19/01/2009

And, so? What are you going to do about it?

A question of wisdom, which was accompanied by consequences and required digestion of my own thoughts.


Last night my husband and I chewed through some thick conversation.

Sexual exploitation.
Abortion.
Rape.

I can barely even type that last word. I hate the 'R' word. It is an action I have absolutely zero tolerance for. None. I shudder at the sound of its name. Even as I type this, I find my blood boiling and my mind racing to find the sharpest, most piercing yet non-cursing words to describe my feelings. But I'm sure you get the picture.

I can recall every tv or movie scene about a women being assaulted. Every image has been burned into my mind. I lose sleep. The thoughts crawl into my head for months and even years after. The tv show or movie goes off the minute I see it coming. If we think the story is worth continuing with, we wait for the next scene.

Last night's conversation led us to discuss the lack of adequate support for abused women, especially those who conceive due to the violet act. Especially for those who are already marginalized, whether they be in the first or third world.

So my husband asked, "And, so? What are you going to do about it?


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God gives us passion, and more than likely it's for a reason. If there's something that you're wildly concerned about and boiled by; think. Why? Where is that passion coming from? And I don't mean why does the act/situation/ritual/or whatever get you, but why were you granted the passion against it.

And...

What are you going to do about it?


The things that bother people to the bone are usually the things they bury deep; bury them in a place where they don't have to deal with them any longer. Down into a place where nothing will be done. Leave it for someone else.

And that, my friend, is what cripples this world.

5 comments:

Tiffany said...

I think that everyone feels that one person can't accomplish anything alone. I think what people don't realize is that they aren't the only ones feeling passionate about something, but that everyone else feels the same way too, and nobody ends up doing anything. That was wordy. Sorry.

As for the rape on TV - I've been noticing a lot too, that a lot of shows are based on a theme of violence against women. It's not even just rape, it's all kind of abuse. And how many books out there have to do with the "good men" trying to help the women that are being trapped/exploited/hurt by the "bad men."

Have you ever read Along Came the Spider (I think it's by James Patterson). It's the book made into a movie about a man who has women locked up in caves under ground. The book is WAY worse than the movie - the author tries to set up the most horrific situations for these women so that we'll feel for them and really want the good guy to succeed. How is this entertaining? Of course we want the good guy to succeed, but why do we have to produce these nasty, grotesque scenarios to do it?

I could go on about this forever, but I'll stop now.

Anonymous said...

so....what are you going to do about it...either the feeling of indignant passion that hearing those stories stirs up in you, or the insight that it's 'easier' to hide it all away?

Candice said...

Well, for now... Blog about it, I suppose. In the more long term? Incorporate 'issues of passion' into searches of volunteer/career opportunities. I strongly believe God gives you a passion for what you're meant to do. Passion. Not comfort.

Anonymous said...

We all have our demons that keep us awake at night... mine is the small child who is abused or neglected and is alone and powerless to change or even know that they can live in different circumstances... What am I going to do about it?? this is the question that haunts me.

Q&L said...

http://capss.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74&Itemid=357&lang=en

Some in our church are also very passionate about these women...thus the church supports Crisis Pregnancy Centre in Winnipeg, which is governed by the CAPSS org in the above link...