First blog- why does it need to be said?

About eighteen months ago, I was sitting in the back of a cab, when the cab driver asked me, innocently, no doubt, 'So, what do you do?'  Too tired from a typically delayed flight on one of those regional air-lines, where the pilot looks like he is twelve-years-old and the flight attendant offers you a tiny packet of shapes for breakfast, whilst smiling tightly through the turbulence, I could not be bothered pretending.  I told the cab driver, off-handedly, 'I'm a domestic violence advocate.'  Two second pause.  Then, the standard response, 'Good onya!'  Then, he uttered the words that inevitably raise the hairs on the back of my neck, 'You know, I would never hit a woman!'

That phrase- so seemingly innocuous; even a crude attempt at solidarity- never fails to make me cringe.  I think it's because, here we are, in 2012, and it still needs to be stated.  It is not so implicit that we take it for granted.

Several days ago, the legislative definition was widened to include derogatory taunts, damage to property (intentional) and preventing someone from having contact with family and friends and harm to pets.  And I couldn't help but sigh.  Because it was just one more spelling out of things that should be assumed and are not.  


So, here we are, alls of us post-modernist, post-feminist, post-everything, but not post-domestic violence.  This   blog hopes to be a part of changing that...