It’s been a heck of a day blog community. Not at all in a good way. Most of us over here on the contributor side have been glued to screens either watching or reading about the hearings in Washington.
Last week, I read an article in the Washington Post about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford that moved me to tears. The thing that is so wrenching about her story is how ordinary it is. You know what I mean. A thing happens at a party or on a date and we don’t know really what meaning to make of it, so we push it aside and try to move on then, eventually, it catches up. Perhaps not so dramatically as her story with not so much riding on it, but it catches up one way or another. In any scenario, public or private, we suffer.
This story moved me to the point that I wrote an email to one of the journalists in the by-line, Jessica Contrera. I hoped that it might get through to Christine if the journalist was the gatekeeper. Today, on this day of days, she wrote me back. It was a simple thank you. I like to hope that she showed it to Christine.
Why am I putting this up here? Well, we bloggers are interested in how fitness enriches our lives in feminist context. We are interested in strength and resilience. We address pain too, injury, trauma and ways we might adapt. It’s notable, perhaps, that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford ran to the edge of her country and immersed herself in surfing. I bet she could write a mean piece for us on surfing and resilience. I hope she does some day. What I’m saying is I feel very much that she is one of us and she is bleeding in public today because she felt she had no other moral choice. I wonder if I knew the guy who date raped me when I was 21 was up for some prominent position that could decide on bodily rights of women, would I be as brave as her? Not sure.
So, here is my email to her. It’s a frustrated wrenching rant of an email and I present it open letter style because what the hell else is there to do on a day like today, where you watch what we watched and hear what we heard and despair that it will make one whit of difference because we may just not matter enough.
Hi Jessica,
I’m just some random Canadian with a WoPo subscription. I’m also a psychotherapist, for what that’s worth. I’m writing to you (after reading an article of yours and a few others) in the hopes you will forward this message to Christine Blasey.
Just tell her I care and I get it and I believe her. I can understand why she needed to blow up her life to tell her story. I understand why she couldn’t live in a country with him on the supreme court. I understand why she probably will have to move, why he will get confirmed anyway, why it still matters that she said something.
It’s so devastating and the world is a cruel place. Especially America is a cruel place. Tell her I don’t know her but I’m holding love in my heart for her. Tell her to come to Canada. Tell her to write a book. Tell her to get off twitter and stay away from email. Tell her to do the work she loves and love the people she loves and that there will be places and hearts in history that know. Tell her I’m sorry for the world.
Just tell her something.
Sincerely,
Susan Tarshis, M.Ed., RP
Registered Psychotherapist
Thank you. Love you. #metoo
Thanks so much for this. I’ve just been crying off and on all day, unable to watch it, just peering in via Facebook occasionally. Thanks for reaching out to her. It feels like the right thing to have done. Love the surfing picture.
Thank you, Susan, for saying a lot of what we need to get clear about ourselves. One thing is how corrosive this is for the well-being of all of us, particularly those of us who are survivors of sexual assault (of which I am, sadly, one). Speaking out is a big help. I hope she can get back on her surfboard soon.
Brilliant work! In heartfelt solidarity from here in Australia, G #thefutureisfemale
This may be my favourite post of all time. No, really.
Thanks for reminding me that I also want to send Dr. Blasey Ford a note of gratitude. She inspired me to publicly name the guy who attempted to rape me 16 years ago. Just published it in my blog on Friday. And it actually (so far) has been a very emotional but also therapeutic experience with multiple women reaching out to me about their own experiences of assault. Each of our voices validates and inspires other women. I’m so grateful to Dr. Blasey Ford for having the courage to do this on a national stage against such a powerful man.