Friday night Gainesville's Lunch Out Blog Ayuerveda Health Coach Chaya Sharon-Heller and I were walking to the Actors; Warehouse to see the new play, STEAL AWAY when it hit me like a ton of bricks.

The entire wall of the small brick office building on the corner of NE 1st St., and NE 2nd Ave, was painted with a dramatic mural protesting the anxiety women face by being sexually accosted with no fault, or permission of their own.

The largeness, simple expression of pain, outrage the mural created, caused Chaya and I to stop, look, and discuss what I think is an important social awakening.

I heard someone on the Sunday news shows say they thought the #ME TO campaign should be the 2017 story of the year.

I agree.  We have raised the banner for abused children.  There has been a prominent effort to stop bullying in our school system. Date rape is now a larger, visible issue on our college campuses.  Isn't the action of creating sexual opportunities on an unknowing individual without consent really just a combination of all of the above?

FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST wensite:

One of the more of-the-minute inclusions on the list is the #MeToo movement.  The #MeToo after  allegations came out against film executive Harvey Weinstein. Men and women from all over the globe came out to expose the dozens of other famous individuals in politics, media, Hollywood and other industries for their participation in heinous acts of sexual harassment and assault. #MeToo shows how widespread this behavior in our culture is and how there is a desperate need for a sea change, particularly for women in the workplace.

The GLOB Master is thinking, Good'.

What a great instance where people with questions about 'why me', 'how come', 'I am sick of this', can step forward and be a part of what we can hope is a smart, ongoing solution of a male pig behavior that has been going on since time began.

A Gainesville friend posted on her FaceBook page a profound ME TOO statement that left me proud I knew this person.  More importantly rather than just complaining the writer closed the comment by clearly laying out steps she planned to take with her children making sure they understand the atrocity of bullying, coercing, taking advantage of people against their will.

- Mike Sanford, GLOB Editor

#MeToo

At work.
At school.
On the street.
By a loved one.
From my superior.
From my co-worker.
During a massage.

#MeToo

I really felt uncomfortable writing this post. I thought about it several times over the last couple of days but I don't believe in airing your "dirty laundry" on a public forum like Facebook. However, what I realized is that this isn't MY "dirty laundry." It is the "dirty laundry" of every man who has sexually harassed or assaulted me. Every single time these situations happened, I always asked myself the same question, "Did I do something to make him think that I wanted that?" And never once did I "want it" or "ask for it." It is not a compliment. I felt dirty afterward. I showered in boiling hot water to try and feel clean again. I cried. And by staying quiet, I am contributing to the problem.

I have cried in a trusted male colleague's office asking him if there is something I do, say, or dress like that invites this harassment, because it kept happening from different people. He told me something that has stuck with me ever since. Being harassed says more about the person doing the harassing and it doesn't have anything to do with the person being harassed.

I have a daughter and I always have worked hard to make her strong and be ready for situations like this. We talk about consent, how it is her body and her choice, and that no one can touch her if she doesn't want them to. And she is three years old.

Now that I have a son, I know that my conversations with him are going to be even more purposeful and conscientious. He needs to learn that women are to be respected. That talking about a woman's body in a workplace, giving an unwanted touch, or making suggestive comments to a stranger are never ok. As parents, we need to put more of a focus on teaching boys how to treat woman. Otherwise, they grow up to be men who continue to contribute to the #MeToo phenomena.

- ANONYMOUS