When I tell you my story,
Don't you dare pity me.
Don't tell me you're sorry.
Don't tell me you wish that wouldn't happen.

Don't let the lies pour out of your mouth like a waterfall to wash away your uneasiness.

It makes you uncomfortable, I get it, but don't start to feel the burden and see the wounds and brush it away like a fly on your burger.

Don't look away.
Look me in the eye.
I too am deserving of respect.
I too am made of flesh, bone and blood.

I have faced monsters that make the horror movies you love look like a child's movie.
I have killed demons that attempted to claw their way into my heart and claim my soul.

I have stood in rooms full of enemies bent on my destruction, and yet here I stand.

Victorious.

This isn't about you and your comfort.
Hell, this isn't even about me.

This is about a revolution, a revival if you will.
Of humanity opening its' eyes and ears to the true horrors going on around it.  
About the skeletons in the closet that keep adults and children in silent acid chains that burn into the skin like a fire in the night.

This is about seeing the signs of those who carry these chains in your life and treating them humanely.

To really see them and to act.
Not to blame or shame.
To come along side those who have been struck down and give them the courage to stand.
To let them know they are not alone in their fight.

To see those who are suffering under the weight of being told they are nothing more than an item to be used.

A sex toy
A punching bag
A puppet

This is a call to arms.
To stand up in the face of injustice and say, no more.
Not this person or that one, or anyone for that matter.
Not today, or tomorrow, or in fact ever.

This is about being a human standing up for what is right.
About giving these people their value back.

Letting them know that they are worth the:
Time
Effort
Money
Love
Respect
Honor
and everything that they have been denied.

Listen, I'm not ashamed of who I am or the path that got me here.
I am not ashamed of the pain that comes with the healing.
But I refuse to be demeaned, because if you are demeaning me... you are demeaning them.
And I will not stand for that.

We have fought battles you should thank God or the stars or whatever you will that you'll never have to face.
We have won and lost wars that have left people hollow.
We are warriors of a different kind.

So don't you dare pity us.

Instead help us pick up our burdens and fight.
Fight against the skeletons and the chains and the secrecy that kills.
Speak out against this culture that views things as more important than people and thinks rape is a joke.
Support us who are healing.
Celebrate with us who are whole.
Let us be free and at ease in your presence.

And look us in the eye,
It reminds us after of being told otherwise so often that we believe it,
That we too are human and are worthy.