When reading a story, it is
extremely important to put yourself in the place of every character. By doing
this, it will be easier to comprehend his or her actions towards certain
situations. When I read “Hair Chronicles” by Tabatha Rowley, since it is a
story based on true life events, I grew closer to the writer and protagonist.
Tabatha was a young black woman, who went to prison for seven years, after shooting
her boyfriend at the time. Later on, she decided to write her autobiography
through a short story.
Tabatha grew in a home where drugs,
alcohol, violence and abuse where a constant variable in her life.
In my opinion, Tabatha shot her boyfriend because
she was tired of being the victim, the one who was always abused by others.
That day, she decided to stand up and defend herself. Was it right what she
did? Off course not. But,
considering everything that she told the reader about her life, I’m glad she shot him. Maybe that
was the push she needed to become the better version of herself. Tabatha was in jail, yes, but look
how incredible she writes, being in jail doesn’t define you, and being raped or
abused doesn’t either. Tabatha is now a different woman, more mature and
through her story she wants to help others from committing the same mistakes
she did.
As I am writing this blog, all I can think about is the song, "Til it happens to you". In the song, the singer (Lady Gaga) criticizes everyone who says "You'll get
better" to rape victims because nobody really understands what they went
through, until it happens to them. So, I feel that Gaga would probably judge me if she read this article because I'm making it seem as if I understand Tabatha's situation, when I really don't (according to Gaga). But, in my opinion, it is important to at least try to understand certain situations in a person's life, whether it's a character in a story or a person in real life that you can actually help.
To conclude, I understand why
Tabatha would want to publish all the horrible things that she went through. I
do not think it was to look for the pity of everyone, but to make people stand
in her shoes, understand her and spread awareness.
Nobody will truly understand how it felt to be in those choose of the person who suffered experiences such as rape. As you mentioned, Tabitha was abused since a little girl. This led her to do and act as she did. Fortunately, she turned her life around and decided to be a role model for those who are or may be in the position she was once. I agree with you completely. A person should not be defined by what they did. Society nowadays tries to put a label on everyone. While reading this I was thinking about how graphic she described everything that she experinced. As you, I also think that she's an amazing writer.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that it makes me really angry the fact that women do not receive the proper help they need whenever they go through situation involving rape. You should see a documentary called "The Hunting Grounds". It is on Netflix. The documentary shows several cases of rape in college campuses and how women are often mistreated whenever they try to seek justice for the crime that was committed on them. Also, it really worries me the huge proportion of women that get raped. In the U.S., 1 out of every 5 women will get raped, and the sexist society in which we live does very little to solve this problem.
ReplyDeleteAlso, regarding Tabatha, maybe one of the reasons for which she wrote the Hair Chronicles is because she wanted to let it all out and to finally feel free to leave her past behind.
I love the song. It is a very touching one that forces one to actually stop and think about how truly superficial we are when we try to 'understand' another's problem. Most people that say "It'll get better." are only saying it mechanically, without trying to truly get it. But the really important thing is to try and step into the other person's shoes and see life through their perspective, if only for a little bit.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm proud to see that, no matter her background, Tabatha was able to transmit her thoughts and feelings. She does write spectacularly and her emotions are earnest and rather easy to feel through the words in the story. And it's amazing to know she was able to grow past her past and become the person she deserved to be.
I too believe Tabatha is a very talented writer. When writing Hair Chronicles she gave great details and I really enjoyed the way she expressed herself. I definately found her story inspiring. On the other hand, I didn't know Lady Gaga had a song regarding rape victims! How did I not know it existed? It's definately true that people can be very unsensitive towards victims and just say "it'll get better"! The fact that most rapists aren't incarcerated and that people blame the victims for what happened to them makes me sick to my stomach...
ReplyDelete