My thoughts on trigger alerts

I am at an impasse. This blog will discuss sexual abuse, rape, child abuse, racism, sexism, elitism, poverty, homophobia and other forms of structural violence. As a person who has two degrees in social work and has worked as a therapist for survivors of trauma, I am forced to consider whether I will foreground the potential triggers embedded in my blog at the beginning of each post. I am also a survivor of many forms of abuse and personally feel re-traumatized when directly exposed to images of rape scenes or other stories of gender based torture. However, even with these professional and personal histories, I’m choosing not to regularly announce that the content that I post here could be triggering. Why? Because, my intention with this blog is to assert that trauma and joy can co-exist and not privilege one over the other. We do indeed live with trauma. As women. As people of color. As subjugated folk.  How will our collective rage spill over to action if we do not stare our collective pains in the face?!

Systematic violence and oppression require collective confrontation and for keepers of a culture of violence to be held accountable. Those who are most affected deserve validation, healing and justice.  I believe that we begin to heal by resisting being silenced. We draw strength and seek justice from naming the thing that should not be named.

I am making the assumption that those who will read this blog are not eternal victims who are beyond repair. Instead I am imagining that they often searching for community and that they are hoping that there is another side of that wall they are facing. I don’t mean to reduce other’s pain but I DO aim to forefront life—even when it involves tragedy. I take this position not because there is temporal and spatial distance between me and my trauma. I carry its heavy load daily. But I stand firm because I believe that each breath has the potential of a joy filled future in spite of our aches. What do you think of my decision? As survivors, do we need to be protected from possible triggers at every turn?  This is where I am today but I would to discuss this issue further with other survivors.