Beat Me!

You beat me!

Your abusive potentially life-threatening treatment forced them to stay and to leave. Do you feel powerful when you beat people? People from all backgrounds, ages, and gender have suffered from a beating. While reading this article understand that people who are beaters are victims of themselves and need professional help.

Do not get the wrong message from the title. The title is really a question? A beater is most likely someone who is supposed to love you but instead does harmful things to keep you in line to hold on to a toxic relationship. They can be charming, kind, and likable. They can even be the face of the community. In private, they accuse, namecall, control, and lay hands on their victim.

In the beaters mind, they see an object, without autonomy, choices, emotions, or needs.

Not every victim can be beaten. There are many stories that can be heard from individuals that were determined and destined to end the beatings. Those beatings caused each victim to become mentally and physically stronger. Each beating provided a trigger to overcome, survive, escape, and fightback. A physical strike, hitting repeatedly, or mental control causing someone to feel afraid while in your company is a form of beating.

Either way beating someone is a tactic used to intimidate, cause individuals to feel like a failure, hopeless, and possibly creating another beater. Unfortunately, some victims have the concept of it is “OK” or “they will change” that one day it will end. In the meantime, the victim is being empowered by the fear they have invoked in the victim.

After any type of abuse, it may take decades before the victim decides to fight back. For some getting tired of being beat-

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‘A Political View’

By Sherry Holliman SHERRY HOLLIMAN (cont.)

en will guide victims through the process of walking away from an abused life or repeated violent experiences. By gaining the ability to get the strength, mindset, fortitude, and power to make the necessary decisions to end their traumatic situation.

Every time you think you are “beating me” what you are actually doing is helping someone find the strength from this experience and begin to find their purposeful life journey.

Once the victim's mind becomes free of their fears they will make bold moves beyond labels, limitations and low self-esteem. The brave victims that have endured years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that escaped to live and share their stories are the “True Beaters”! Not only have they survived years of shame, sadness, and fear but the response from the authorities across the country is often inadequate, not supportive for victims, and discriminatory. By fighting the system and the abuser these survivors are letting others know that it is possible to overcome both the trauma of domestic violence and the injustice of the system. They are showing that you cannot “BEAT ME” there is a way out. If you want to beat me, become a person who believes control and power is not forced or used to harm others but used to help people live equally, and safe amongst one another.

Sherry Holliman is a concerned citizen of Crittenden County and has some views on a variety of topics that she wants to share with her neighbors. She serves on the Marion City Council.