Thoughts on excerpt from “Men Explain Things to Me” by Rebecca Solnit

“In other words, he created an atmosphere that was uncomfortable or dangerous for women, which would be one thing if he were working in, say, a small office. But that a man who controls some part of the fate of the world apparently devoted his energies to generating fear, misery, and injustice around him says something about the shape of our world and the values of the nations and institutions that tolerated his behavior and that of men like him.”

This paragraph continues to speak out loud a decade after publication; before the reversal of Roe v Wade.

History repeating and once again, it is the men we have to rely on to protect our choice. When historically what repeats is violence not perpetuated by women but onto us. Women make do. That’s the only thing I have learned over time, or more so it has learned me. Do not speak up, you are not heard. The louder you get the more likely you are silenced. Even woke women tell(ing) each other to stop, take a moment to breathe, ground yourself. As if identifying as a woman isn’t like being grounded every god damning day. As if; a deep breath will clear this air. I am breathing to labor change, deeply, hissing out as I try to hold onto hope, knowing faith is entirely cock blocking my way.