Suppressed

It didn't happen overnight. It was a process of subtle manipulation that quickly became compliance controlled by fear. Voices became silent and allowed unspeakable acts to continue. The manipulators scream loudly making claims of great moral "evils" to induce greater anxiety and panic. Beliefs become safe only for those who comply with what fits the narrative of those in control. The screams became louder, emphasizing the differences in cultures and races. Forcing compliance with stories of atrocities that are untrue. Yet, it didn't happen overnight.

She remembered being a child. She remembered having dreams about peace and freedom, unity and kindness. She loved people, all people. Their differences, cultures, histories, and beliefs. She loved to learn about views different from her own and she respected the rights of others to have their distinct perspectives. It made everything unique and colorful like a rainbow. The more the population grew, the more viewpoints diverged and the louder the followers of the "supreme" code became. They raged against the opinions that deviated from their own. They used fear to control the masses and continue the spread of falsities. It didn't happen overnight.

Soon those differences that she loved to explore about people became something to hide and deny for some, while others shouted louder in attempts to drown out the lies and fear being spread. Humanity became a constant struggle between "us" and "them". The ones who prescribe to the "right" belief system and code, and those who are "wrong". She lost the part of life that was a rainbow - or maybe as she got older she grew up enough to realize it never really existed except from the eyes of her youth. She did not understand what happened, she missed the innocence she felt when she did not truly understand the reality of situations and circumstances. When colors were just crayons, not something she noticed about another person because they were just humans. When hate was a four-letter word she knew to be bad and never experienced herself. But it still didn't happen overnight.

She began to remember other aspects of her childhood. Less colorful. She remembered the nuclear war drills at school growing up. Hiding under her desk huddled with her knees to her chest in case Russia attacked. She remembered the hateful rhetoric, the fear, and the confusion. She remembered the Berlin wall being torn down and her grandmother, who immigrated from Germany, watching it with tears streaming down her porcelain skin. Her grandmother told her that she had been dreaming of the day that "damn wall" would finally be destroyed. She remembered movies she loved showing female characters as second to men. Changing who they were to gain the approval of their male counterpart. She remembered movies showing sexual assault happening as just part of being a woman. It wasn't a big deal. No, it did not happen overnight.

She has her eyes opened now. She sees the reality and forced narrative that was taught and engrained on her from birth. She was taught to have no voice. To accept hateful rhetoric and sexist treatment as aspects of comedy or part of life. She found her voice. She will never let it be suppressed again. She raised her daughter to have a voice as unique as she is. It did NOT happen overnight, and she will continue to fight to ensure that suppression does not happen again. Fear has no more power in her heart. She will fight to see humanity come together as that rainbow of distinctive individuals with voices and differences that can be celebrated, not extinguished or repressed.

It will not happen overnight.

© 2024 Luna Verity