Category: Advocacy
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Thoughts on Hierarchies of Abuse
CW: abuse, interpersonal violence (IPV) I started this blog because I occasionally had a tendency to write novel-length Twitter threads in response to some ill-advised tweet from someone. It seemed better to create a blog instead of expect people to read a 20-tweet-long thread. That hasn’t happened in the time since I started this blog,…
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Thoughts on the Breaths You Take
Content Warning: Stalking and Interpersonal Violence Every year, as a volunteer for a dual domestic violence and sexual assault agency, I complete additional “continuing education” to ensure I am continually developing my skills in trauma-informed care, inclusive advocacy, and various forms of interpersonal violence the agency addresses (particularly domestic and dating violence, sexual violence, stalking,…
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Thoughts on the Ripples Between Individual and Organizational Abuse
CW: Sex Abuse, Sex Offenders, Organizational Enabling So, Amish Facebook and TikTok have been in an uproar since late last week, so much of an uproar that I have heard about – even though I am not Amish and I am not on Facebook or TikTok. The uproar centers around one individual, Mahlon Miller of…
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Thoughts on Mennonite Church USA, Dove’s Nest, and Goshen College’s Dr. Jeanette Harder
CW: rape culture, abuse enabling, church complacency In 2019, Allen Hoover and Dr. Jeanette Harder co-authored a book intended to discuss abuse in “our” Plain communities. That may have been the first sign of a problem, given the fact that Jeanette Harder is not, and never has been, Plain. Although Allen Hoover is Plain, the…
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Thoughts on “Evil Triumphing”
There is a popularly known phrase, often (mis)attributed to Edmund Burke, although John Stuart Mills is known to have said something similar: “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men [people] to do nothing.” (John Stuart Mills’ quote is “Bad men [people] need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good…
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Thoughts on Self-Care
Things are really difficult for many people right now, especially those concerned with social justice and empowering others. It feels like we are living in a constant state of waiting for the next emergency – while we are still dealing with the current one. The hits just keep coming. How do we keep moving forward…
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Thoughts on Advocacy, Nonprofits, and Academia
So, as I work on a project related to child sexual abuse among Anabaptists, especially Amish and Plain Mennonites, I’ve been thinking a lot about advocacy, nonprofits, and academia. I’ve realized that many people take a one-size-fits-all approach to advocacy, nonprofits, and academia. Rather than listening to those we are seeking to support, we tend…
Tara's Thoughts 