Saturday, March 21, 2015

Safety Fallacy

I was attacked once. In my home. I was 11 years old, and I ran away under the perpetrator's legs and to the safety of a neighbour. The cops think he followed me home. I have often wondered about my fate had I not escaped. And I watch my back. I would love to say if we all got pissed off that it happens, if there was enough keyboard rage, it would go away. It won't.
What happened in a park this week to a teenager is awful. We are all getting heated and pent up about the language around it, who we blame. But can I say, in that moment for that girl, ideology, rhetoric and the 'power' of language meant fucking nothing. She just needed to be safe, but she wasn't and she died violently. So with all due respect, let's all get on with the task of allowing her shocked friends and family to grieve.
I love parks and always will. But our safety cannot be assured anywhere, and nothing will change that.