Nothing says I love you like a black eye and a punch in the guts. Domestic violence. I grew up with domestic violence. In fits of rage my mother would, for no good reason, beat me, slap me across my face, pull me around the house by my hair and try to drown me while I was having a bath. I received a black eye and a bloody nose on more than one occasion. The scars have faded from my physical body, but the memories are etched in acid on my psyche. When I was 16, in an angry rage, she came at me ... I pulled up my fist, ready to punch her in the face. Enough was enough. Ive never seen her look so terrified. She never put her hand to me again. It is little wonder that I grew up with some anger issues myself. A few years ago I enrolled in an anger management course specifically for woman; there were a dozen of us in the group and I was the only one who had never experienced abuse in an intimate relationship. I consider myself a strong woman with a rather large set of internal gonads and have always said that if a man were to physically abuse me, Id be out of there ... ALL these women said the same thing. What I learned is that the perpetrators of the abuse are cunning masters of deception, who hatch out a plan over the course of time ... theyre not going to punch you in the face on your first date. This TED talk is powerful and potentially triggering. Please, if you are in an abusive relationship, reach out ...
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 01:07:51 +0000