Unsilenced

Silence kills, not taking up a voice hurts, it does not heal, individual experience is seen as part of a larger social problem. This is demonstrated through the nature of the clothesline project. Each shirt stands on it's own to tell it's own story, but it becomes a statement when they are hung together. There is power in community, and that power lends itself to healing so well. Solidarity makes people strong, you can see it through this movement and Black Lives Matter and countless others. It shows the importance of working together to make big changes, especially societal ones. "There will be a time when our arms will be so wide that they encircle and embrace the entire world." I think that is a beautiful statement, and one that I believe whole heartily in, if there has to be one sentence to define what I am all about as a writer, friend, woman, and activist, this is it. You cannot achieve great change on your own, even if you are only trying to change yourself. When people stand together they don't feel like victims anymore, they can see the strength in the people around them and begin to recognize it in themselves. They are survivors and warriors. It's important to be the voice for your own cause, don't let others define your experience, this is particularly important for woman and other oppressed groups who often get spoken for.

Reading what the shirts say gave me chills. These stories are mostly older than I but they can still fully speak for the cause. The way they choose to word their story or the story of another is so telling. Just copying the newspaper headline or excerpt tells us so much how the media sees the story. The story is often about the man, the abuser, and the victim remains nothing more than a victim. These shirts are a way for them to take back what happened to them. Writing makes it so they can say something after being silenced for so long. Silence is a tool to manipulate the oppressed. You cannot heal in silence. Writing, speaking, telling, that's how you heal.