On Rape and Bob Beckel...

I've been reading some blog posts in response to Bob Beckel's comments on rape and the more I read the more disappointed I get... It's infuriating how clueless and cruel people can be when they think they personally aren't affected by a certain issue... do people really think that all rape victims(survivors) are or should be brave and/or emotionally strong enough to report what happens to them as soon as it happens? Do you honestly think you could "always" tell if someone you know had been raped at one point in her life?... I admit, it may sometimes feel like a scarlet A, but the truth is unless they/we want you to know about something so private, you could never guess, because often the first thing we learn to do afterwards is how to hide those scars. Because rape survivors/victims are generally conditioned and taught to blame themselves for the attack (unless someone with better understanding of the issue reminds them not to...), more often than not they will be ashamed and try to forget and bury the whole thing, pretend it never happened....

The 10 Minutes From Dreaming to Awake...

For 10 minutes today, I didn't remember you were gone, and no longer just a phone call away... For 10 minutes I was able to imagine maybe having a wedding day someday... For just 10 minutes I was whole again, feeling warm and cherished the way I had all my life, being your little girl. As the fog of sleep slowly lifted, and reality started seeping in, I got the strongest urge to call you, just to hear your voice and make sure you weren't mad at me for somethIng since you hadn't called in a while, only to remember you couldn't pick up. You could only watch over me from far, far away... where I couldn't see or feel you. And all I had left of you were a few photos and childhood videos, old T-shirts that I often sleep in and the memory of once upon a time, feeling truly loved. I miss you...