris Elba nods subtly during conversations, especially when someone shares something personal or uncertain, signaling 'I’m with you'," adds Teppoeva. "Oprah Winfrey uses the same encouraging nod to create psychological safety and help guests feel understood."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Gesture #4: Open-hand visibility

Your hands also play a big part in your likeability.

"Showing your hands briefly when you begin speaking or respond to someone’s point signals openness and cooperation," explains Teppoeva. "Many widely liked actors and presenters naturally incorporate relaxed open-palm gestures because humans instinctively associate visible palms with honesty and sincerity. This makes you appear more approachable and trustworthy within seconds."

time, neil degrasse tyson, time flies, perception of time. clock, science,

A clock and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

When you’re a kid, time passes a lot more slowly than when you’re an adult. At the age of seven, summer seems to go on forever, and the wait from New Year’s Day to Christmas feels like a decade. As an adult, time seems to go faster and faster until one weekend you’re putting up your Christmas lights though you swear you just took ‘em down a month ago.

Why does time seem to speed up as we get older? Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson recently explained the phenomenon in a video posted to Instagram. He also offered tips on how to slow the passage of time as you age. DeGrasse Tyson is one of the most popular science communicators in the world and the host of 2014's Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey and 2020’s Cosmos: Possible Worlds.


Why does time appear to speed up as we get older?


“When you're young, everything is new. Your brain is constantly recording fresh memories, and the more memory your brain stores, the longer the experience feels. But then something changes. As you get older, routines take over. Your brain stops saving so much detail. It switches to autopilot because everything feels familiar and predictable,” deGrasse Tyson explains. “And when your brain stores fewer new memories, your perception of time compresses. That's why childhood feels long, and adulthood feels like a blur.”


Steve Taylor, PhD, author of many best-selling books including Time Expansion Experience, The Leap, and Spiritual ScienceThe Leap, and Spiritual Science, agrees with deGrasse Tyson.

“This is mainly because, as children, we have so many new experiences, and so process a massive amount of perceptual information,” Taylor writes at Psychology Today. “Children also have an unfiltered and intense perception of the world, which makes their surroundings appear more vivid. However, as we get older, we have progressively fewer new experiences. Equally importantly, our perception of the world becomes more automatic. We grow progressively desensitized to our surroundings. As a result, we gradually absorb less information, which means time passes more quickly. Time is less stretched with information.”

How do we make time slow down?

There’s something a little depressing about the idea that time speeds up as we age because we have fallen into predictable routines. The good news is that we can break this cycle by changing our habits and having new experiences. The more novel information we can process and the less routine our lives become, the slower time will move.

DeGrasse Tyson believes that with some change in our behaviors, we can get back to longer summers and Christmases that aren’t perpetually around the corner.

“You can actually slow time down again. Do something unfamiliar,” deGrasse Tysons says. "Travel somewhere new. Break a routine you've repeated for years. Learn a skill your brain hasn't mapped yet. Because the more new memories your brain forms, the slower time feels as it passes. So if life feels like it's accelerating, it's not your age. It's your brain, and you can reboot it.”

weird al yankovic, music fans, 1980s nostalgia, celebrities, emotional meetings
Photo credit: courtesy of 1980s.nostalgia Instagram

A fan's emotional meeting with "Weird Al" has prompted people to share their

"Weird Al" Yankovic: Grammy-winning parody-song master, multi-platinum singer-accordionist, genuinely nice dude. For decades, devoted fans have marveled at his warmth and approachability—rare qualities for an artist and celebrity of his stature. And now hundreds of them have gathered to swap stories in a particularly heartwarming Instagram comment section.

Their meeting spot is a post by Katelyn Sue, who runs the social media account 1980s.nostalgia. Starting in September 2025, the influencer posted a series of photos and videos showing an emotional pre-concert meet-and-greet with one of her lifelong inspirations. The clips are beautiful, showing the pair chatting casually, sharing a tender hug, and Yankovic signing some merch. "'Never meet your heroes' doesn’t apply to this man," she wrote.


"I started listening to Weird Al when I was 8," Katelyn Sue tells Upworthy. "There’s a joke with my generation that we have to go through the obligatory Michael Jackson phase in second grade because so many of us did. In the midst of my Michael Jackson phase, I would watch his videos over and over on my mom and dad’s computer in their room. One day while I was watching Michael Jackson videos, my dad showed me [Yankovic’s] 'Eat It' video…and then 'Fat.' I think being in the wheelchair and also just being a really quirky kid, I was hyper aware that I was different from other kids my age. Not many eight-year-olds then shared the same quirky interests that I did, and I think I felt like kind of a loner. Not only did I think the videos and songs were hilarious, it was comforting as the weird kid to watch his videos and feel like I wasn’t alone in being different and that it was okay. He definitely was one of the first people to make me feel like being weird isn’t bad."

How "Weird Al" helped one diehard fan persevere through a dark time

Katelyn Sue started her public social-media accounts at age 14, frequently posting about her love of the '80s and childhood heroes Yankovic and Paul "Pee-wee Herman" Reubens. But at first, she wound up getting "severely bullied" for it. "I was called 'a freak,' 'mentally ill,' all kinds of things," she says. "I shut that part of myself completely out."

At age 20, her mental health reached a breaking point, and in an attempt to escape her "dark thoughts," she clicked on her YouTube app and randomly found Yankovic’s video for childhood favorite "Like a Surgeon." "Long story short," she says, "that video is the reason I came back to myself. I wanted to meet him in 2022 when he was in my area, but it was too fresh. I decided to buy the tickets this tour and tell him what he had gotten me through."

Katelyn Sue was so "starstruck" during the meet-and-greet that she could barely remember everything she wanted to say. But she did manage to remark "You’re my childhood hero" and "Can I give you a hug?" She also requested that he doodle his own image so she could get it tattooed. "I almost chickened out, but I finally decided to tell him that he’s the reason I was able to start being my authentic self again and how much his music had gotten me through," she adds. "It was truly the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced."

The video of their meeting went viral—Katelyn Sue says it’s been "seen by" John Mayer, David and Patricia Arquette, and Cheri Oteri—and that reaction has been overwhelming in a good way.

"There are an insane number of comments talking about their interactions with him and how it made their day, even if it was a short interaction," she says.

Indeed, you can’t scroll for more than two seconds without spotting another sweet reply—from ordinary fans, celebrities, even former Yankovic collaborators. "He is really this guy," wrote actor Steven Weber. "Genuinely decent. Everything you’d want him to be." Stand-up comedian Matt Braunger chimed in, "I met him backstage when I opened for Aziz Ansari in like 2007(?) and he sends me a bday card every year (amongst other cool things he’s done as a friend). An absolute prince of a performer and person ❤️"

Here are some other wonderful comments:

"I’ve met Al several times and even have his autograph tattooed where he signed my arm. He is exactly what you’d hope he’d be like!"

"Awww 💕 I got to work with @alfredyankovic when he performed in the Nightmare Before Xmas live with Danny Elfman and Paul Reubens and can confirm that he was totally kind, warm and gracious the whole time. He even made a video greeting for the son of my boyfriend (at the time) who was a huge fan. He was gushing about it for ages! He’s a lovely human being ☺️"

"I've met weird Al several times. He is the kindest most giving person I've ever met. When you're talking to him he actually pays attention to you and doesn't just scribble his name and then have you walk away"

"Weird Al was a semi regular for a bit at a coffee shop i worked at. This is genuinely how he is. He always took pictures, always looked people in the eye and took time to actually speak with them."

"He’s a delightful man!"

"Waited 3 hours to *possibly* meet him and he wanted to meet EVERYONE in line. He was so nice."

"My kid got to interview him in 2016 (he was nine at the time.) Then, at the concert he (son, not Weird Al,) had a diabetic episode and got sick. We were leaving and security insisted we meet him before going. He let us go ahead of everybody else waiting to meet, and treated my son with total respect and warmth. 10/10 celebrity meeting. Could have hoped for more."

I actually met him for an interview after we filmed his live performance. So exceptionally sweet. He looked at me with a smile and said: 'Oh yeah, I saw you with the camera!'"

"I met Al back in 2011 and of the 100’s and 100’s of celebs I met or interacted with living out in California, he was by far one of the most genuine and memorable. Truly a person who seems so grateful to be appreciated by his fans. He made a very personal moment out of our meeting and it solidified why I’ve been a life long fan"

For Katelyn Sue, the story didn’t even end with that emotional meet-and-greet—she was able to meet Yankovic again in October at the GalaxyCon event. "[H]e told me he had seen the post, and that definitely made me extremely emotional," she says. "I had hoped he saw it for no other reason than I wanted him to see the comments talking about how much he has helped people through and how many people he truly inspires to just be their weird selves."

Disability

Clip of two nonverbal autistic friends reuniting has people moved to their core

"She spoke two million and 42 words her own way. He listened to and heard each one."

profound autism, thomas, sofia, shannon lowe, autism awareness, love on the spectrum
Photo Credit: Shannon Lowe, used with permission

Thomas and Sofia, both nonverbal, communicate differently.

Sometimes love, whether it's platonic or romantic, cannot be heard—only experienced. Such is the case for Thomas, a non-verbal 20-year-old young man, and his dear friend Sofia, who is 23.

In a beautiful clip posted by t4autism on behalf of Thomas AKA Cubby, we see these two souls reunite at a bowling alley after having not seen one another for two weeks. Sofia and Thomas sit next to each other—one knee touching. They lean in, still keeping a dash of personal space. Their eyes gaze into one another's in a way that no words could truly capture. They each briefly smile when she looks up at his baseball cap. She gently touches it and then pushes it off. She smiles, and his gaze never wavers.



The camera briefly turns around to Thomas's proud mother, who simply gives the "I know, right?" look. The chyron reads, "After two weeks without seeing each other. Nonverbal. Profound Autism," while the song "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri underscores the moment. Hashtags on the post include: "Happy, love, autism, parents, joy, mom, papa, girl, boy, adulting, T4Autism" and perhaps best of all…"telepathy."

At nearly half a million likes, over 20,000 people took the time to comment on this video alone, many from people who claim to be neurodivergent themselves. One commenter writes, "This is literally the most beautiful thing I witnessed all year. She looks like a Disney princess, he's handsome. Her presence is soothing his overstimulation." Another notes, "They're not nonverbal, we just can't hear them."

This Instagrammer was downright poetic: "She spoke two million and 42 words her own way. He listened to and heard each one."

Upworthy had the honor of speaking with Thomas's mother, Shannon Lowe. She shared that Thomas was diagnosed with profound autism at the age of two. "Our journey has been a roller coaster of highs and lows," she said. "As a family, we've worked hard to find a tribe that truly understands our dynamic."

Of Thomas and Sofia, she notes, they "share a beautiful bond and great affection for one another."

She also opens up about what profound autism is and the impact it can have on families: "I wish the world understood that profound autism is a very different level of autism. It requires one-on-one care and often comes with self-injury behaviors. Unfortunately, we do not have many champions for this particular diagnosis. We lack legislation, resources, and support. Here in Fort Worth, we currently have a 17-year waitlist, and most of these families are led by single mothers—because only 18% of fathers stay, which adds even more trauma to an already stressful situation."

But she doesn't give up. She uses her social media platforms, including her YouTube channel T4Autism, to educate, vent, and exemplify that love knows no bounds. She even wrote a children's book entitled "Profound Love: Profound Autism," which she describes as an "invitation to see beyond diagnosis, beyond silence, and into the extraordinary ways love reveals itself—wordless, boundless, and profoundly real."

Mother talks about constant pivots made for autistic child. www.youtube.com, T4Autism

On the book's Amazon page, the description reads in part: "Though Thomas does not speak, he expresses joy, affection, and connection in ways that transcend language. His leaps of excitement, radiant smiles, and warm presence remind everyone around him of the purest form of love.

As Thomas, his family, and their three beloved dogs navigate daily life, their world expands when they meet Sasha and Sofia—two extraordinary young people also living with profound autism. Through shared walks, laughter, and simple moments, an unexpected and beautiful bond blossoms between Thomas and Sofia. Step by step, hand in hand, they discover a connection deeper than words—a love that speaks through smiles, gestures, and presence."