Voices of Men

Back on Friday, October 3, Katie and I went to a presentation for Domestic Assault Awareness Month, which has been going on throughout the month of October in the U.S. I am a little late getting this posted, but we fee like this is a very important topic so I still wanted to get the word out there.

The event we went to was a one-man play put on by Ben Atherton-Zeman called "Voices of Men." We both really enjoyed the performance. It was a mixture of multimedia presentation and celebrity-impersonation based monologues. There was a good amount of audience interaction and variety throughout, and Ben has done great job putting the presentation together and is great at keeping everyone entertained, while addressing a very difficult subject in a way that makes men think very seriously about all their actions. This presentation made me realize that more men need to take this subject seriously. There are so many times in a day when people are confronted with images in the media, movies, magazines, jokes, and conversations that condone treating other people, often women, with anything from ambivalence and disrespect to outright violence. By doing or saying nothing and simply receiving what others give you, the problem is being perpetuated. Non-action is condoning, and for something as serious as this, where there is no wiggle room, no debate as to whether this is OK--it is never acceptable. I remember there have been times in my life that I was not as willing to speak up or to wear a white ribbon to show how important of a subject this is. I remember not speaking up in conversations when I knew things were said that perpetuate violence and sexism, and I am shameful for not doing so. It will be my dedicated effort to not let these things go unnoticed anymore

While there are many centralized efforts to fight against domestic violence, there needs to be a cumulative attempt by more people, and it cannot just be the victim group. African Americans were obviously fundamental in the civil rights movement, but so were the thousands of whites in the south that stood against their own majority because they knew that what was going on was completely wrong. Going to Harper's Ferry last weekend and seeing the place where John Brown planted the seed that eventually grew into the Civil War and the eventual end of slavery in America was a very powerful experience. This person proudly died for a fundamental cause. I say fundamental, because many things are important, but fewer are fundamental. Education is very important, but on most levels it is not fundamental like kindness and love are. 

I have been reading a book by Wendell Berry lately titled Blessed are the Peacemakers, which discusses Christ's teachings on love and compassion. You can read some of the the book for free here. The book has a story about a Mennonite in Holland during the 18th century, who was wanted for being a heretic, and was being chased by someone hired to catch him. The Mennonite ran across a patch of frozen water, and the pursuer followed, but fell through. The Mennonite remembered his faith, and went back and saved the pursuer. Still oblidged to turn in his savior, the Mennonite was convicted and slowly burned to death. 

We would rarely face this type of treatment for speaking out against bad language or advertising that perpetuates negative action, but still men do not do the right thing and be honest because of fear. We should consider the lesson in this story--what some people go through to do the right thing and follow the faith they believe in. I feel that more people, especially men, need to speak out against violence perpetuation and make the choice not to induge or unwittingly support media that communicates negative, unkind, unloving messages and therefore supports negative action, if violence, rape, and other actions which lower the potential of our society will ever be reduced, let alone elimitated. Actions must come from individuals in individual, everyday situations.