Trigger Warning – Rape is discussed in this post.

 

One of the signs of my recovery, or at least my progress if not recovery, is my ability to write about something “else”.

I miss these posts at times.

A post where I am not fleshing out what the very next move is, rather I can see a picture. A big picture which includes something else than the last 2 years of my life. The positive is that I am seeing the world. The negative? I am seeing the world.

With respectable frequency I try to express myself with selected words put together to tell a vizion of the story you may not already know.

I don’t have that kind of time tonight so:

STOP DEFENDING RAPISTS.

Now I understand that you really and truly may not believe that men like Pill Cosby or Nate Parker are rapists.  Now I really and truly need you to know that your steadfast defense of these men makes you suspect.

Yes you.

You who love women and would never harm them – you are spending a whole lot of fucking time finding reasons why Bill Cosby is not guilty, Nate Parker was acquitted and throwing about names of White men who’ve gotten away with the rape and abuse of women.

Do you understand when you do this, you are telling Black women that the men who abuse us should be given a pass for the “bigger picture”.

Do you understand that to a victim of rape there is no bigger picture which doesn’t include her (or his) violation?

Stop saying Cosby is an old blind man. Stop the bullshit with the buying of NBC.

Stop telling us that it is a media conspiracy that Nate Parker’s rape of a Penn State student has only surfaced to undermine Birth of a Nation.

I want you to first stop because it is not the truth.

I want you to also stop and think about how you sound to the Black woman who loves you, who statistically is very likely to be a victim herself.

Stop.

When these stories surface, oh and by the way?  Both men have had this information out there in the universe about them for YEARS.

When these stories surface instead of breaking your neck to find ways to tell Black women why we shouldn’t put their feet to the fire, why not take a moment to tell a Black woman you love her.

Seriously.

We see you go out of your way to legitimize their rapey behavior and it makes us wonder how many victims are in your skeleton closet since you find it so simple to defend men who rape.

Yes some of us are not going to support Birth of a Nation because Nate Parker is a rapist. That’s not bringing the Black man down, that is holding ONE Black man accountable for his actions which is something we don’t get anywhere else if we don’t do it ourselves.

 

Before you write me and explain why I am wrong about Parker, or Cosby, or some other Black man who you heard one time at band camp was falsely accused – look at this picture, and think of me.

 

That is the response you’re gonna get.  Save us both the time alright?

And when you get a moment ……. stop fucking defending rapists.

 

Aphrodite Brown