Yesterday, the Premier of British Columbia , Premier Christy Clark publicly shared a personal moment in her life where she had been a victim. A moment of when a man had pulled her 13 year old being off the sidewalk and into shrubbery. She was lucky…..she managed to escape without physical harm, but still wonders who else might have suffered at the hands of this stranger.
She didn’t tell anyone. She kept it to herself like so many did and still do.
Premier Clark shared her personal story with the knowledge that she will be victimized again. She knew that telling her story would result in a deluge of terrible, horrific comments by the public who do not support her politically. Comments by folks who cannot see past her political position to a place where a vulnerable teenager still relives a horrible moment. An “almost” moment that would have irrevocably changed her life.
I can only imagine that her hope was that someone else might read what she wrote and feel safe in coming forward if the same or similar were to happen in their lives.
For a moment let’s read the words written by Premier Clark as if they were written by our sister, aunt, wife or mother. We would be horrified to read about that moment that almost was: The moment where someone dragged her into the bushes with the intent to harm her and she escaped. We would be horrified to think that she had to replay that moment in her mind over and over and over again and that she wasn’t able to share it with someone who could have helped her cope. We would be horrified to think that she had to keep this to herself for so long.
If Christy Clark were our sister, our aunt, our wife, our mother or our daughter we would be applauding her courage and empathizing with her.
Instead she will be victimized again….and young women: our daughters, our granddaughters and our nieces will stay silent because if Christy Clark cannot share her pain, her terrified moment, her “almost was” without judgment, then how can anyone?
This has nothing to do with political alliances or affiliations – this is a human issue.
JUDY KUCHARUK 