In last night’s Our America, Lisa Ling brought us stories of two different children – one young 10 year old boy dreaming of baseball in Florida and the other, a young 13 year old girl in California – on opposite sides of the country but both with the same story. Their innocence was taken away from them. As these now adults talked about the abuse and faced the memories with Lisa Ling once again, the pain was evident and the detour that their lives had taken was clear. And as Lisa asked the questions and told their stories, she did so with understanding that while many years may have passed, the wounds are still healing and the aftereffects are written in the sadness in their eyes.
As I watched the program, my first reaction was of how brave these two survivors were. To tell their stories and share their impact will save others who may find themselves in similar situations. Parents will be more aware and ask questions. People around will pay attention and speak up. Society will pay closer attention…because the days of minding your own business and turning away when something appears to be going wrong is changing and needs to change. Everyone should be watching…and everyone should be extra aware of what’s going on with our younger generation.
As Lisa Ling continued on with the stories, my heart broke for Leeronnie and the other little boys who were abused in the Red Sox clubhouse for many years as others turned their heads or laughed and made jokes of what was going on. It goes beyond my understanding how grown-ups could see and know that this was happening and not step up and see that this – these young men who so idolized being on the field and in that space – could be their children…or them. Why didn’t anyone speak up for them? Where were the voices of the bystanders?
As the stories were carefully brought to light, the sadness of Kristen’s story of a female coach threatening her and her family was awakening. From a quaint little Walnut Creek neighborhood – with nearby Berkley University where students standup and fight for the most basic rights, this young girl was simply fighting to survive a possessive, manipulative, and criminal couch, Julie – a middle school teacher who deserves to be exactly where she is – in prison. Where were the signs? How can we do better in the future? This needs to stop…
From the beginning, my heart was so extremely proud of these two individuals, Leeronnie and Kristen, for sharing their stories and standing UP in their truth to shed light for so many others. Let their strength and courage be the ripple that starts the wave and let this same strength and courage allow each and every one of us to stand UP and speak UP when we see something that we think is suspect or wrong. Let’s use this courage to be the voice for those who have smaller voices or no voices at all. This could be exactly why you are here – to save that life and to be that voice.