Time for Unity

 

We, as a nation, have gone through (most of) a year of… Hell. Folks used to joke, LAST YEAR, about 2020 and “perfect eyesight — well we sure have seen a lot since January.

 

Legendary basketball player Kobe Bryant and his daughter were killed in a tragic helicopter crash stunning sports fans and leaving a mourning mother and wife. Our 45^th president was tried, impeached, and eventually acquitted. The #MeToo movement encouraged many to speak about their sexual assaults (and rapes), and many survivors cheered when some big names who felt entitled to abuse innocent victims were finally served justice.

 

America heard about the first reported cases of COVID-19 on our shores; these spurred a lot of misinformation, prejudice against Asians, fear, hoarding, restrictions, lockdowns, fighting, and even a stock market crash. Police-involved deaths of several Black men and women, as well as the outspoken rhetoric of prejudice, spawned the Black Lives Matter Movement and instigated many peaceful, and some violent, demonstrations.

 

Meanwhile, many businesses closed (some permanently) due to COVID-19 related restrictions, many children “went back to school” via the computer, jobs were lost, and families were devastated financially. For those who were able to work from home, their homes became crowded business offices, schools, gyms and more. The name “Karen” became an insult for an angry, often middle-aged white, woman who lived a privileged existence and attempted to inflict her will upon others.

 

The sitting president of the United States came down with COVID-19, and survived, and other prominent Americans from politicians to actors and sports-stars caught the virus and some did not survive. Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent 27-years sitting on the Supreme Court and eventually died after a long struggle with Pancreatic Cancer; finding and appointing her replacement was a lengthy political struggle that led to a resurgence of the #MeToo movement. Beloved TV personality Alex Terek died of Liver Cancer after a courageous battle.

 

More than four-million acres burnt, and some still burning, in California and the western U.S. costing billions of dollars; firefighters from across the country flew in to help an area where the heatwave and Covid-19 caused complication during evacuations, hundreds of homes and structures were burned, dozens injured, and multiple firefighter fatalities were recorded.

 

We are halfway through December and celebrating the holiday season in a year where many family get-togethers were only virtual, where many restaurants are closed to dining, movie theatres remain dark, and few indoor recreational activities exist. America has lost more than 300-thousand people to COVID-19, families and friends did not even get to say goodbye to many because of quarantines. And numbers keep rising.

 

But now, halfway through December, a very contentious national election has seen its final result with the Electoral College, and progress begins towards a new presidency. Vaccines against COVID-19 have been approved and a limited number of healthcare workers are beginning to get vaccinated – more vaccine is coming and eventually the hope is that most, if not all, Americans will be vaccinated against this sometimes deadly and often disabling disease within the next several months.

 

Now is the time when Americans need each other, no matter what our political affiliations are, no matter what our ethnicities are, or our lifestyle choices, and no matter what our financial status may be. We have been through Hell and we are almost to 2021. Let us come together and recover, let’s work together and heal our nation, comfort those who mourn, strengthen those who have suffered, and be a united America.

About Bartlett’s Rule & #MeToo

When I was writing Bartlett’s Rule I drew on a lot of experiences that my friends and I had growing up. According to statistics from RAINN “One out of every six American women has been a victim of attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.” My friends and I definitely knew the reality of that number.

In Bartlett’s Rule Paige is unable to talk about her experience, she feels shame and doubts that people will believe her. Even though she has gotten some therapy, it is hard to get past the guilt of being a victim — this is a very normal reaction and one which keeps many victims silent. In Bartlett’s Rule my characters learn that being a “victim” is not the victim’s fault, the story line also shows that sexual assault is not an act of love or even just healthy sexual desire, it is a show of force and control.

Recently the #MeToo movement has helped many women speak out and see that they are far from alone; it has also allowed some male victims of sexual assault to speak out as well. While there are many who have stated that “they are just coming out of the woodwork” there is a modicum of truth; finally victims who have remained silent all these years are speaking out. Facebook hosted so many comments containing the simple #MeToo moniker and there were a lot of discussions.

Still there are people who doubt, people who question about the movement inspiring over reactions. Some have even complained about being falsely accused of sexual harassment, people are worried about things that can be conceived in the workplace as improper, and still others who simply cannot fathom the amount of people coming forward. It is a difficult topic, too difficult to ignore. Perhaps one day when folks are more aware of their own actions and words, when they are more respectful of others’ feelings, and they are less judgmental about what types of clothing were worn or where someone was walking we may be able to weed out the over reactions, reduce the incidents of abuse, and help to heal victims without any shame or guilt.

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A Story for Today — Courage of the Heart

About 

Courage of the Heart

by Chelle Cordero

When I wrote Courage of the Heart in 1999 it was well before the #MeToo movement, ironically the story is right on spot for 2018.

But in this case it is not the female lead who was victimized; however she does endure many perils in the story. My male lead, Adam, is not the “typical” romance novel hero, he has seen ugliness and cruelty and has lived his life a wounded man. Until Davie comes into his life…

She’s an innocent as far as he is concerned and he believes he shouldn’t muddy her life with his shame, but he finds it hard to fight his attraction to her. He finally brings himself to let her know why he’s “not good enough” for her, expecting her to walk away in disgust — he is astonished when she doesn’t leave him.

Though there are perils and dangers to both of them when Adam’s past forces its way back into their lives they work together to save themselves. Davie’s love as saved Adam and his love, in turn, saves Davie.

The story in Courage of the Heart is touted with “Sometimes love is the only cure for the very deepest of emotional wounds.” Each of the main characters in this story is strong, together they are triumphant.

COURAGE OF THE HEART shows us that sometimes love is the only cure for the very deepest of emotional wounds. Adam Sherman has remained quiet about his scandalous past and is comfortable with his reputation as a womanizing and dedicated bachelor. He is an expert in the field of computers including programming, networking and hacking. At twenty-five years old, he is content with his management job at a local Internet Provider.

Davie Prescott is twenty years old and a college student who is working part-time at the same Internet Provider where Adam is employed. She was raised in a very close knit family of aunts, uncles and cousins. She and her widowed father are very close. Adam is attracted to Davie, but he shies away from her innocence because he feels his shameful past is too harsh for her existence. Adam finally shares his darkest secret with Davie and is amazed to find that she doesn´t turn away from him.

But when Adam’s past catches up to him, he soon learns that there´s a lot more at stake than just his nightmares. Adam is prepared to give Davie up if need be in order to protect her until he learns that she´s got a secret of her own. With Davie´s help, Adam learns a courage that is born of love, courage of the heart.

The story of the two lovers takes a series of unexpected and fast paced turns where lives, sanity and love are put in jeopardy. Their commitment to one another results in a spirit that binds them together and helps them to overcome physical and emotional dangers.

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Hashtag-Me-Too ~ #MondayBlogs

RAINN and other well-known sources have been citing appalling statistics about sexual assault and abuse in America since 1994. However it wasn’t until 2016 and 2017 when a deluge of sexual assault/abuse/harassment allegations against famous personalities came to the forefront that most people started mouthing the words, “I can’t believe how many allegations...” Earlier this year Facebook saw a huge amount of their members posting #MeToo representing those of us who suffered in silence and in solidarity; most posters were women although several men joined in as well.

Do you feel as if you’ve been bombarded by the amount of women, men and (former) children who have stepped up with their stories of abuse? According to RAINN’s most recent facts “1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime” and “About 3% of American men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.” There are even more disturbing facts when you consider that “From 2009-2013, Child Protective Services agencies substantiated, or found strong evidence to indicate that, 63,000 children a year were victims of sexual abuse.” For more statistics visit https://www.rainn.org/statistics/scope-problem .

Have these numbers bothered you yet? Think about the teen-age girls traveling the NYC subways during rush hour, when bodies are jam-packed against one another and suddenly there is a hand exploring their genital area (or worse) — I know this happened often to my travel companions and myself during our high school years. There are too many stories about women being propositioned in return for otherwise well-deserved work promotions and far too many stories where the advances were turned down and yet the word NO held no meaning. Of course most of us are highly offended hearing about children who were molested by that favorite “Uncle” (or “Aunt”) and then dismissed when they tried to tell Mommy and Daddy. I know there are horror stories about men being victimized by women as well and also same-sex assaults.

There is a sad sickness in our society when a woman is blamed for getting raped because she was walking home alone at night, or when a 14-year old child “allows” an adult to liberties. How twisted is the logic that believes a prisoner in jail, even for minor infractions, “deserves” to be raped? And why do we find different standards and excuses based on someone’s political position, financial status, being a movie star, or his/her skin color or sexual preference? How can any decent human being believe that a woman who doesn't want it and fights cannot be raped?! Why do some states treat marital rape, even though illegal in all 50 states, different when it comes to punishment? And why are there so many complaints about college administrations who hide the incidence of rape and sexual assault rather than pursuing full police investigations and arrests?

I am aware that there will be someone reading this who will offer up the possibility of false accusations and the permanent damage that can cause the unjustly blamed. Yes, false accusations can cause lifetime trauma leading to broken marriages, loss of employment and even worse. But I honestly believe that the actual incidence of rape and unwanted sexual encounters, even those that are not prosecuted, are far more common than false allegations; in this instance we hope that the law and juries can see through to the truth. But I will admit feelings of anger when the reaction to an accusation is automatically greeted with the assumption that the victim is crying “wolf”.

Knowing how many of us were compelled to post “#MeToo” is sad. And learning how many rape and assault survivors have felt they had to keep silent because their character would be questioned or condemned is tragic.

…just my thoughts,
Chelle Cordero,
author of The Survivor Series: Bartlett’s Rule & Courage of the Heart

                                                                                                   

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