Violence
I couldn’t believe it. Even the Violence Against Women Act is facing opposition?
Seeking comfort, I opened a book, only to find Thomas Merton asking, “Will there never be any peace on earth in our lifetime? Will they never do anything but kill, and then kill some more? Apparently they are caught in that impasse: the system is completely violent and involved in violence, and there is no way out but violence, and that leads only to more violence. Really–what is ahead but the apocalypse?”–January 26, 1968, VII.47 A Year with Thomas Merton
Really–what is ahead for women?
I found the comfort I sought when I walked into the room for today’s Domestic Violence Symposium to find purple table cloths, purple-ribboned cake, purple dresses, and purple-and white orchids.
I almost cried to see the attention paid by the students of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers at Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad Law Center.
Four of us spoke: a judge, two law professors, and I, a survivor.
A roomful of people spent their Sunday afternoon listening.
The purple, the speakers, the listeners–everything offered hope for an end to violence against women.
The plant is here to remind me: We are what is ahead for women.
3 Comments
Caitlin
I’ve found all of this – the attacks on VAWA, birth control, abortion, etc. – rather surreal. It’s a good reminder that whatever progress has been made in the past forty years is not guaranteed, and that we have to be vigilant and willing to fight to protect those gains. Because it’s not about politics or winning – it’s about our lives.
Angela
Thanks, Caitlin and Jeanne, for reading and your support. I’m grateful to have a means of speaking out.
wholly jeanne
like caitlin said, this is about our lives. our very lives. hope comes first, followed quickly by action. and we cannot sleep, we cannot snooze, we cannot stop. thank you for all you do to keep us moving forward.