it can happen

I’m watching Larry King on television right now. He’s speaking with Mackenzie Phillips.

It seems as though he doesn’t believe her when she tells him that she has been sexually abused by her father. He doesn’t believe incest is a problem and that it is really very rare. He doesn’t believe Mackenzie would still care for her father if he did this to her. He seems appalled that she would get pleasure from the sexual experience. He doesn’t seem to think that people can overcome this – that they will always remain broken.

I think he’s quite uninformed. I think he may not know what he’s discussing. I think that with all the people he’s interviewed, he should know that anything is possible.

I know that incest is a problem – that it’s an unspoken problem. I know that you can still love the people that abuse you – because they are not only a part of your family, but because you realize that they were just as broken. I know that any sexual experience will produce feelings of enjoyment. I know that it doesn’t mean you are enjoying the person that is abusing you, but that you’re human and we all have sexual reactions that we cannot control. I know that people can get through this, that they can become a stronger, smarter and wiser individual after being sexually abused by a family member.

I know it’s possible – all of it, because it happened to me. I know it’s possible because I’ve felt it. I still care about the people that abused me. It’s hard not to. I understand their past, the struggles they’ve gone through. I’ve lived their lives. I know that I am growing and learning. I know that I am no longer a broken individual, but that I am strong and have learned from this.

I think if people took only a moment to walk in another persons shoes, they’d be more understanding. If they took a second to think of how that persons past has affected the choices they’ve made, they’d be more understanding.

I believe if you’d listen to what my childhood was life, the mistakes I’ve made would make sense. You may never agree with what I did, but then again, neither can I.