A Bit More Empathy Never Hurt Anyone

For the record, deplorables work hard and have feelings, too.

Or, to put it another way: working hard and experiencing pain, suffering, and sadness does not automatically grant a person immunity from having deplorable opinions about and actions toward others.

Also:

It's not my natural temperament, but my family was into athletics and it made sense with my physique, so I played football in high school. I was mildly traumatized by the locker room talk. Our female counterparts were most definitely objectified and talked about in the most vulgar terms--much worse than has been in the news lately. I have no memory, though, of assault--actions that didn't include consent--ever being encouraged or celebrated.

Also (reblogged from But, More Seriously: Male Privilege):

A very common statistic is that anywhere from 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 females will be sexually abused or assaulted in their lifetimes, and the reality is most likely higher than that because of those too afraid or ashamed to report. Statistics are easy to ignore as just numbers. I feel blessed to have spent a number of years as an adult helping with the NCCJ (National Conference for Community and Justice) programs Unitown and Anytown for teens. One of the most powerful moments each time was the culminating experience exploring gender issues (i.e. sexism). After a safe environment was created and trust built among group members, much sharing occurred. At the end, the men were asked to silently observe while the women, whom they were facing, silently stood in response to a number of statements to show that they applied, a wide variety of statements that included, for example, “I have said, ‘Yes,’ to a man because I was afraid to say, ‘No,’” and “I have been pregnant when I did not want to be” and “I have been raped.” Teens, from an intentionally diverse range of backgrounds and life situations. And, every time, I saw the statistics born out as true. These are not numbers, but the women you see and know and love, every day.