You may have seen these past few news weeks dominated by headlines that describe the trauma of sexual harassment and assault. You may have, due to your own experience, wanted to turn away from these accounts, which found their expression online following widely reported allegations of Hollywood abuse, with the hashtag “#”.
Or, you may have been emboldened by these stories, and by the courage of those who told them. You may have found new strength in this chorus and determined, “enough is enough”.
It has been difficult and painful for some to read these stories. It has been difficult and painful for others to report them. And it may seem awful right now to think that still, a difficult and painful question follows all of this. That question is: what’s next? What must follow all the stories?
This world, as you hardly need reminding, is beset by problems and by tragedy. Due to poverty, climate change, war, work and individual acts of cruelty, people of the planet experience forms of violence every day. It is vital, of course, that those who have suffered not be silenced, and that we try, however we can, to give those still suffering silently some means to tell their story.
And it may seem awful right now to think that still, a difficult and painful question follows all of this. That question is: what’s next? What must follow all the stories?
It also vital to remember that a story is not itself an end.
Stories can hold within them power to change an injustice. At the beginning of the twentieth century, for example, many workers were so moved by stories of children forced into hard labour, they campaigned, and withdrew their own labour, so that these children might be free.
Back then, we did not hear so many stories, though. Those that came in the time before mass media were few, and so more powerful. People heard these stories of injustice and were less inclined to share them on Facebook than they were to correct their conclusions; to make sure they never happened again. And now, one hundred years later, we live in a world where an estimated .
We hear or read these stories now, and they are overwhelming. But, they also act as a sort of a comfort. We think, as we do when witnessing any act of violence in a public space, “Well. Everybody knows this is happening, so I am sure that someone will fix it.” This is called the , and it doesn’t mean we are bad not to act. It just means it is human to suppose that someone else is acting.
I mean. Why wouldn’t they?
We hear or read these stories now, and they are overwhelming. But, they also act as a sort of a comfort.
Now, this happens on such a large scale. We read accounts of trauma and we believe that these stories will be addressed by some authority. We have lost the memory of a time when we used to act for our brothers and sisters ourselves. We are positive there is an agent, of some type, to answer all the “MeToo”.
The thing is, it still is up to us. We cannot be convinced that the power of story alone is a solution. And this is difficult in a time where we not only feel the bystander effect at a global level—surely, someone is doing something—but where there is a commonly held view that stories are themselves an end.
It is, of course, very brave for people to tell their stories. It is often very emotional for us to listen. It is frequently the case that this emotion persuades us that something is happening; something beyond the deep feelings of the story-teller and the strong responses of those who listen. We believe awareness of a story is a “first step”, and, of course, it is. But in a year, or maybe six months, we will see another broad movement like #MeToo, and we will say again that these stories are a “first step”.
#MeToo has happened before. Although, it was then called #YesAllWomen or #MenCallMeThings or #EverydaySexism. Our human enchantment with story is such that we are inclined to forget these moments, calling every new moment the first.
No matter the pain and the difficulty, we must move beyond the story.
If a story of suffering moves you, that’s good. It means you are a living, breathing, compassionate type and I diagnose you with being fully human. But, what comes next? What lives beyond the story?
With #MeToo, there is plenty we could do. We could make sure that all people have secure work conditions, and are therefore freer to challenge harassment. We could make sure that all people have easy access to secure housing, and are therefore freer to leave a dangerous home.
Or, we could just listen to stories, allowing ourselves to be enchanted by them, as is our human inclination.
