A big group of women just marched past my apartment on their way to Old Town Fort Collins for a Take Back the Night rally. They were walking right down the middle of College Ave, one of the busiest streets in the entire city!
What a very powerful thing to observe. I have tears in my eyes. I think it's partly for all the women who have experienced the types of things you don't even wish to happen in your worst nightmares, and somewhat for the part of me who is horribly afraid of opening my first-floor apartment windows even on the hottest of sweltering summer nights, in spite of the fact that I don't have air conditioning and for the part of me that is always watching my back and subconsiously in fear for my general safety walking through a public grocery store parking lot after dusk.
Thursday 21 April
Take Back the Night
Colorado State University 7pm begin march to Old Town Fort Collins
Rally 8pm Old Town
A night of support and empowerment for women and survivors. We begin with aspeak-out for survivors to talk about their experiences, then march from campusto Old Town to reclaim the right to be safe and live without fear, and concludewith another rally and music in Old Town Square.
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2 comments:
When I lived down south, the best time to take a walk was at dusk. Most of the time it was just Iris in the stoller and me. We lived in a middle class neighborhood. But, every time I would see a single male walking toward me, on either side of the street, I would clench the handle of the stoller and devise several emergency reactions to a possible attack in my head. And, every time the man would pass by, ususally with a smile or greeting, I would frown at myself for how defensive I was acting. Or sometimes, the anger would swell inside me that I even needed to calculate how many fingers it would take to unbuckle her staps and which direction should I run. Was it just a new mom being overly protective? No. I still do that. Here, in Canton, a town of 3,000 people.
But, in confronting each fear, I gain empowerment. So that someday my knuckles won't turn white at the uncoming of any stranger because I hope to exsist in a more beautiful world, but that I am also raising a daughter(and son) in the reality of today and I am trained in basic self defense. That is what I hope Iris can see.
Have either of you read "The Gift of Fear"? I don't recall the author but it was on Oprah's bookclub list.
Wow- I've never heard that statistic, Sarah. Even though I'll still be watching my back, it really opens your eyes.
And Jess- thanks for sharing. Sometimes I think I'm crazy for imagining the same elaborate scenarios when walking down the street by myself, that I'm just a result of an over-active imagination, but in reality is probably a good thing that we are on the defense and thinking that way.
I'm off to check out that book on Amazon right now...
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