Right Here, Right Now ...I'm on a mission
I felt like saying this rant after watching Veronica Mars tonight when she got attacked (although, thankfully not raped [again]) by a serial rapist on her college campus.
No woman should ever date any man who supports or performs any actions of violence, whether verbal or physical, mental or emotional. No woman should ever let yourself believe that a guy, who knew you during a low point in your life, when you made a bad judgment call, has any right to go off on you for anything. You should be careful because he might decide to punch you in the stomach or choke you to a near-loss of consciousness. He might build up to this event by yelling, publicly, verbal phrases of harassment to you. He may threaten to hurt you by walking up to you in public and saying it under his breath. He may send you things via mail, email, or IM repeatedly threatening or demeaning you. You may end up like me, stuck in this frame of mind that 'people change' or that 'people can be two-faced in a good way' or that 'people in charge of a group or association, such as a fraternity, have to maintain a degree of authority'. There is no excuse. No person changes that much. It takes a long time to change. Don't be naive or stupid and think that their nonchalance to a situation is okay, because it isn't. It will linger in your mind. Don't think that even if you are a strong woman, that you are invincible, because you aren't. You can get hurt or damaged or defeated without male support. You don't have to be a pushover to have support. Support can come from family, close friends, classmates, mentors, faculty. Even faculty you would never expect to support you, will support you. If anything happens to you, have character witnesses to back you up. If you get attacked, you will need them to testify that even if you were a naive freshman who drank too much and was a little bit laid-back, you weren't a liar or a slut or a whore. You will three years later have nightmares and flashbacks of the incident at hand and of the trial where you lost because you didn't surround yourself with the supporters that love (or care) for you.
Think about it.
Remember that.
No woman should ever date any man who supports or performs any actions of violence, whether verbal or physical, mental or emotional. No woman should ever let yourself believe that a guy, who knew you during a low point in your life, when you made a bad judgment call, has any right to go off on you for anything. You should be careful because he might decide to punch you in the stomach or choke you to a near-loss of consciousness. He might build up to this event by yelling, publicly, verbal phrases of harassment to you. He may threaten to hurt you by walking up to you in public and saying it under his breath. He may send you things via mail, email, or IM repeatedly threatening or demeaning you. You may end up like me, stuck in this frame of mind that 'people change' or that 'people can be two-faced in a good way' or that 'people in charge of a group or association, such as a fraternity, have to maintain a degree of authority'. There is no excuse. No person changes that much. It takes a long time to change. Don't be naive or stupid and think that their nonchalance to a situation is okay, because it isn't. It will linger in your mind. Don't think that even if you are a strong woman, that you are invincible, because you aren't. You can get hurt or damaged or defeated without male support. You don't have to be a pushover to have support. Support can come from family, close friends, classmates, mentors, faculty. Even faculty you would never expect to support you, will support you. If anything happens to you, have character witnesses to back you up. If you get attacked, you will need them to testify that even if you were a naive freshman who drank too much and was a little bit laid-back, you weren't a liar or a slut or a whore. You will three years later have nightmares and flashbacks of the incident at hand and of the trial where you lost because you didn't surround yourself with the supporters that love (or care) for you.
Think about it.
Remember that.