We all think that if we were in that situation, we would've acted differently but how do you know that for sure? How do you know you wouldn't be petrified, paralyzed by fear because you might have people depending on you and you can't afford to lose your job? That's an all familiar story of a lot of women out there who would do anything to provide for their family and the fear of letting them down, disappointing them, is unimaginable.
Why do we continue saying these women should've left? Why are we not saying these men shouldn't have done it in the first place? Why do we not educate our men, our sons, our brothers on how they should treat women? Yes, they exposed him years after the incidents occurred but have you asked yourself why? I have and I don't really have an answer but I do have a theory: There's strength in numbers. At the time when it happened, all or most of these women were very young and haven't found their voice yet. If they had come forward, it probably would've been one or two and would the world have believed them? NO, a resounding NO! No one would've taken their word over someone as powerful as Weinstein. Right now, they're older, wiser and allowed their work and reputation to speak for them and now we believe them. We also believe because there's so many of them that there have to be truth to it.
I believe them because I'm a woman. I believe them because this is what we as women are subjected to every single day. Guess where it all started? Remember that young boy that pulled your hair and lifted up your skirt to see your underwear in preschool? Remember when you told your mom and she said that's how boys show you that they like you? That's where it starts, that's where we start accepting it as being normal. That's where boys started thinking that their behavior is okay because no one called them out on it. I remember going through this in primary school and everyone laughed because I felt uncomfortable with boys behaving that way around me, and no one else seemed to mind. I had boys as friends and they didn't do things like that to me because I communicated to them how I felt about it but they did it with other girls. Why, you might ask? It was normal, if you don't like it, fine but someone else will. It doesn't make it wrong if someone is okay with it, right?
For most men it's too late to change, it's unfortunate but true. Have you ever tried to convince an older person that something they're doing or believe in is wrong? Something they've done or believed that spans a lifetime, older than you are? Not easy, is it? We shouldn't stop spreading awareness because of that, who knows, people do change, let's hope it's for the better. What we can do though is to teach our sons, educate our brothers on what sexual harassment is. Make them see that what might be normal to them, constitute to a lifetime of pain and anger for someone else. The tweet has generated 64k comments, 23k retweets and have 49k people liking it but is that enough? It sparked a much- needed and well- overdue conversation but it would be useless if it doesn't bring about a change in behavior. How did you feel when your mother, sister, aunt, girlfriend tweeted #MeToo? Remember that feeling next time you harass someone as they're also someone else's mother, sister, aunt or girlfriend.
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