Misogyny and Triggers

I know we’re all joking all of the time now. We spend so much energy trying to be funny and writing jokes. The more absurd the better; so many people try to walk that tiny, infinitesimally small line between “subversive” and “absolutely truly horrifying.”

I joke that I’m sensitive and that I have too many feelings. I get upset sometimes and unfollow or block people because they say things that not only upset me, but trigger me. Sometimes I just have to for my own well being.

I was an abused child and teenager. I’ve been hit, forced into situations against my will, and convinced that I was nothing. Worthless. In these situations, the person knows the way around your head. They know what to say to you to make you stay. They know how to convince you that the situation you are trapped in is your own fault and the best that you could ever hope for.

There is spirit in words. We can use words to make a person do or believe anything. We’re desensitized, though, and maybe don’t realize the power behind certain words and phrases. They can hurt and damage and overwhelm.

I don’t think rape jokes are funny. I don’t like it when I look at the screen and see the same words that were once used to convince me that I was worthless and nothing and trapped being celebrated and laughed at as “jokes.”

I don’t mean that you shouldn’t write them. I believe that you can say whatever you want. But in a perfect world, maybe people would be more mindful of the fact that the situations they’re joking about have actually happened. To lots of people.

They’re not just words.