Malcolm Gladwell on David and Goliath
“Giants are not as strong and powerful as they seem” – Such an important lesson for anyone.
https://youtu.be/ziGD7vQOwl8&w=500
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The Statistics Are Real People
I’ve said before that given the statistics about child sexual abuse, there’s almost no way you don’t know someone who has been abused. Over the last few weeks it may seem like we are being inundated with news stories and accusations about famous, and not so famous, people who have been sexually harassing, assaulting and…
Gambling on the Future
Many survivors like to think they know what their future holds, and many of them end up being correct because they spend so much time trying to control their lives that they never really experience any big changes. I’m here to tell you, however, that is no way to live. If there is one thing…
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Narcissism isn’t something we usually associate with survivors of child abuse; however, I was thinking of that exact thing recently. Let’s see if I can explain this. Last week, I got to spend the week in Australia for work. Traveling to Australia from the US is a fairly surreal experience because of the time it…
Why Did So Many Adults Minimize the Abuse in US Gymnastics?
So, when I look at a highly successful program like US gymnastics, like Penn State football, like USA Swimming, like English Youth Football, etc. I think we can clearly see this. Why be such a downer, don’t you see how much good this program, and the people in it, are doing? It’s probably nothing, just some misunderstanding by over-imaginative kids. Nothing to worry about, look at the success we are having in the field, gym, or water. That’s what this is all about. That’s the important thing. The rest of this will pass.
Except in the case of US Gymnastics, these ladies, and dozens of others, have not simply let it pass. They have remained steadfast in talking about it, making sure they can do everything they can to make sure it doesn’t happen to the next generation and reminding all of us that winning at all costs, is not worth the damage that is done to children who are sexually abused.
They are truly resilient, like many of us who have survived sexual abuse, and gone on to talk about it, share our own stories, and live our adult lives. But never confuse that resiliency with how hard it really is to do. Never look at a survivor who has appeared to overcome their abuse, and assume that it’s ok to diminish what happened to them. It’s never easy, and for each one who might appear to have overcome, I’ll show you 5 who are still struggling every single day. You’ll find many of them in prison, or mental health care centers. Still dealing with the aftermath of their childhood trauma without access to the same support and resources that we lucky few have had the privilege to have. Yet they are all human beings, and they were all children once, children who had to suffer at the hands of adults who were more interested in their own pleasures, comfort, and place in their society than they were to consider the damage being done to these children.
Don’t be one of those adults. There are many ways to abuse a child. Larry Nassar did and is paying for his crimes, finally. But there were a whole lot of other adults who abused these girls, by not taking it seriously, not investigating, and not caring enough about them as human beings to protect them. Make no mistake about that.
