Speak Up; Speak Out

 In 1986, I volunteered at the Evanston Women's Shelter for Battered Women. I was an outreach spokesperson for any organization that asked for presentations. I explained why spanking a child is the least effective discipline tool, why abused women need sanctuary, how laws to protect battered women need to be passed. I also listened to the painful stories from women who sought refuge for themselves and their children, from husbands and boyfriends, afraid for their lives. Literally. Through these brave women, I learned what it meant to live in an abusive relationship. These women risked their lives to save themselves and their children. Often, they escaped in the middle of the night, to seek shelter and protection.

As we were protesting on Lafayette Hill on Saturday, a fellow protester told me about an article she read that compares what our country is living through now, to an abusive relationship. I hadn't thought about that before, but it makes perfect sense to me.

We ask, why don't the GOP senators and representatives, who despise everything he is doing to this country, stand up to this madman? The answer is FEAR. They're afraid they will lose their jobs. Worse, they are afraid he will publish their names and addresses somewhere and encourage violence against them and their families. In fact, this has already happened!

They have every right to be afraid. He's pulled off security details from individuals who may be targets because of their outspoken criticism. Danger now lurks in some of our cities that are filled with armed gunmen. Innocent people are being whisked off the street and disappear as they did in Argentina in the 1970's. Parents and grandparents are still seeking knowledge about their children and what happened to them. Sadly, many here are searching for their relatives today who have disappeared into ICE vans and are being denied answers. 

Democracy is messy. The courts move slowly in order to support all rights. But it's the best we've got. We can't be pushed into silence because an abuser is running and ruining the country. We have to stand up, as we have been doing these many months, speak out and save ourselves. We are the only ones who can fix this terrible disaster. And I believe, deep in my soul, that we will win.