The American Tradition of Silent Suffering

Tonight I began training at the Rappahanock Council Against Sexual Assault. We began training by discussing some statistics about the prevalence of assault among different age groups. We learned about the sad cycle of incest and abuse among generations of families and about how few resources exist even now for people who are sufferers. I began to think about how sexual assault has impacted our culture and our American identity. We've seen in our readings that part of being ideal Americans is being able to pull ourselves out of the bad circumstances in our lives and keep going toward greatness. This way of thinking, while sometimes inspirational, hinders the process of healing because it discourages us to seek resources outside of ourselves and maybe our family. So often sexual assault is a family problem because survivors are victimized by someone they know and trust, sometimes even by someone within the family. But even now that families are less isolated than they've been in the past, men and women still have trouble asking for help for so many taboo issues like sexual assault. It has always been part of our American identity to silently overcome our personal obstacles, and while we're moving away from suffering alone, so many victims of sexual abuse and assult still cannot speak up. What does that say about our culture? Are we really as open and foreward thinking as we think we are?

If you're interested in using the resources at RCASA or to find out about volunteer opportunities you can call them at (540)371-1666 or you can email me at tizzylizzy628@hotmail.com