Truth is sometimes a bitter pill to swallow, not because of the taste, but due to the lasting effects it could imprint onto a person. It’s probably one of the reasons why some people choose to sugarcoat things, invent white lies, or simply hide the truth buried in a pillow of comfort.
But there are times when Truth causes sadness and disgust more than pain. Sometimes, when it slaps you with an uncomfortable nauseating fact, it leaves you hanging in a pool of shock too uncomfortable to realize its effects. The result is, therefore, catastrophic.
I could vividly remember when I was working for a Justice as a legal researcher. We were tasked to read Rollos from the decisions of the Regional Trial Court Judge, including the position papers of both parties. For collection and civil cases, there is no problem in summarizing the facts and the decision. But in cases of rape of 3 year old or 4 year old kids, my heart melts in awe, disgust, horror. Reading the summary of facts on how the rape transpired makes me cry uncomfortably especially when kids recall the events. Some are even too afraid to tell the facts that they simply cry incessantly, or some fear the rapists while seeing them in court. There are other stories of equal gravity: cases of maltreatment of househelp, wives being beaten black and blue by their husbands, kids being forced into prostitution by their parents.
In moments like these, some would not want Truth to surface, especially for the kids and the victims. The agony of recalling the events in trial or being swamped by media is in itself excruciating. Some would rather protect the victims’ identities including the painful experiences that they have encountered. But burying the Truth is akin to protecting the rapist, the assailant, the aggressor, or the person who inflicted pain and suffering. Silence is synonymous to apathy, which our culture has long tolerated. And in this form of apathy, the cycle continues.
The culture of violence maybe rooted in our macho/male dominated society. It is quite more acceptable to hear a husband beats his wife rather than the wife sleeps with another man. The man as an aggressor is only proving his machismo, but the woman is already considered as a slut. Even if she was doing this because the husband beats her, does not provide anything, and finds comfort in the embrace of another man. Though both acts are wrong, there is always a bias for the man.
Every now and then, reported cases pop into the news or in the court records, but the vast majority are shunned by fear of reprisal and possibly, of shame. The culture of violence will abound unless we face it head on. We can’t let bullies target anyone at school, without us doing anything about it: stopping them, reporting it to the principal, or talking to the bullies’ parents. In the street, when people tend to enjoy a commotion, we can always alert authorities, and not just actively watch the ruckus. We can always do something about it, if we stop being afraid.
Edmund Burke has been telling us the whole time, “All that is ncessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing.”
*Picture taken from this site: http://centretownnonsense.blogspot.com
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