Posted by Hannah on November 9, 2000, at 18:37:10
This is a really moving and hopeful article some of you might like to read
http://www.pilot.infi.net/~susanf/emotabus.htm
Here's a quote
"Emotional abuse threatens to become a national illness. The popularity of nasty, mean-spirited, personal-attack cruelty that passes for "entertainment" is but one example. "
Always remember that just because people choose to ridicule you and reject you if you complain, it doesn't make them right. And if you take a chance and stand up for yourself or someone else who is being mistreated and it brings on more ridicule and rejection it doesn't make it right.
And if they say Oh we were just kidding you weren't hurt and you were hurt, being dismissed doesn't change that.And if you take a stand it is a victory. Maybe not for yourself but for the truth and for all the people who are ridiculed and dismissed and told they don't think what they think or feel what they feel. Just because someone says she isn't being mean doesn't mean she isn't. And if you are being ridiculed and discounted and you refuse to smile and go along, it is a victory.
And if you complain it's courage. And if they try to make you feel guilty or like it's your own fault or your imagination, that's to be expected. And refusing to feel guilty or accept the blame or deny your own feelings is also a victory.
But that doesn't mean victory doesn't hurt and isn't lonely.
Hannah
poster:Hannah
thread:2414
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20001031/msgs/2414.html