Writers have the beautiful ability to shut out the noise of in-real-life-stuff and get lost in the world of their imaginations. I spend a lot of time in the world of Ginger Gold ~ thanks everyone for putting up with all the new release posts! ~ but once in a while, I have to lift my head and look around. I admit I don't enjoy it. The news is rarely good and seemingly worse every day. This is why we need good books to lose ourselves in. We need the mental and emotional break.
I'm an advocate for justice and equality. I think we've made some big strides in the last century, but we have a long way to go. Oppression is evil, no matter how it's manifested ~ age, religion, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation.
Gender.
The oppression of women is a commonality in all of the above categories. The latest #metoo campaign is a testament to just how widespread sexual harassment/abuse is. (Yes, I know men are harassed, abused and oppressed too, but the problem extends to women in a far greater degree and extends much further back in history.)
Even the way we word things is evidence that the problem is still far from being solved. Here's a post that's been making its way around social media.
Why is the onus always on the victim to stop abuse/exploitation?
Why is the human trafficking of women so prevalent in this day and age? There'd be no money for the traffickers if SOMEONE wasn't paying. Why aren't those buyers arrested and put in jail?
Why are prostitutes put in jail but not the men who hire them? Thankfully, this, at least, is beginning to change.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/08/criminsalise-buying-not-selling-sex
Why do some boyfriends/husbands still think it's okay to control/demean/abuse their girlfriends/wives?
Today, in Germany, a storm with high-winds is blowing the iconic red ceramic tiles of the rooftops. Even as I write this I see one from the corner of my eye flying past the window and hear it crashing to the ground. I want to view this as symbolic. Old oppressive tiles being ripped away so that something new can replace it.
I'm not a political person. I'm not a lawyer or civic worker. I don't (normally) have a soapbox. But I am a woman. I want my daughters to be free to live their lives and go after their dreams without suffering abuse, harassment or prejudice. I want them to get paid equally for the same work, to be able to walk alone without being attacked, to be respected. All women deserve this, no matter where they live, what they believe, or what they do. All PEOPLE deserve this.
What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment, but please, be respectful.