When is it okay for a man to hit or sexually harass a woman?
A) never
B) when she "asks for it"
C) never
D) when he's "joking around"
E) when he's being attacked by a female assassin in hand-to-hand combat
F) both A and C (and maybe E)
Although I got a little silly with "E," this is no laughing matter. One would think that in 2016, when women can be chosen for positions of power, when Katniss Everdeen has ruled bestseller lists and box office alike, when Nadia Bolz-Weber and Krista Tippett are among those addressing religion in an old-new way, this barbaric behavior would be a thing of the past.
One would be wrong.
Start with this news story:
French Lawmaker's Fall Over Harassment Claims May Hold Lesson for Men
And before you dismiss that as, "oh, those nasty French," click here:
Men Read Horrifying Sexist Tweets
That's not even close to as bad as it gets. Do you know that this is going on in our schools? That girls not old enough to drive are getting smacked around and called names too awful for me to type? That many college orientations now include freshwoman "how-to-avoid-rape" sessions? That worst of all, girls are so used to it that they believe this is how it's supposed to be?! I'm not just talking about girls with low self-esteem here. I'm talking about all girls, even strong, confident, intelligent girls.
It defies understanding.
It breaks my heart.
It breaks my heart.
And it makes me really, really mad.
There are a lot of beautiful and wonderful things in this world, and usually those are the things I try to write. But this terrible darkness exists as well, and unless we shine some light on it, it will remain.
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PS Sorry this post is sans photo. Couldn't get the image of blinding white fury to show up on the page.
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