On Will Smith

(from a white woman)

I feel like, given my platform, I have to say at least this:

I’ve long adored Will Smith, and as a fairly devout fan I’m overwhelmed by disappointment.

But that disappointment is underpinned by the fact that I carry an everyday awareness that I will never not be a domestic abuse survivor.

I saw the clip with survivor eyes, not fan eyes.

And I don’t handle uncontrolled emotion well.

I don’t handle explosive men well.

I’m so anxious about what I saw, and all of social media’s coverage of it, that I can’t even figure out what I think about it.

I do know many are saying “white people don’t have a place in this conversation” and as such, I don’t want to overstep, which is why I’m keeping this brief.

But trauma is trauma. Everyone has their triggers.

And every survivor deserves a place at the table where the conversation’s topic is rooted in violence, and where education is not just a possibility, but a necessity.