Me too. Two very simple words. A very powerful meaning.
Every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted. (RAINN) Thousands of people have come together to share their stories of sexual assault and harassment simply by stating “Me too.” That’s how serious of a problem this is. That it’s taking all of these people tweeting and posting that they have been assaulted in someway to get attention. According to BBC the hashtag has been used over 200,000 times since Sunday night (I’m writing this on a Monday.) The sheer magnitude of the times this hashtag has been used is mind-boggling. Alyssa Milano shared this tweet which explains why the #MeToo movement has begun. This tweet alone has since gained over 16,500 retweets.
So now we’re all out here sharing stories of sexual assault, harassment and even rape. They aren’t all stories about how the perpetrators were caught and the justice system prevailed. Most of them are about people who never reported it, weren’t believed, or were targets of victim blaming. They’re sharing stories of telling men in bars that they already have boyfriends because they won’t take no for an answer. We’re sharing stories of when another person decided that their wants and needs were more important than someone else’s right to their own body. If you aren’t someone who’s been affected by this then I strongly encourage you to think about what that must be like. To have someone decide that they should have more control over your body than you do. Then stop and think about what you’re doing to prevent it or allow it. Are you raising your sons to respect women, mind, body and soul. Are you of the “See something? Say something.” school of thought? The most beautiful tweet to come out of all of this comes from the comedian Nick Jack Pappas. We can all do better. The thought that I may have a daughter one day who ends up in a situation where another human being decides they have a right to her makes me sick. We have to do better. Be better for ourselves. For the ones who have already suffered for the ones who will suffer and for the ones who are suffering right now. We have to be better.
Here’s the thing. Me too. It took me a long time to be okay with it. To understand that I didn’t do anything wrong. That I didn’t cause it. To understand that there are good men in the world like my fiance and my father. There are the better men hell that there are better people than that. We will get there. This will stop. It shouldn’t take a hashtag for this to matter. But we’re at the point where whatever it takes to change it is what we have to do. Until then if you or someone you know has been assaulted you can check out RAINN.Org for help lines, and other resources. Love each other hard and support the people you know who have been through it. You might find common ground in something you never knew you had. Here’s hoping this is the trend that sticks and doesn’t disapear after 24 hours.