Stepping Back
Stepping back from my Baby and the Bath Water post one week ago, I realized that some things might be misconstrued. I may have sounded like 1) I didn’t care about the person. 2) I didn’t have a clue about what it is like to be a victim. For this I apologize.
Having been on the receiving end of domestic violence and sexual harassment, I do support victims and their right to:
- Be heard - Silence is deadly.
- Get justice - Getting justice is as individual as the crime that caused one to be a victim in the first place. Balance must be restored in the mind of the victim and the community.
- Restore their peace of mind - Restoring peace of mind involves forgiveness -forgiveness is about personal healing, not about forgetting the wrong.
I have been a victim of “angry mob mentality” on many occasions in my life, too. It is hard even now to talk about some of the instances, the damage they caused to both sides and how the consequences far outstripped any wrong that was done. What I saw in the flames regarding Readercon was not support of the victim, but an ever growing snow ball of a lynch mob. From my past experiences I knew that this growing “mob” was going to victimize more people. I thought by stating my observations I might quell some of the “fury” by making people take a step back from their anger and diffuse the situation. If my previous caused you angst, I, again, apologize, hurting people was not my intent.
8/10/12 Update - sounds like the justice piece is done (thanks bear)-> now onto the healing for everyone.
http://readercon.org/publicstatement.htm