Friday, April 24, 2020

Priya Gala, Week 8


Me Too is a Movement, not a moment – Tarana Burke

     In this talk, Tarana Burke talks about the hard truth that she is faced with. This hard truth is that she is numb. Numb usually means a void or the inability to feel. However, according to her, numbness also comes from accumulations of feelings. She feels numb because predators of sexual violence are still in power and she has everything to tell the survivors but nothing to give them. The MeToo movement had begun a decade ago with survivors and their healing at its forefront. However, the media with distorted facts always manages to gather enough backlash for the movement and the movement that aimed at survivor’s wellbeing is now being talked about as if it were a vindictive plot against men. Ergo, she does not recognize the contemporary MeToo movement because this is not what had begun a decade ago.

     The collective trauma experienced by everyone across the globe is the first step towards building a world free of sexual violence which makes MeToo not a moment but a Movement. It is extremely important for us to recognize that power brings privilege and renders others without it vulnerable. But power and privilege do not need to be about destroying it can also be used to heal and create. Possibility is extremely important; it is a wonderful gift. The ones before us believed that it was possible and while they might have not achieved what they wanted it fueled their vision. While we might be tired, numb, and exhausted we must not let it stop us. We must keep fighting for the world that our future generations deserve; a world free of sexual violence.

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