Monday 2 January 2017

Of Angels and Demons

Someone once told me that experience was a good teacher but that one did not need to go through everything in order to learn. It didn't make sense to me when I heard this but I remember the conversation 5 years later and I can't help but see the truth this person was sharing.
You see, the salon to me is so much more than a place to make the latest hairstyle come alive on my head. It has aslo turned to the shrink's chair, confessional, court, even a provider of fodder for gossip and food for thought. Which was why when I went to the salon on this particular day, I was not prepared for the macabre story I heard.

So, this woman (we will call her Roz) had died, leaving behind three children, aged 4 to 10 years. She was not ill, she did not have an accident. Her husband beat her and she fell from the staircase while running away from his blows. She died later in the hospital from injuries sustained from the beating and fall from the staircase. The worst thing about this story is that she had been warned by her mother and sisters to leave the abusive marriage but she did not heed. She wanted to be a hero and died a coward.

You see, the real victims in this sad story are the children that witnessed this abuse for years. And this leads me to ask, when does it all end? When do you say enough? When does the angel transform into a demon? When does self preservation kick in and you run for your life? Do you even need anyone to tell you to save yourself?

Many of the victims of domestic violence often say the reason they stay is because they are afraid of what people will say and how to start over. I dare say that it really doesn't fly in the face of the obvious. I was once told by a lecturer in school, that self preservation was the first rule of life.

A friend said in a Facebook post I read, that people should learn to walk away when their lives are in danger. I know I have even made similar posts in the past. I mean, animals do it when being chased by predators so why not humans with apparently more intelligence?

We do not need these sort of stories anymore. There are no winners in the end.

Again, do you really need anyone to tell you to flee in the face of terror? Borrow yourself brain today, brethren.

-Your Friendly Health Worker.

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