We are bombarded by so many voices focusing on the things that focus on our differences. The powers that be understand that if they chum the waters with their rhetoric, the people will be focused on culture wars rather than watching our freedoms, rights and money being taken away. Keeping the blinders on helps keep the status quo and as long as we remain in this state, things is our country won’t improve and they will stay in power. Much of what I write is based upon this premise and will continue until we once again become a nation ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’ or our duopoly (both Democrats and Republicans) continues our march to the authoritarian right and determine free speech is not appropriate any longer and I am jailed or exiled.
I was astonished at the power of the MeToo movement and how quickly men of the establishment were torn from their ivory towers, glass houses and private islands. Right before our eyes they were tarred and feathered in the media, removed from their jobs with some even ending in court and a few in jail. Women finally had their day in the son and it looked as though there would be a reckoning bringing an end thousands of years of abuse. I believed this would be a step toward true equality and creating a safe and open avenue for women to be able to report the crimes without fear of character assassination. The seed was planted and the roots took, now all that was left was to nurture it and watch it bloom.
The one thing lacking from any of the coverage is the foundation of #MeToo. The media splashed the faces of beautiful, rich, white women across our smart screens and we were all swept away in the passion. We knew these women by name, Thurmann, Judd, Lawrence and Paltrow, familiar from their on screen performances carried the banner and our hearts. Unbeknownst to me and most of America, this was not the start of the movement only the catalyst to push it to the forefront. I won’t get too deep into the roots at the moment, but I challenge you to research it yourself. Learning about the foundation during several college classes helped me alter my major focus to Ethnic Studies and Social Justice. There is still so much to do and I want to be part of the solution.
Much like the ebb and flow of the French Revolution, the MeToo movement changed with the times. 2020 brought us an election season that did nothing but fan the flames of all that divides Americans. Rather than finding a common ground on an issue or in the fact we are human beings, we called each other names; cast out friends and family members for having a different political opinion; and forgot that freedom of thought and ideals are a right for all men. We chose sides and believed every allegation against one candidate while defending the attackers of the other. The same A-listers who carried the MeToo banner so proudly, used their voices to squash, demean and degrade an accuser of the other candidate. The gains made evaporated in an instant and women are back to being afraid to speak out. Leaving this in the hands of politicians, A list stars, corporations or anyone other than the will of the American people pointless.
We are the only ones who can force the change by coming together on issues like this one where the sides are well delineated. Sexual abuse is one where there is no grey area and everyone red and blue can agree on the same definition. This issue needs to be put back into the public eye no matter how much it upsets society. Also please support your local domestic violence support centers with money, time and/or goods.
