Shipler Ch. 6

Shipler, can I really look at five women and expect one of them will be raped? That is such a gruesome thought, YUCK! According to US statistics its true. What a great country where one out of five women have the chance to get sexually assaulted, great, right? Sike! Not saying we don't live in an amazing country, and I gaurantee that 1/5 is much bigger in other world countries, but come on seriously people were supposed to be setting an example and wanting other countries to follow in our footsteps. But yet we have recessions, bankruptcy, poverty, unemployment, high victimization rates and crime rates, among a lot of other things. No wonder so many countries and ethnicities hate the U.S. and Americans. Anyways this chapter is based primarily on sexual abuse and molestation and is proven many times within the chapter that it has a much bigger impression and much larger destruction on people then poverty and stuff from the prior chapters. This is proven through and through and even the little header intro to the chapter from "peaches," a homeless working woman, about not being able to let anyone to close to save herself of being robbed, hurt, or taken advantage of! (Shipler pg. 142) Apparently sexual abuse is so avid in America that in some places it is talked about in schools and kids think it happens to everyone. (pg. 142) This chapter really can't be compared to the others so far because sexual abuse is nothing like any other topic Shipler has touched on. Poverty for example can be dealt with, overcome, a person can relieve themselves of the struggle with pride and hard work, not always but its possible. However, abuse can haunt a person for an entire lifetime like a ghost hanging onto something in their soul. Even a person that is young and survives and thinks they have surpassed it can have recurrences and nightmarish problems through life. A child may not mature right because of it. A mature person may end their life for it. As hard as it is to read these awful stories throughout the book I understand Shipler is just opening our eyes to reality. Life isn't perfect, no one is perfect, America isn't perfect. He has realized that we all need to realize it. Wendy Waxler is a prime example of reality. Physically, emotionally, verbally, financially abused her entire life. A suicide risk? Would you be if you were in her shoes? She even had to endure watching others go through what she went through and could do nothing about it. She also had failed relationships and failed births one after another! Incredible to say the least that she went through it and still lived life. Unless you have been through what she went through no one can imagine how it affected, hurt, and deconstructed her. If I were her suicide and retribution would most likely be strong thoughts trying to take over evry day so I am sure every minute was a battle. I would have to say this chapter wasn't nearly as "boring" and repetitive as the others and was incredibly interesting I guess in a bad way because it is not like anything about it was good. I hope everyone that ever reads this book applies it to their lives, opens their eyes, and succumbs to reality. The fact that these stories are everyday in America should be enough for people to stand up and want something better. We should never settle for what we have America can get so much better. The entire world can!!!