Cowards are a dime a dozen...

I've always been a fighter, had to be. So is my sister. It's how we were able to survive our childhood. Not so much a fighter in the physical sense, though I've had to depend on that as well a few times in my life, but mentally and emotionally. Learning how to survive physically will never get you as far as learning how to survive mentally and emotionally. I learned early on that tears never get you as far as strategy and clear thinking. I learned early on that people are quick to anger and often let those feelings, those emotions rule their circumstance. The results are often regrettable, but once acted upon, hard to recover from.

I have no problem saying I'm sorry, when I am, and admittedly, I often am. It's sad when people can't say 'I'm sorry'...sadder still when they're not sorry when they should be. There are those that, regardless of the circumstance, view others to always be in the wrong and their own actions always justified. We all know people like this. The people that talk over you when you try to get a word in...ever. The people whose opinion of what you're going through is much more important to them than what you are actually going through. Seriously, the old saying 'unless you've walked in my shoes' is so very accurate. How easy it is to judge, especially when you've never experienced what you're judging.

You know, NO ONE ever deserves to be mistreated, to be cheated, to be lied to or lied about. It's like saying that a woman deserves to be raped because of the way she dresses, or the rich deserve to be stolen from because they have more than the thief. We're making excuses for those who have wronged, and placing blame on those who were wronged. How is it ever acceptable to make excuses for those who have wronged others, simply because it's easier than holding them accountable? I understand the enabler mentality, I simply don't agree with it or approve of it. Holding others accountable for their actions teaches them not to repeat their mistakes, teaches them to stand on their own and face what they've done, and that they will be held responsible for their actions. Why put your arm around a rapist, patting him on the shoulder, comforting him while saying 'She was dressed like such a tramp, look at all that makeup she was wearing!'...or coddling the thief saying 'Why would anyone need 4 cars? I can't believe they'd buy a house that big!'? Does it in any way hold them responsible? Victims are victims and those in the wrong are wrong. Period. Is it not bad enough that the victim has been wronged, must they also come under attack for having been the victim?

Sometimes those who refuse to jump on the bandwagon to beat up those who've already been beaten, are also rebuked and cast aside. I think it's one of the reasons people are shy to stand up for what they believe, and thank God for those who do stand up for what is right. Thank God for those who chance the ridicule and judgment of others to offer help and comfort to those who need it, to those who deserve it.

I learned as a child, a long time ago, that I had to hold up for myself because I had no one to hold up for me. I learned that just because someone was bigger than I was or because there were more of 'them' than there was of me, alone and all by myself, it didn't make them right, or give them the right to abuse me. Even though I have always been there for my kids, and I always will be, I also teach them that they don't need anyone to stand with them to stand for what is right. Regardless of what has been thrown at them lately, and all they've lost, they've still not felt sorry for themselves or ever played the victim card. Seems that card is played mostly by those in the wrong, in fact...they've probably had to buy several decks lately just to have enough victim cards to go around.