Beyond Endurance

I believe her. I cannot imagine what sort of man-made hell (quite literally) she is now living through wherever she and her family are in hiding. I like to think of them as the trees pictured here are doing—embracing and supporting each other. From an ocean away, I can at least virtually support her.

I am, of course, referring to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and her forced-to-go-public allegations of sexual assault as a 15-year-old at the hands (and body) of Trump-supported Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Trump, and many male Republican senators, have publicly called Dr. Ford a liar. Would we expect anything different, anything better from men who excuse their own misogynistic beliefs and behaviors as mere locker-room boorish boy banter?

I do understand the long-lasting negative effects of surviving sexual assault. I understand the power of love, support, (good, woman-centric) therapy, time—and of telling one’s own story if and when one is ready to do so and when one is ready—in healing, in survival, in resilience, in endurance. In, as is used well in Indigenous Studies, survivance: survival/endurance or perhaps survival/resistance.

I wish for Dr. Ford and other brave girls and women in the world survivance and goddess-speed.