1/2
I don't know if I told this story here or not. I was 17. And had just moved into my older sisters house to attend university. She was a radical feminist, and running consciousness raising groups out of her living room. In '67. One day she thought I was out, and a bunch of women came over. They were all talking in hushed voices. Telling each other the story's of their rapes. The horror, the fear, and eventually their horrendous illegal abortions. I was shocked into silence. Frozen in place.
@corlin
I wasn't going to cry tonight but okay
@publickovacs Made me tear up as well reading. @corlin
@corlin As someone with multiple experiences of that type, I want to extend so much thanks and love to your sister for creating the space for those vital conversations, and to you both for the material actions that ensued.
If the world were a just place, all your efforts, and hers, and everyone else's in your activist circles, would have yielded a more secure legacy. But in the absence of justice, thank you for your experiences in the struggle.
We will all press on together. 💙
@corlin ❤️ Wow, Just thank you for sharing that. So powerful and emotional.
💔
I remain blown away by first-hand accounts like this of the Before Times.
We can't ever go back.
As you say, Fuck That Shit.
Thank you so much for sharing your story.
What really grinds my gears, what absolutely pisses me off to no end, is that one doesn't even HAVE to have a story like yours, or be "radicalized", to understand why we think this way. All it takes is basic Empathy for another person, a bare minimum amount of Humanity... and yet, the very idea is itself, "Radical"...because Humanity isn't apparently innate within "Humans".
😢😢😢😓😓😓
Ya very true.
But in 1967, it was indeed a radical thought to be empathetic with the plight of women and minorities.
I feel the same way re: people who argue against Minimum Wage and Single Payer healthcare, SNAP/WIC, etc. Those are PEOPLE, HUMAN BEINGS that supposedly are not worth anything. Who "don't matter" with regard to survival, who are somehow "less than Human", all because they don't generate revenue enough for the Bureaucrats in power.
@corlin
Much credit to the soul you were born with, who you are. But also much admiration for the strong family members that nourished that young mind.
Yes.
I am my mother's son.
And my sister's brother.
(note: I kinda didn't have a chance to turn out otherwise)
😉
@corlin 💙
I thought of you as we wound down the mountain from Crater Lake over to Ashland and back up to Medford during the blizzard Sunday night.
If there had been more internet and less coffee you may have had unexpected Visitors🤣
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When my sister found me. She introduced me to all, and now I had faces, and names. To this day I remember each. Not one of those women was untouched by rape. All had suffered beyond my comprehension. This then led to my radicalization. My involvement in direct action. Through these brave women, I began to get involved in an underground organization that helped secure abortions. At great danger, and unbelievable trauma.
I know well the world before roe.
And Fuck That Shit.