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Tess Catalano assessment of Take Back the Night event, 1982

Assignment #2 Page 2

October 23rd, for three hours -- out of 8,760 hours in a year -- women were demanding the right to be safe, to be free of fear, to be powerful. That threatens men. It challenges their sexual imperialism. So be it. That is what war is all about. 
   The real issue is power. Men have lost power by being kept out of the park. But rather than address this issue blatantly (for that would admit a possession of and a need for power) men will talk around the issue of power by raising the need for education. They will say that they should be able to go to the rally because they care about the safety of women and want to find out more about it. It would be simple to answer: the rally is not intended to be educational, do not come. But that doesn't address this issue of "education". The rally is not educational because women know about violence. Our experience is our education. Rape, incest and battering are our facts, fear and anger our theories. If men want education, they must educate themselves. We are tired of educating men. For so long we were silenced and not believed, why should we educate you now? It is outrageous that you turn to the very victims of your priviledge and say: "I want to lean, really. Please educate me." Education takes time and energy away from other women. I won't do it. If men want to be educated, go to the library and read. Or stop telling us how sensitive you are and educate your brothers. But don't force you "support" on us, don't demand to hear our stories. For too long the stories of our survival have been used as the titillating plots in every policeman's fantasy. If you want to learn, learn how to educate yourself. I will not do it for you. 
   I will believe that men feel sad and possibly angry about violence against women. Statistics show that 1 out of every 4 women will experience sexual abuse before she is 18, after that her chances are 1 out of 3. So whether men know it or not, a woman in your family has porbably survived (or possibly not survived) sexual violence. But your anger is not a woman's anger. Your anger stems from being unable to protect your lover, daughter, mother, wife, (read:

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October 23rd, for three hours -- out of 8,760 hours in a year -- women were demanding the right to be safe, to be free of fear, to be powerful. That threatens men. It challenges their sexual imperialism. So be it. That is what war is all about. The real issue is power. Men have lost power by being kept out of the park. But rather than address this issue blatantly (for that would admit a possession of and a need for power) men will talk around the issue of power by raising the need for education. They will say that they should be able to go to the rally because they care about the safety of women and want to find out more about it. It would be simple to answer: the rally is not intended to be educational, do not come. But that doesn't address this issue of "education". The rally is not educational because women know about violence. Our experience is our education. Rape, incest and battering are our facts, fear and anger our theories. If men want education, they must educate themselves. We are tired of educating men. For so long we were silenced and not believed, why should we educate you now? It is outrageous that you turn to the very victims of your priviledge and say: "I want to lean, really. Please educate me." Education takes time and energy away from other women. I won't do it. If men want to be educated, go to the library and read. Or stop telling us how sensitive you are and educate your brothers. But don't force you "support" on us, don't demand to hear our stories. For too long the stories of our survival have been used as the titillating plots in every policeman's fantasy. If you want to learn, learn how to educate yourself. I will not do it for you. I will believe that men feel sad and possibly angry about violence against women. Statistics show that 1 out of every 4 women will experience sexual abuse before she is 18, after that her chances are 1 out of 3. So whether men know it or not, a woman in your family has porbably survived (or possibly not survived) sexual violence. But your anger is not a woman's anger. Your anger stems from being unable to protect your lover, daughter, mother, wife, (read: