"When I began to grow stronger and more confident, I was able to see that men are individual human beings - just like women - and that I needed to be brave enough to open my heart and view each man as a unique person, not as a subhuman predator. This opened up my world and healed my heart. Life got better for me."
Thank you Penny. This is so important. And the saddest part is, people who are stuck in that phase of hypervigilance will view people who try to pull them out of it as the enemy. Even though the only way to heal is to find a way out of it.
As you say, the biggest problem for black America is that this mindset of victimhood and hypervigilance is extremely actively encouraged. If I were more conspiratorially minded this would be near the top of my list of conspiracy theories. I know too many people personally who are stuck in this trap.
While all humans are potentially dangerous, men are undeniably dangerous. I have recognized that throughout my lifetime but as a 6'3" man it has (perhaps foolishly) had less influence on my behavior than it has had on my 5'0" wife. She quite properly, in my opinion, exercises a degree of caution around men in isolated places.
I don't think that makes her a bigot. In her barefoot childhood she was bitten by farmer's dogs. She loves dogs, but exercises caution around dogs unknown to her.
I think that the line between appropriate caution of dangerous things and bigotry is actually clear or should be.
"When I began to grow stronger and more confident, I was able to see that men are individual human beings - just like women - and that I needed to be brave enough to open my heart and view each man as a unique person, not as a subhuman predator. This opened up my world and healed my heart. Life got better for me."
Thank you Penny. This is so important. And the saddest part is, people who are stuck in that phase of hypervigilance will view people who try to pull them out of it as the enemy. Even though the only way to heal is to find a way out of it.
As you say, the biggest problem for black America is that this mindset of victimhood and hypervigilance is extremely actively encouraged. If I were more conspiratorially minded this would be near the top of my list of conspiracy theories. I know too many people personally who are stuck in this trap.
While all humans are potentially dangerous, men are undeniably dangerous. I have recognized that throughout my lifetime but as a 6'3" man it has (perhaps foolishly) had less influence on my behavior than it has had on my 5'0" wife. She quite properly, in my opinion, exercises a degree of caution around men in isolated places.
I don't think that makes her a bigot. In her barefoot childhood she was bitten by farmer's dogs. She loves dogs, but exercises caution around dogs unknown to her.
I think that the line between appropriate caution of dangerous things and bigotry is actually clear or should be.