Shock Tactics In A G Rated Society

Dear All,

Well, here we go again! O.F.A.A.T., my non profit group that I designed to help people suffering with RAD has once again been accused of using "Shock Tactics" in the donation process (Letters). What amazes me is the fact that my non profit strives to help others and we are looked upon as trying to "Shock" people into donating for those that are suffering.

I find it very funny that we live in a world where we see soldiers having their heads sawed off, children being killed and we watch this as we sit down for dinner on the local news. Our society has become numb to the reality of those that have suffered and yet, I am shocking people? One donor told us that we as a society live in a "G" rated society!

For any child or adult suffering from RAD there is no such thing as a G rated society. When I was breaking the necks of house hold animals, there wasn't a G rating attached to that violent, bloody act. When I attempted suicide by hanging myself in a closet, where was my "G" rating then? What about the countless children that are forced to perform sexual acts on adults, does that qualify as a "G" rating?

Far too many times those that suffer, suffer alone. They quietly live in a place that is a living nightmare. Alone, depressed and failing to see a future other than that of more darkness and despair there is no such thing as a "G" rating. I think about my own times in my apartment when I didn't care if I lived or died, or who I took with me as I went.

I believed that my story was too ugly, too worthless as a person and too far gone share myself with anyone. As the razor blade sliced through my skin I thought to myself "No one cares and no one should". So I kept my life story to myself. I chose not to talk to others, I kept the ugly secrets of teachers and babysitters molesting me. I didn't talk about being raped and kidnapped. I never spoke about the years that I literally thought I was the devil himself. The only way I chose to deal with this reality, alone was drink, swallow alot of pills, sleep with alot of women and continue down the spiral of depression and death.

So when people accuse my company of using shock tactics, I wonder what they are truly saying to me. "This child's story is so painful it isn't worth sharing." To white wash my client's painful past doesn't give it justice, nor does it suggest healing of any kind. What it says to me is:

"No one needs to hear the things these children have endured. Their stories shouldn't be told, they should be forgotten".

That, is appalling to say the least. This is the major problem with our society. We see these terrible things happening to others every single day. What is one more story of abuse, terror and depression going to do? We choose to banefully ignore the very stories that MUST be told in order to build a brighter future.

Truth and understanding are the only real ways to begin the process of healing. The donor's that help our clients don't want to hear our client's stories for "Shock" value. They want to hear these stories so they can understand the pain, the suffering and the heartbreak that no child deserves. They choose to be closer to our clients than the staff that are "helping" their clients that say I am using "Shock Tactics".

In the end, I wonder how burying someone else's misery is beneficial to anyone.

Every story is worth being told and One Future At A Time will continue to bring those stories to you, shocking or not.