Nice Collin Burgess! Thanks for noticing.

Whatever people say, it’s a reflection on them. They are meeting a need of their own. For those who feel driven to publicly deny my being sexually assaulted as a child, I’m wondering…what’s in it for you? Either you’re a perp, and you have a history of denying for self-defense, or you’re a victim, and you can’t afford the lose the scribble covering your memories yet.

Those who need to throw flimsy arrows at my reaction to Kavanaugh’s appointment, and society’s reaction, are just…simple. They haven’t read the piece; they’ve read the headline. If you read the whole article, you process the nuance. If you’re interested in a headline, but not in the paragraphs that follow, well…I taught struggling adolescent readers for 17 years. I understand how that works. I feel sorry for them that they never got the help they needed.

Those who state that they were falsely accused, and it ruined their whole deal, at least they’re being honest: they’re talking about THEIR experience, rather than attempting to critique mine. For all three of these reactions, I feel sorry for the commenter. The same way I understand my own experiences, I understand theirs. When your hobby is seeking out others’ work to attempt to smear it, in order to gain public kudos from other grownup schoolyard bullies, you’re not a happy soul.

Really, this piece was written for women. The men who read, and clap, and seek to understand my experience, are blowing my mind and giving me more hope. So thank you.