"Alone we whisper. Together we roar." ~ Faith McDaniel
Topics like the one we shared tonight on Butterfly Dreams Talk Radio are haunting. Disturbing. As if a child could ever consent to having sex with an adult. It’s impossible. Legal? Accepted as “normal”? The thoughts raced through my mind like a pack of wild monkeys. My stomach was reeling. How could something so utterly terrifying, so life destroying, so evil as pedophilia be considered “ok” by anyone? How did this even become a topic for the show tonight? Did it need to be addressed? Absolutely! How can a small army of advocates and survivors make a difference against the appalling typhoon that is soon to hit the United States, as it has the United Kingdom?
We will need help that is more than human. Angel armies. We also need to join together like never before. Empower the children in our corner of the world. Do all we can to educate people and raise awareness of what abuse does to the child’s life.
And… Talk. Talk. Talk. Tell our stories. Let our voices be heard.
In the past I’ve been tempted to think, does my story really make a difference? I am not “A Child Called It”. Last week I was convinced once again, that every voice counts, ever story matters. I shared my life journey with over 200 students that were packed into a tiny auditorium, with standing room only, last Wednesday night. I shared my truth… told it like it happened. I could tell that the students were “with” me, really listening. When I walked off that stage, they broke into applause, as I was sitting down, they were all standing up, thanking me for being honest. My story. A standing ovation? Yes.
So many came up to me afterward to thank me. I left not only feeling validated, but knowing that I had changed the perspective of many in that room… opened their eyes to the reality of what abuse does to a child’s soul.
Several days later, I was told, there was still buzz on campus about my story. Saturday morning over three hundred people gathered for the Kappa Delta Shamrock 5K. Together we were running and walking to raise money for Childhelp. Together we raising awareness about child abuse. Before the race started, while we were all stretching and getting ready, student after student came up to me, thanking me again for sharing my story. Some had been unable to attend because of classes, but had heard about it. One young woman came up and said, “You have no idea what an impact you had on the guys who heard you. They are still talking about it. No one gets through to them. You did.”
I was honored and humbled at the same time. Here I had been thinking, “Does my story make that much of a difference?” For several months now, I’ve thought, I speak because I’m willing to speak, willing to say what happened. That’s why they ask me. I’m willing.
I realize now, that is what is going to make a difference. Not a bunch of facts or a list of after effects found on a google search, but personal stories. Your story. My story. All our stories added together. Because stories are personal. The facts are no longer in a long list of bullet points, they are real; they are attached to a living breathing human being. That is how we will roar. By talking & talking & talking & not stopping! No one can deny your experience, your life, your story. So speak up. Share it in every way you can: Sing it. Dance it. Paint it. Speak it. Write a poem or a story or a blog. Get your story out there for the world to hear and see. That is how we are going to stop the deluge of pedophiles saying “having sex with an adult doesn’t hurt a child”. That is how we will stop this hurricane that threatens the lives of children everywhere.
Speak Up. Roar!
Here’s the link to the article that started tonight’s Hot Topic: http://together-we-heal.org/2014/03/04/we-cant-prove-sex-with-children-does-them-harm-says-labour-linked-nccl/
Here’s a link to the show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/butterflydreamstalkradio/2014/03/11/its-a-family-affair--pedophilia-should-it-be-an-accepted-act#.Ux3_QVi97gw.facebook
Here’s a link to my website: www.MichalMadisonArt.net/galleries.html. Art is one of the ways I tell my story. Selling my art is one of the ways I support child abuse prevention and awareness via: Childhelp (www.Childhelp.org) & Butterfly Dreams Abuse Recovery (www.ButterflyDreamsAbuseRecovery.com).
Roar my friends. Roar!
~michal madison
11 March 2014
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