Someone through a friend of mine just talked about an incident that happened when he was walking home last night. This man was laying into his girlfriend and he yelled out for him to stop. So the man stops and then goes to go after him and then the woman protests and sticks up for this abusive man. He then just had to leave the situation. He asks, “Did I do the right thing saying something?” I told him I felt he did even though he risked his own safety and possibly hers for tonight, but I said, when someone did something like that when I was in that situation, that memory burned in my head and I think it’s the very reason I was able to leave later. Someone told me this behavior was wrong and unacceptable by calling out stop.
This made me think of an incident walking to the bus stop a week and half ago. I saw this man treating his girlfriend very badly, pushing and shoving her, pulling her hair, glaring at her and calling her names. This reminded me so much of my ex. I just wanted to walk up and tell him to stop, that the way he was treating her was so wrong. There were all these other people standing at the bus stop with them and they said or did nothing. I was afraid to say anything because I thought he’d come after me. So I kept walking on to my stop. I kind of regret it. Should I have said something? Or would he have come after me and because everyone else in this city is so passive, would no one have helped me if he did? But, if I had said something, would she know now this is not acceptable and would leave him?
4ptsdhealing 