13Aug/200
When We Speak Up
⚠️Content Warning: Child Abuse⚠️
I was afraid of my Mother. Trying to set boundaries or advocate for myself brought on physical violence. She'd get me alone and use a belt, wooden spoon, or hair brush on me until it hurt to pull clothing on over my body.
The phrase, "Don't rock the boat!", was used during the time we briefly lived with my Mother's sister when we were homeless. I was four at the time
I tried to stand up for myself over dinner one night. The next day she waited to get me alone.
That phrase became a way of shutting me down.
I was so shut down in my family. There's a way that white women shut down voices of dissent that feels so like the way my family silenced me.
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