Sticks and stones may break my bones

[Zorro]

But MAGA trolls will never hurt me.

I’ve been punched in the face. I’ve been held down and spit on. I’ve been kicked in the stomach, had my hair pulled and my eyes nearly scratched out. I’ve had two hands around my throat long enough and hard enough that I legitimately believed I was going to die. I’ve been hit with a heeled shoe so hard it essentially split my entire upper lip in half and left me with a scar that at 4 years of age became a forever part of my face.

I was taunted and teased for as long as I can remember, from being called a boy because of my very short haircut to Pepé Le Pew because no one in our chaotic household had the time to explain hygiene to 5 year old me after my mom took off. I was always the last “picked” for square dancing, which meant that I wasn’t picked at all, but rather the routinely demoralizing bad luck for poor Jason G. who had to know what unfortunate fate was coming before the picking even began.

My virginity was taken from me by a rapist I thought was a friend and then as is so often the case, that horrific event meant that I would be the one cast out of friend groups and thrown alone into the wilds of the lunchroom Thunderdome while being labeled a “whore” at the same time.

The married adult son of the owner of the campground where I was a snack bar cook at 17 seemed to think my ass was a hand towel he could daily wipe his hands on before I spit in his cheeseburger, watched him eat every bite and then walked the fuck out. A French restaurant manager tried to slap me across the face in the middle of a busy dining room in the middle of an insanely busy shift. My boss in the PR world despised me so much, she tried (and failed) everything she could to make me miss a hugely important event with a VIP I worshipped.

https://jojofromjerz.substack.com/p/sticks-and-stones-may-break-my-bones

Heard some of this on Stephanie Miller's show this morning. Tough and powerful read from a tough and powerful woman.

[niyad]

1. Thank you for posting this.

[slightlv]

2. I don't consider myself a tough and powerful person...

but I, as most women, can definitely empathize with this. As I was finishing my last year in college, my husband decided we should get divorced because no wife of his would have a college degree (since he didn't have one. Can you tell he was from Alabama?) While going through the divorce and doing my best to keep up with my studies (taking my 4-year-old to class with me), I faced the fact I had to have a job... immediately. I lucked out, I thought, by being hired as a liaison assistant at the Foreign students division on the Base where I'd last spent my time in the Air Force. It just so happened it was with Saudi Arabia. No lie... my first day there I had my butt grabbed several times, and some guy grabbed my arm and I swear tried to take a bite out of it. Couple of years later, and I'm actually being chased around the desk by the Saudi general in charge! I stayed with them for 5 years. In some ways, I loved the job. I worked with the public to liaison with the students... apartment managers, police, mall owners, grocery store owners, etc. You have no idea the number of stories I have of the culture shock my students experienced when they landed here. And I did love the young Bedouin Saudis that came through the School. They were extremely respectful to me and grateful for any and all help. It was only the royalty and big city dwellers I had issues with. Yes, at least SOME of the royal family MBS had locked up and away were former students of mine. When I quit, I was offered a job with Saudi Airlines, based in Saudi Arabia. I said Thanks, but no thanks. I KNEW I couldn't keep my mouth shut at the indignities and what I considered to be lack of human rights towards women over there. I'd be in trouble the day I landed in country!

I wonder how many women haven't experienced something like what the substack author writes about. Is it different today for the younger ones, as opposed to us when we were in our 20's... back in the ancient days? Did we make any difference in our effort to make things easier for our daughters and granddaughters by putting up with or fighting against this type of crap? I sure hope so, tho I'm worried we're about to see the last of it stripped away if we can't get as many R's as possible out of the government.