Sexual Assault – A Life Sentence

Dear America,

I have question for you—
Harvey Weinstein has been outed as a sexual predator. Life as he knows it has come to a screeching halt, as it should. 

Sexual assault is a life changing event for the victims, it’s a life sentence. Post traumatic stress is real— there is life before, and life after. The person in the life before is not the same person who occupies the shell after. That person no longer exists. This new person has trust issues— in human goodness, in their own abilities: to discern people’s motives, to protect themselves, in their own value as human beings. The world looks different, and it’s a scary place.

The parallels are startling. An older man in a position of power, an audiotape, dozens of victims, some recent and some from decades ago, come forward with stories of assault. One assailant is mentioned above, and the other you elect president. 

And here is that question—WHY?

Bill Cosby, another powerful man who had gotten away with this for decades, is finally paying for his crimes. Life as he knew it will never be again, and that’s good. 

Three powerful men, two are destroyed, one elected to the highest office of the land. 

And again I ask—WHY? 

Does it have anything to do with the fact that one is white, one is black, and one is a Jew?

I’ve written about this subject several times. Sexual assault has touched my life more than once—and the lives of my loved ones. The rage I have for men who commit these crimes is unhealthy. This rage has bled into my relationships with enablers. Those who voted for a man who is on tape bragging about his crimes… I can’t excuse it, because it’s inexcusable. 

Go through your phone contacts and start shooting off texts to the women you know. Ask them about their experiences. I’m sure you’ll get an affirmative response before you get to the letter B (I’m assuming you have 4 female friends whose names start with A). If they feel like talking about it, most will not, ask them how it has changed their lives. 

I try to find humor in everything- but this subject is the one I can not, and although I’ve tried to forgive any woman who voted for an admitted sexual predator… knowing what he is, I can not. 

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<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/brave/”>Brave</a&gt;