Rape victim wonders if childhood assault was her fault
You were a child, raped by a predator. He was an 18-year-old guy hanging around with younger kids, and he found a victim.
Picture that 11-year-old girl, who had a crush on an older teen. You cannot blame that girl for what happened to her. That little girl did not get what she deserved.
Imagine a different child having the same experience. Would you blame another child for what happened to her? I don't think you would. You would view that child with sympathy and compassion. Now, you need to extend this same compassion toward yourself.
Telling your story and asking these questions is a good first step to healing. I hope you will continue to talk about this. Call the number at the RAINN.org (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) hotline, (800) 656-4673, to talk to a counselor, who can direct you to local resources. This man should be prosecuted, if possible; a counselor can help to guide you through the process of deciding whether to try to charge this child rapist for this crime. Your query has likely helped other sexual assault survivors today; thank you.
Dear Amy: The issue of phone etiquette has come up with two adult friends, so I thought I would ask you and your readers what you think.
One friend has a whole, laughing conversation with someone else on her phone while she's at dinner with me. I have to wait while she laughs on the phone. She then turns to me and says, "Oh, what were we talking about?"
The other person interrupts our phone conversation five or six times by scolding her kids, scolding the dog, holding a conversation with her husband, etc. I guess I am just expected to wait.
Sometimes I don't even know who she is yelling at. I have now stopped answering her calls.
Is there no phone etiquette, now?
-- Techie
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