-sickening silence
-windows cracked
-her sweaty palms grip mine
-tear soaked faces
-gut wrenching sobs
-relief or grief? Maybe both
-what is there to do
-would anything even make a difference
-quiet car
-heavy air
-the big target sign lights up the parking lot
-people walk by
When someone close to you experiences sexual assault it’s very upsetting and really makes you think about rape in our society today and the politics and culture surrounding it. There’s a lot of talk of a “rape culture” in America but when I think of a rape culture it’s not just cat calling and crude jokes. America has preventative laws and legislation in place to protect women, which a lot of countries can’t say they have. Rape that isn’t being fought against in countries where there aren’t laws that specifically tackle it, child brides and arranged marriages where women physically can’t get help out of fear of being rejected from their community/religion. This is where there’s really a rape culture. I’d never thought about this much until my friend shared her story with me. Speaking up about issues like this isn’t easy to do, especially with all the tumultuous conversation around rape culture and sexual assault and how to quell these issues. That’s why this story is important.
You have some great details in here that I hope make it into the story–“sickening silence,” “windows cracked,” “sweaty palms,” “target sign.” Keep going!
Wow Sarah! I am very interested to see what you do with your podcast. I agree with you that speaking up when these problems occur is a very difficult thing to do, and hopefully more and more people are becoming brave enough to tell their stories. I am happy to see that your friend got the courage to tell you hers. Your commentary is very intriguing as well, and you use very good descriptions such as “heavy air” and “sickening silence” This is a very difficult topic area to discuss, so I am happy to see that you are sharing your personal story!