Tuesday, February 10, 2015

On being a hero, the silent way.

My sweet boys, now young men. With the weight of the world weighing heavy upon you as you grow older. When the struggles of childhood are fading away and the struggles of adulthood staring you in the face. You are young still, but not a child. You are young men.

As I think on the issues you face these days, specially as men, I feel very inadequate in the subject, considering that I had one sister and no brothers to relate. So the way I can bring some understanding is through the eyes of a woman.

What would you do if you saw a girl as you are walking by and a man beside her grabbed her forcefully? What if that man hurt that girl? What if you have it within you to stand up from where you are and defend that lady? Would you? Would you defend the girl? Would you stand up for her? ... I really hope you would. I really hope you would protect her, cost what it cost.

Why would you (and most men) would say yes to that question? Why would they desire to protect?.. The reason is simple: because they and you are men.

Now, what if you saw that on the side of your screen they are promoting girls to be looked at,to be lusted after? They are being hurt by men every day in the most brutal way. In a way that most women would gladly take drugs to forget what they have been put through. What then? Would you help them by not clicking? Would you hurt the man by not clicking and promoting his abuse to these women? I hope you do.

Why is it easier to stand up for a girl on the street than the one on the screen? The reason?. There is a reward by helping the one on the street. Even if no one saw you, she saw. You were a hero to her, and she knows it. You helped her and seeing her face gives you a reward. Seeing the face of the man who hurt her, with a bleeding nose running away, gives you a reward. But with the one on the screen, by no clicking you are a silent hero. No one will know how many women you are helping, not even her! Is a hero that works undercover. A hero that fights the battle to protect women in the streets and in the screens. A hero that won't be on the news or your friends will talk about it.. It is a true hero. Who protects, not for the reward, for the fame, for the glory, but for the fact that is his job as a man to protect women.

Can I be honest? I hated these women, I saw them as women that sneaked into people's homes.. robbed the innocence of men and put wrong ideas in their minds of what sex was. As I learned more.. I cry over these women. Most of them have been abused at a very young age. They are tricked by clever men preying on their weaknesses: the need to be loved, appreciated, accepted.. And so they lure the into this trap. They promise them love, fame, money... and the deeper they go, the harder it is for them to escape. They are blackmailed, drugged, hit, tattooed with the"owner's name", they are threatened.  80% (though is hard to put an exact number because many women will say they are there by their free will .. but reality is that they are afraid of their "owner", and afraid that they will not be able to survive in the outside world since they are damaged "forever" - reputation, skills, criminal records...) of women in this industry have been victims of human traffic. Meaning: they were forced into this. My heart has been turned from hate to pity and to do as much as I can to help these women! Would you?

Consent by manipulation, extortion, peer pressure, lies, fear, if the person consenting  is under authority and fears of losing his/her job, if a person is under the influence... that is not consent. It is human traffic.

Don't get me wrong.. I hate what they do.. but in most cases, they are trapped. They desperately need silent heroes. They need the heroes that by not clicking, help these women. They need men that stand up not for the glory but for what is right, even when no one is watching.

O that the Lord give you a heart of a man. A true man. One that cost what it cost, will do every "silent" work against this fastest growing industry. Growing because men love themselves too much. So much that they rather watch this abuse, than to save the victim.

Who will you be? the silent hero or the coward seeking his own pleasure at the expense of these women and fattening the pockets of the industry while they sell you a lie which will lead to a life of addiction and dissatisfaction with that which is meant to be beautiful and perfect. Something very beautiful and different from what you see on screen. That is not real. You must believe it.

Our gracious Lord is good. He knows what it is to be tempted in any way we have. He knows. He can keep you from falling. Remember in Jude 1:24, it says: "To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy" ...What a blessing that is! To be presented before a Holy God without fault because of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  And so he has done with us. while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Like these women, we were and are unfaithful to our Lord, prostituting ourselves with the world BUT He does not watch in pleasure, but covers us with His blood. The most precious blood  and makes us clean. In the same way, because of what He did for us, we must act towards our neighbor.. not watch their sin in pleasure, but cover their nakedness. And one way to cover their nakedness is not to click.

Different organizations that help these women are: 
http://rescuefreedom.org/ (#refucetoclick)
http://salvationist.ca/action-support/human-trafficking/how-you-can-help/
http://beautyfromashes.org/index.aspx

Love, Mom.

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