Most people plan for the
future and think about what they want to be, where they will live and
who they'll live with.
Normal people plan for their
education, careers and how many children they'll have.
Some people make alternate
plans given their current situation and whether or not they can
afford a new car, a down payment on a house or if they can manage to
pay off their student loan debt.
Me?
I can't plan for the future.
I don't have that luxury. I may not even live that long. I'm not even
forty-years-old. I'm a woman. I have no children, no husband and no
family. People like me don't live very long.
Most of us die at an early
age.
Most of us are murdered.
*
Predators go after easy
targets. Nearly all predators are men.
It doesn't matter how young
or old you are, if you're pretty or ugly or thin or fat. You'll be a
victim.
Nothing can save you, except
perhaps lots of money.
Women who have no place to
go are the easiest targets.
Young girls get into fights
with their parents, maybe they're kicked out because they're gay or
got into too much trouble. Nobody ever asks why
they get into so much trouble but they don't seem to care about that
question. All people expect is for them to obey, to conform and to
not question authority—even when that authority expects the wrong
things from them or when that authority makes them do the wrong
thing.
Nobody
ever asks why.
A young
man, older man, any man comes along and offers these girls in trouble
a place to stay. They don't say why they're offering but you
can take a guess.
The girl
ends up in three ways: raped, pregnant or dead.
Nobody
ever asks why this happens—it just does.
Young
men, older men and any men do these things because they can. Nobody
questions them.
They
only tell other young girls—don't end up like those girls.
Don't be bad like they are. Nobody ever asks why they
are bad but nobody seems to care about that question.
Older
women are also at risk.
They may
do everything right, except for picking the wrong man to be with.
Older
women do normal things like finish college, have a career then have
children. Older women are not like those bad girls who made
the wrong choices. These older women are nearly perfect in every way.
However,
the man they chose to be with is not. The man may have problems, he
may drink, have a temper and be abusive at times. Nobody ever asks
why this is—it just is.
The man
ends up hitting the wife but just a few times at first. Maybe she
made him mad and maybe he had good reason to hit her. Maybe she likes
getting hit and beaten and thrown on the ground—she's very clumsy
after all and that's probably why he's beating her.
And the
children... did anyone ask about the children? Perhaps you may have
missed them. They were in the corner hiding from their angry daddy.
They know their daddy can be nice at times but right now he's very
angry and he's hitting mommy. They don't know why he's hitting
mommy but they know they'd better stay out of sight or daddy will
start to hit them. They don't want that, do they?
Then one
day mommy has had enough. She starts packing her things when daddy is
away and tells her children, “It's time to go now” and she plans
for her escape. She may have relatives or friends she can stay with,
people who believe her and know how bad her husband is.
One
wonders if they knew the husband was bad, why didn't they intervene
sooner? But nobody seems to care about this question.
But the
mommy and children haven't escaped yet because the husband is looking
for them. The husband starts to call everyone, especially her family.
He soon finds out where she is and comes after her.
The man
may do three things: apologize and beg her to come back, all the
while making promises he'll never keep. He may not say anything and
arrive mysteriously without warning to her location and take the
children since they see daddy isn't angry with them and at last
resort he may threaten her.
Did I
say three things? I meant four.
He'll
take the children away and she'll never seem them again.
He knows
not to threaten her in front of family members or anyone because that
makes him look like the bad guy and he's not a bad guy! He
just needs to keep his woman in line. He doesn't need to apologize to
her since it's her fault he was angry at her. She's the cause of all
his misery. He has a right to his children because they're his and if
they aren't his, well that's her fault and by good and golly
he'll set her straight and get his revenge.
Oh yes,
five things.
He'll
kill them all.
Nobody
ever asks why this violent man believes the woman is the cause
of his misery or why he wants to take his revenge by murdering
her and the children, but nobody seems to care about this question.
There
are other women who society doesn't bother with. Society considers
them worthless, therefore these women have no place to go. These
women aren't bad and don't ask for trouble, yet trouble seems to find
them no matter what.
The
women who have no place to go are called homeless. They have
no shelter, save for what meager settings the city or county services
decides to give them. Often this is very limited. In many cases,
these women are left on the street.
These
women may have a disability or what is commonly called, a mental
illness. This disqualifies them as human beings in society's
eyes. They may shout at the air, condemn strangers or yell at
themselves. They are re-living the trauma they suffered before on the
street, in shelters, in foster homes or broken marriages or abuse
from family members.
Predators
find these women easily and take advantage of them. Predators in this
case are called: drug-dealers, pimps, rapists, abusers, perverts and
other homeless.
These
predators go after these women because they know society views them
as worthless. Another term for these so-called worthless women is:
unreliable witness.
Who's
going to believe a crazy person who shouts “rape” at everyone? No
one cares about the lives of these women who've suffered so much.
Nobody
every asks why people don't care about these women or why
they've suffered so much and nobody seems to care.
Then
there are the women outcasts—women not even given the lower ladder
of society's caste system.
These
women have many names, some of which are interchangeable: whore,
prostitute, slut, bitch, and worthless.
Some
women have to sell their bodies to get money, food and shelter.
Sometimes they need drugs to deal with the pain they've dealt with at
the hands of others. These women have been through a lot.
Predators
know they can target these women with impunity. The police don't care
about women who sell their bodies. Therefore, another common term for
these women ends up being: dead.
Nobody
asks why these women have to sell their bodies or why
police don't protect these women but nobody seems to care about
these questions.
There
are women who are known as Trans. Not everyone sees them as
women. Society may not see these women as having worth, therefore
society does not protect these Trans women.
Trans
women face more violence including: increased exposure to HIV/Aids,
drug-use, violence from intimate partners and violence from law
enforcement.
Murder
is a common fact among Trans women. It's a reality and a known
outcome for most: knowing that the police will do nothing when you
report violence and sexual assault, knowing you have nowhere to go
because your own family has thrown you out, knowing you can't even go
into a bathroom without risking threats, rape or violence.
Who can
you trust when everyone around you is a threat?
Nobody
ever asks why Trans women are being murdered and nobody seems
to care that this is happening—it just is.
Perhaps
the most chilling fact is that children are also at risk for being
murdered.
They are
not bad children and no child deserves to be murdered.
Children
are murdered by: their family members, teachers, preachers,
neighbors, police, strangers and pedophiles.
Nobody
ever asks why these children are being murdered and nobody
seems to know the answer to this question—it just happens.
Knowing
that anyone can be murdered for no reason at all is the most
horrifying truth. You don't have to be a bad person to be murdered.
You can be a good person and be murdered. Anyone can murder you, even
your own family members.
I think
the most common cause of murder is that the victim cannot escape.
Murderers take advantage of their victims who can't escape.
Then
there are the murderers.
Why do they murder?
We know
the answer to this question: because they can.
Nobody
prevents a murderer from killing someone.
People
don't know someone has been murdered until they find the dead body.
Why is this?
Law
enforcement knows the answer to this question: because they silenced
the witnesses.
When a
witness suspects someone of being a murderer they try call for help,
to tell someone to prevent the murder from happening.
Police
are the ones who answer the call.
The
police are the ones who are supposed to stop the murder. That's the
idea, right?
Wrong.
Many
murders have happened because police refuse to listen to the victims:
the women who are beaten by their partners, by their family, by their
clients. Women who are not considered women are also not believed by
police.
Then the
murders happen. The victims who tried to call for help are murdered.
People
act shocked but they knew all along that it would happen, because
they let it happen.
Family
members are complicit in the crime when they refuse to stop the
abuse, the molestations, the rapes and the murders.
Teachers,
nurses, doctors, priests and preachers are complicit when they know
who the abuser is but claim they can't do anything. Even when they do
report it to police, nothing is done.
Neighbors
will tell media in a fit of greedy spot-light hogging, that they knew
all along who the murderer was. Some of those neighbors even called
the cops.
But the
cops did nothing. The neighbors who didn't call the cops, did
nothing. The media did nothing until the body was found.
It's
almost as if they want these murders to happen.
Why?
The sick
answer is: for entertainment.
Thousands
of shows are dedicated to the glamorization of women victims.
Detective shows on TV feature crazed-but-calm murderers hiding within
plain sight. People even glamorize real-life murderers and put their
faces on magazines, tabloids and make movies of them.
This is
not an effective way to prevent murder.
I could
argue for vigilante justice—that we should be able to stop the
murderers ourselves with our own hands and weapons. The trouble is,
it also makes us murderers.
There
are complicated scenarios where the death of the murderer is also the
death of the victim—in cases of extreme hostage situations where
the victim is still missing. There are also victims who rely on the
murderer's well-being for their own: wives who need husband's money,
children who are dependent on the murderer and partners who still
need shelter that the murderer provided for them.
It's a
vicious cycle.
There
are many predators out there who are ready to be the next murderer.
You can kill one murderer but there are hundreds of thousands more to
take their place.
How do
you kill the heart of this monstrous hydra?
Teach
people not to kill. Teach men not to take their hatred upon women and
victims. Stop making victims of people.
Knowing
all that I've said here and what the facts are, can you say that
you're prepared to be murdered?
Knowing
that it's only a matter of luck that saves you from being murdered,
can you honestly say that you can prevent your own murder?
Your
race, economic background, education, class status, location or
neighborhood, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability,
social vulnerability, and other over-looked factors can determine if
you're at risk for being murdered.
There
are always statistics, yes. Some people are more at risk than you are
for being murdered. This is a sad truth. Many people don't even have
to consider this and never have to prepare for being murdered.
Sadly,
many have. There are children who never plan what they want to be
when they grow up because it's not a matter of when they grow up but
if they grow up.
There
are children now who are put in cages by our own government because
of where they come from. These children have escaped violence in
their country, only to face more violence at the hands of more
abusers. The children have been forcibly separated from their
families and must face this new threat on their own.
If those
kids ever happen upon a predator, who can they call for help? These
children are vulnerable to attack.
How are
we preventing future murders?
When we
victimize others we make them easy prey for predators.
We
should be protecting the vulnerable and not defending predators and
potential murderers.
If we
can't prevent the murder of others, how can we expect to protect
ourselves from murder?
Until
these things are accomplished, the murders will continue.
*
I cannot
hope to prevent my own murder should it occur.
There is
no one to call for help, since I know I cannot rely on police.
I am one
of the unwanted in society with no family and few friends. I am not
young, photogenic or popular. I am not rich and I don't have a high
status in society. I know I'm at risk for being murdered.
Knowing
that I could be murdered does not make it easy to accept.
I know
my murderer most likely has committed violent crimes before and is
probably a repeat offender. The police may already know the identity
of my murderer. There may be witnesses who have called police about
my murderer or even testified in court against him. I'm pretty sure
my murderer will be a man.
Given
the rise of violence against women and violent assaults that have
taken place, I know my murder will be gruesome and painful. This is a
hideous fact to accept.
I also
know that my probability for rape will increase, since police don't
prosecute rape. It's very likely my killer is also a rapist and has
raped in the past. It's also likely that my killer may be a
pedophile.
The
police have all the evidence they need to catch this criminal but
they refuse to do so. I'm not of any worth to the police and they
will not face any penalties for not preventing my death. They know I
don't have relatives who will prosecute and that any relatives I have
would not have enough money to hire fancy lawyers who are capable of
suing the police. Very few police have been prosecuted for not doing
their duty.
Negligence
is also a perfect crime. The murderers rely on police negligence to
murder more of their victims.
The only
thing that seems to stop murderers is public outcry. A witch-hunt, if
you will. Murderers hate being exposed and condemned.
If the
killers enjoy high status and camouflage themselves in jobs like
teacher, nurse, doctor, police officer or the like, then the
witch-hunt will not affect them.
It takes
many people to bring down a killer. People must be united in stopping
the murderer from claiming more victims.
Pedophiles
are often met with extreme hostility, yet even the powerful manage to
elude public scorn and even become President. Pedophiles and killers
can also be celebrities.
Anyone
who can turn public opinion can be a killer, therefore most killers
have a lot of confidence and can be extremely convincing. They are
masters at deception and fact-twisting. They can even make it seem
like the victim asked to be killed.
You
would think this impossible yet we believe it all the time.
Prostitutes ask to be killed. Trans women ask to be
killed. They're asking for it. How many times have you heard
this?
There's
a reason predators choose vulnerable and un-wanted people as their
victims.
There
are people around us who want vulnerable people dead. No, they're not
killers precisely but aren't they accomplices? They certainly didn't
do anything to prevent the murder of vulnerable people. Some even
encouraged the murder of vulnerable people.
Why
don't we speak out against murder?
There is
fear.
We don't
want to be the next victim. That's understandable. When we see
murders around us and no justice, then there is no choice but to keep
our heads down and stay out of the way.
I
certainly have attracted the worst kind of criminals by speaking out
about their atrocities committed.
Anytime
I talk about rape or murder, all those rapists and murderers come out
of the woodwork to offer their condolences and support. They are also
quick to offer me a place to stay, since people like me are often
homeless.
These
White Knights are very common. They are quick to come to the rescue
of us damsels in distress, since obviously everyone else has scorned
us. We seek help where we find it, isn't that always how it is? We
seek help and get murdered in return.
Everyone
blames it on us, that we asked for it. We attract these
criminals by showing our vulnerability. Anytime we try to fight
back, we're punished. When we manage to stand up for ourselves, we're
quickly cut down and dragged through the mud.
My own
experience has proven this to be true. I'm most isolated when I speak
out against crime.
Is it
any wonder I'm next to be murdered?
*
Right
now during the pandemic, POC are rising up and protesting against
police brutality. This has made them targets of more violence and
targets of media scorn. They've been called: rioters, looters and
trouble-makers. Some are being called terrorists. Some are being
lynched. They are still being murdered.
Right
now, children in detention centers are facing a new violence:
COVID-19 and the government agencies such as: Geo Group, ICE and CBP
are complicit in the crime of infecting them.
Women
prisoners, some in prison for defending themselves against their
attackers, are facing COVID-19 on their own without help from others.
The for-profit prisons are the culprits of this new attack and don't
care about spreading the virus.
#IamVanessaGuillen
#JusticeforBreonnaTaylor
#MeToo
