For a few years, I used to wish there was something that other survivors of sexual violence or people who supported and cared about them could wear so I wouldn't feel so alone in the world. I wished there was some way to know if the person next to me on the bus, or ahead of me in the supermarket queue might care that I was struggling so profounding and offer kindness and compassion, rather than thinking I was "asking for it" or somehow at fault.
Thank you for sharing. I'm so looking forward to reading more from you throughout 2024.
Compelling. But I would make an exception for the asshat who almost killed me and my friend yesterday by extremely reckless driving. Whatever his story, it cannot justify his behavior. In general, though, it behooves us to give people the benefit the doubt. Indeed, we do not know what they’re enduring.
Yes, I find reckless driving very hard to forgive. I’m sorry that happened! Bad driving should definitely have more (legal) consequences and we need a lot more enforcement. Everyday I fume at people speeding through school zones.
I’m glad I clicked through and read this. It reminds me of a wonderful passage from a wonderful book: The Code of the Extraordinary Mind, by Vishen Lakhiani (highly recommend). In it, he advises readers to say, “There I go again,” when someone does something annoying. By saying, “There I go again,” we recognize that we all take turns being the doofas who makes an illegal U-turn or has a meltdown in public. It builds empathy, and as you put it, social maturity. It connects, rather than places a wedge....
This resonated deeply with me.
For a few years, I used to wish there was something that other survivors of sexual violence or people who supported and cared about them could wear so I wouldn't feel so alone in the world. I wished there was some way to know if the person next to me on the bus, or ahead of me in the supermarket queue might care that I was struggling so profounding and offer kindness and compassion, rather than thinking I was "asking for it" or somehow at fault.
Thank you for sharing. I'm so looking forward to reading more from you throughout 2024.
Compelling. But I would make an exception for the asshat who almost killed me and my friend yesterday by extremely reckless driving. Whatever his story, it cannot justify his behavior. In general, though, it behooves us to give people the benefit the doubt. Indeed, we do not know what they’re enduring.
Yes, I find reckless driving very hard to forgive. I’m sorry that happened! Bad driving should definitely have more (legal) consequences and we need a lot more enforcement. Everyday I fume at people speeding through school zones.
I’m glad I clicked through and read this. It reminds me of a wonderful passage from a wonderful book: The Code of the Extraordinary Mind, by Vishen Lakhiani (highly recommend). In it, he advises readers to say, “There I go again,” when someone does something annoying. By saying, “There I go again,” we recognize that we all take turns being the doofas who makes an illegal U-turn or has a meltdown in public. It builds empathy, and as you put it, social maturity. It connects, rather than places a wedge....