Change Takes Longevity

Genuine moments of change in life are few and far between. If you have read my article, Exiting My Comfort Zone, at 22 Feet per Second, then you know it took one helluva wallop for change to impact me. If you’ve read history, then you know that all revolutions aren’t successful, all civil rights movements don’t produce the desired results, and even all peaceful changes of regimes do not mean change for the constituents. Even in the politics of whatever city it is you live, lasting change is tough to come by.

Even when change does occur, it may not be permanent. Sometimes, I still find myself falling into some of the same old, negative habits that used to control my life. It takes a conscious effort to change my behavior, and break the cycle. It takes a moment of commitment to change my course of action. It takes reflecting back on why the change was necessary in the first place to continue down the new path. That is part of the problem with creating change, it is hard.

It is great that all of the recent allegations have seen the light of day. It is great that these movements have swept social media, and it is great that people are finally standing up to their abusers. But what happens next?

Real change takes work, it takes longevity and commitment; and while tweeting about it is a start, it cannot stop there. So many times, as a society, we simply forget about topics we were once so passionate about.

• Whatever happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?
• How about Kony? Are people still searching for him or donating to free the invisible children?
• And what about President Trump admitting to sexual assault on tape? Anything come of that?

Please, don’t let the #MeToo response to the sexual violence epidemic go the same route.

In this day and age, when we have all the information at our fingertips around the clock, our attention spans are shorter than ever. Not only does this create a lack of resolution when it comes to current events, but it creates a lack of accountability to achieve those resolutions for the news outlets themselves. News stories cycle by us as fast as we can scroll, and very rarely do we go back to follow up. So, as long as new allegations are coming out about popular celebrities, it will be headline news, but once those reports stop, so will the mainstream media coverage.

And that one is on us.

If in six months, or a year, or even five years from now we are still talking about inequality and sexual violence; calling for the boycotting of actors, public officials, and media representatives who committed sexual assault; if we are still actively creating safe spaces for victims to speak out; if we are still intolerant of abuse in all its forms, from and/or directed to any class of people; if we are still doing everything in our power to make the world a better place, then and only then will this movement have achieved its goal.

Before these crimes came to light, the monsters committing them were living in the shadows, which is exactly where they thrive. However, once victims started speaking up, those shadows disappeared and those same monsters were forced out into the light.

I am positive that at this very moment every PR rep, publicist, and agent is telling their client to just “lay low”, and that “it will all blow over soon”.

In other words, that their client will be able to go back to hiding in the shadows.

Well, let’s make sure that doesn’t happen. Let’s make sure the monsters stay in the light, where they are harmless.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.

— Maya Angelou

So, when we think about the events over the last couple of months, let’s think about sexual violence in terms of the horror forced upon the victims. Let’s think about assault and harassment in terms of how to prevent it from ever happening again. And let’s think of these wrongdoings as exactly what they are: intentional felonies, and not simply a “mistake” or “abuse of power and admiration”.

Here’s how I suggest we keep the conversation going:

Let’s choose one day every month. And on that day, on the 1st of every month, let’s send out posts across all social media rejuvenating the hashtag #metoo, and adding #stillrelevant.

Let’s make these stories center around victim advocacy and sexual violence prevention. Let’s remind the world that this problem isn’t going away unless we stay proactive. Let’s remind the world what each and every one of these perpetrators did. I don’t want, and I know you don’t either, to see this movement become just another passing fad with no real lasting effects. Progress takes work and commitment. So, let’s commit ourselves to do work.

Let’s take great and make it extraordinary. Let’s eliminate the shadows once and for all.

And most importantly, let’s remind the victims of these atrocities that not only were their voices heard, but they incited real change, because after all, the #MeToo movement was one helluva wallop.

Related Articles:
Me Too Isn’t About Us, Men
Sexual Violence is an Epidemic

#WordsThatMatter
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