Years ago, I tried a little experiment. I am an oblivious man, and often miss things. This can make me seem careless. So I tried to be as empathetic as possible. If you seemed upset or a little off, I wanted to be aware of that. I thought "Oh, this should help my friendships gain depth, this will be nice to try."
Little did I anticipate what happened. What mostly happened was that friend after friend ended up sharing sexual assault stories. The stories had always been there: they were just waiting for me to be ready to listen. But if one was too abrupt, busy, or unfortunately stubborn to listen, the victims toned down their stories or never told them.
It's hard. I'm thinking of one person in particular. Do I want to know the story that I think X has, that she's hinted at? It's going to hurt. But I think she's ready to tell it, and it's time to listen to it. Don't force anyone to tell their story. But you may even now be thinking of someone who you should give more of an opportunity to tell you, someone who already trusts you.
Comments (4)
I've always tried to be empathic for that reason. What a shame it would be if someone were finally ready to share their story and gain some closure, yet have no one around to listen.
Also, hello! I hope you are well!
It was good of you to listen. I'm glad to see you are still here after all these years! Hope you are doing well : )
@kaiori: Good to hear from you! It's nice to still write here and there
@Like_A_Tigah: So good to see your comment! I appreciate it
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