Me Too part five

I have had women I know personally tell me about being raped; by strangers, by family members, by step parents.  I have heard them tell me about abuse that went on for years.  I have had them tell me about being drugged, and gang rapes when they were teenagers. I have had them tell me about husbands, boyfriends, exes, and friends raping them violently, hitting them, kicking them, stalking them, damaging their car or house, and putting them in the hospital.  I have been in the same room and seen their boyfriends, from out of nowhere, punch them squarely in the face repeatedly, at least until I could get between them.

I have seen men grope, grab, pinch, and engage in any other manner of inappropriate touching, in plain sight of other men.  I have seen them tell women to lift their shirts, or pull their shirts up themselves, or try to grab their hands and put them in their crotch.  I have seen men talk to them in the most demeaning and debasing terms, and humiliate them in front of others.  

I have watched as men systematically wore women down, destroyed their self esteem, and saddled them with guilt and shame that sticks with them for decades.

I have seen and heard about the most sadistic psychopaths.  I have seen and heard about the “innocent fun”  men that people say “boys will be boys” about , and I am here to tell you that they are both a scourge.  

Any harassment, any abuse, verbal, emotional, or physical, anything that in any way makes a woman feel uncomfortable or threatened, violates them, or bad about themselves, is wrong.  They are not property.  There is no difference between how you treat a “good” girl and how you treat a “bad” girl.  Your idea of promiscuity, loose morals, style of dress, how much they drink, or whether they are “asking for it” is bullshit.  

Whether a women is at church or onstage at a strip club, that doesn’t make one bit of difference about how you treat them with respect.  

And yes, there are a lot of women out there that do not treat themselves with respect, and that is a very sad and terrible thing.  But any decent kind of person would feel bad about that, and want to protect or comfort someone who feels that way about themselves, not take advantage of it.