+A Estes I did not say that all men were evil. I did not support the generalization of men. If I did mean that, then I would comment something along the lines of 'All men are evil'. I simply supported the statement that not all people are what they seem. Something that everyone needs to learn in a world like this. Sorry if there was some confusion in my comment.
Often times when we see someone who was a soldier freak out over a loud noise we understand and empathize with them, what they've gone through is extremely difficult and it must be nearly impossible to defeat those triggers. Then we turn around and see a rape victim get triggered over cologne or a type of shirt or a song on the radio and tell them to quit being sensitive. I've never been on the ground during a war, and never been shot at. I've also never been raped, but I would just imagine that if you looked inside the head of the soldier and the rape victim when they experience their trigger, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
What gets me the hardest is watching her uncontrollably shake while she spoke. To every leaving hate comments about how "dramatic" she is, fucking look at her. It's real.
Gavin Clements It's extremely hard to tell people about what struggle you've gone through. If you looked into her mind, I guess dramatic would be the first thing you'd think. You don't understand. They don't 'celebrate someone's victim hood'. They support them, and what they've been through. And they tell them that it's okay, that they got through this. They celebrate the fact that they survived.
I'm crying. The part about being a babysitter gets me because my niece constantly asks about why I have scars on my wrists and why I'm not allowed to be around knives even though I'm a 'grown up', why my mother, her grandmother, checks and re-checks the locks constantly because the one time, the door wasn't locked. Why her mother, my older sister, cries when someone screams too loud and why why why. The only thing we can say is that there was a bad man. And she still keeps asking.
+Devout Pessimist I don't know why people only want good comments on youtube. It doesn't make sense... This video is retarded, and if you don't agree then good :D
Faizan Manzoor well its not racist...thats two totally different things.. But for some its a trigger warning for dysphoria. I myself get lots of anxiety over being misgendered and that leads to a lot of dysphoria for me.
If you pay attention to what she is saying then you can realise she is telling a story of what happened to her. If you don't understand it is because you listened but you did not comprehend.
+Wonder_Walls What about if 1. you listened and understood and it was bullshit and 2. you listened and did not understand because it was bullshit filtered through some pretentious scheme which is less about structure and form and more about purposefully oblique in order to gain attention?
Mikhail Winter but this isn't a matter of opinion she clearly is telling a sort of story about her personal experience. You're wrong because you are literally incorrect, not because you don't agree with me
You do not understand what poetry is and you don't understand what the medical profession states in regards to trigger warnings. You seem very sure of yourself and willing to say what is "Clear" on very tenuous ground. Not only that, you dismiss what ever someone else says very quickly. You need to grow up and put aside the social justice mentality which would never allow you to learn anything.
people know that they shouldn't make fun of a man in a wheel chair, but when it comes to a woman with ptsd ( a mental disorder), or any mental disorder in fact, that THIS is okay to make fun of?
There are no types of PTSD that are more valid than others. Just because there are soldiers suffering from PTSD doesn't mean people that didn't are less valid.
stats show rape victims are actually more likely to develop ptsd than those who experience any other kind of traumatic event, including soldiers. no-one is trying to invalidate the suffering of soldiers with ptsd, but that doesn't mean others don't or can't also have the same disorder. any trauma can result in ptsd, it's all the same disorder, regardless of the original trauma which caused it.
I'm really not fucking okay with this comment. I was sexually abused from age 8-12, I still have nightmares, and flashbacks to the point where I think I am still in the point where I was being raped. So am I making a mockery of ptsd? and I was diagnosed after a suicide attempt at 12, its been years since I was last abused and 5 mental hospitalizations and I'm still suffering with this.
Monolith Guy do you not realize some rapists can and will use physical force instead of drugs or manipulation. Victims can end up extremely physically and mentally injured.
+spicecrop so being raped and becoming emotionally scarred for it makes her a feminazi? feminists don't think guys are terrible people, they think terrible people are terrible people, gender is irrelevant, abuse is abuse.
Jetoye Andrews Horse shit. Feminist are man haters and blame men for everyting. If you are not aware of this then you don't know much about feminism. FYI, men get raped. But feminist don't give a shit about that.
***** please look up the definition of feminism, and MANY feminists care about the male struggle including me. Sure there are some extremists just like there are with every group but that doesn't define the movement
feminists do care but its not their job to i mean why do feminists care about male rape victims but when one man tells another he was raped he is called a "pussy" or "gay" or he just doesnt want to come out and talk about it? feminists care more about victims of rape more than most men do. someone has some deep seated misogyny
Mack Moreno hi! I know I’m super late but the way I interpret this phrase is that she finds it easy to get herself into extremely dangerous situations without intending to (hence Russian roulette = abuse from an ex-boyfriend).
Liam Neeson movies Lopsided smiles Dandelion fields Fake marriage proposals Grass stained knees Ketchup lips Warning: I put my first boyfriend away I say at parties because I am a dangerous girl Because I am better at Russian roulette than beer pong I have stared down the barrel of a loaded gun This blonde girl stared back at me She doesn’t look anything like me If I didn’t look anything like me Maybe he wouldn’t be able to find me My mother makes me dye it back Tells me judges don’t trust bleach blondes How is it abusive if he never hit you she asked Trigger Trigger warning Plastic tiaras and performance chefs No one will love you like I do Warning: I sleep with a baseball bat under the bed Carry hot pink pepper spray in my purse like lipstick My friend Dalton tells me he could get me a gun Warning: No one will love you Warning: I do not know my own triggers They are the way a stranger walks down the street Or the way my lover’s lips form around a word I put my first boyfriend away I say at parties because everything is a trigger Because there is no safety on my mouth I say it because I am waiting for it to stop feeling like a lie Trigger I sign the papers Trigger I called the hotlines Trigger He sat in a jail Trigger cell Until he didn’t And I sat in a stairwell Shaking with the recoil of everything we’d done to each other I walk to work even though I’m too small to be a babysitter today Need someone to watch me today To cut my apple slices for me Hold my hand across intersections Keep me away from knives Trigger and cars Trigger and men on the street Trigger who look like knives and cars I don’t believe in lying to children But when she asks me what’s wrong I still tell her the storybook version I tell her that once a bad man broke into my home I wish I’d also told her that bad men look like respectable young men Trigger That bad men will compliment your Nana on her lemon squares Bad men write love poems Trigger Bad men smile so wide they will swallow you And you, you will convince yourself you asked him to Stalkers Trigger Can’t be convicted Trigger Unless they’re victims Trigger Prove They feared for their lives How do you prove fear How do you put months of held breaths And will you please come with me And he will kill me Trigger He will kill me Trigger He will kill me Trigger But I told you so on my gravestone because they can’t ever say she didn’t scream loud enough In a ziplock baggie for the ladies and gentlemen of the jury Trigger warning Loaded questions Trigger Filling every chamber of my heart with ammunition Trigger warning Cock Trigger Always a weapon Trigger Always an ultimatum Trigger He shoots me Underage Underweight Trigger Contorted In his favorite trigger positions Tells me he knows how to upload the pictures Trigger Without leaving behind any fingerprints Trigger warning Aim Loving someone Trigger Is handing them a map of your weak spots Trigger Fire Trigger Fire Trigger Fire No warning shots My friend Dalton tells me he could get me a gun I tell him I have seen a gun go off And yet I can’t shake the habit Of staring down barrels Believing that I am gentle enough To touch the trigger Without pulling
Thanks for this! I got the gist of it from just listening, but I always understand language better when I can see the text. (Is that universal, or just me, I wonder?)
Holy fucking shit I can't believe the comments here! Did you even listen? She's talking about looking into a loaded gun, what happened there? Did you miss that part? Did you assume it was figurative? Did you somehow manage to believe this poem *isn't* driven by her real life emotions, that she's lying? Or is it just really difficult for people to fathom how traumatising it must be to have experienced that? ... Well, maybe that's easier for people who have never experienced anything traumatic... I guess that's where my ability to empathise stops. But seriously... Have some respect, people. If you aren't so sure whether the emotion in "HE WILL KILL ME" is sincere, take it from me: it is. You don't lie about that sort of thing. You don't.
not to take away from the fact that her message is legitimate but I have a different interpretation of the poem. the loaded gun is the boyfriend/stalker. she has seen men do terrible things but still she stared down the barrel of the loaded gun (the stalker) and she believed that if she was gentle enough or nice enough that he wouldn't hurt her. but he went off and she was the casualty of that. it sounds like he broke in and raped her and had pictures for blackmail. I'm assuming he said he would kill her if she told anyone. and so when her friend said he could get her a gun she declined to take it because she believes that she is not gentle enough to not pull that trigger when she herself is triggered or when he gets out and the cycle starts over. but this is just my interpretation. I don't believe she ever had a gun held to her head, I believe it is just a metaphor for men being violent and the violence she experienced.
I don't think she is asking the listener to post trigger warnings on everything that triggers her, rather she is pointing out how even the smallest of things can trigger her thoughts back to him and the crime he committed against her. I believe she is trying to get society to realize that even though she might have had a panic/anxiety attack over something everyone else would consider small, to her they are large and very real. She is making the connections between her triggers and why they are triggers. I think most of society either believes that triggers don't exist (I would call those people ignorant) or that triggers have to be directly related to the event it is triggering. Such as someone who self harms. Most of society would probably believe that the only acceptable trigger would be seeing another person self harm or seeing a razor blade sitting on a table. But their triggers could be any number of things, a fight between two strangers, a child getting spanked at a store. But when that gives them an anxiety attack, most of society won't recognize it because it wasn't DIRECTLY related to the event. Just my opinion though.
It's poetry like this that help those that suffer depression. this may be based on true events that happened to her, but for myself, I've been through bad situations where I felt like "I was looking down the barrel of a loaded gun" and this explains emotions for me that I could not put in words
this will forever be one of my favorite slam poetry poems to watch. I have never been in such a situation, but this poem still puts me through all sorts of emotions. If only people were more capable of empathy for those who undergo such traumatic life experiences.
Laura Ingriselli yes I have never been through this either but her emotion is beyond belief. Her emotion is amazing you can tell she hurts but is telling her story. I wish her well and everyone who had been through this or similar
For every single close-minded bigot in the comments who are whining about the overuse of the phrase "trigger warning" and whatever negative ties it may have acquired, saying things like "everything is called a trigger warning nowadays" and talking about the apparent over sensitivity of women, how about realizing that that was the poet's intention? To use the phrase over and over again, to tie it to everything because that is what the paranoia caused by PTSD does to you: everything becomes a possible threat; everything suddenly holds danger because that thing that used to be safe (in this case her ex-boyfriend) suddenly isn't, which often leads the victim to believe that now, anything else that seems safe could in reality be dangerous. Please try to be compassionate, or at least not spread your hate speech on such a moving video. It's very easy to dismiss other people's problems if you haven't been in their shoes.
I personally loved it. I don't understand how it turned into a conversation about "freedom of speech" being censored? She's talking about her personal triggers & obviously doesn't expect a "trigger warning" label put on everything she talks about. ....I found it to say the opposite, as If to say she's so immensely scarred by her experience (PTSD) that some days somethings or almost everything can be a trigger. If it was prevented by the people she told then maybe "everything" in her life wouldn't be a trigger. Someone said that she needs to learn to deal with life experiences..., they should consider themselves blessed they never had a traumatic experience & should educate him/her self on the signs of PTSD rather than the social injustice of using a label, one that this woman spoke neither in favor for nor opposition too. Some of the comments are a trigger for my impatience & being annoyed by the lack of compassion. :)
***** I respect that everyone is entitled to their opinions. It doesn't even bother me that you & i have a complete opposite takes on what she's saying or in your opinion, not saying. ..I wrote what I did more as a response to those turning the opportunity to express how they feel about her video, as you & i did, into a debate on things having nothing to do with what she's speaking or not speaking about. Regardless of whether or not you, I, or we love, hate, agree or disagree, some people use it as a forum to discuss every political view (as well as other miscellaneous topic) on their minds & that's annoying. ...In my opinion anyway. I'd rather have an intellectual, rational & grownup discussion with someone who disagrees with my interpretation, like urself, than read another comment of someone whining about some played out debate because the people around them, IRL, are sick of hearing them talk. They should make a video on whatever it is they want to complain about today & then ppl, like me, can keep scrolling. I've literally seen videos on DIY projects with comments about presidential candidates mentioned. But like I said, you may disagree with me but at least you're not boring me with ur opinions about non related topics lol. I personally think she's speaking from personal experience... if she wasn't, then it would be very presumptuous of her to explain a feeling she knows nothing about except for the notes taken in "women's studies". But one side note, I'm pretty sure that those classes teach both men & women more than material in which they can use to post "childish & self absorbed" videos. I think they're more about those individuals who have made history, literally, because of accomplishments, actions, strides made bc of their courage ect ect. But that's again, just this one woman's, who's never taken one course in those classes, opinion. ;)
+kristina mejil "I'd rather have an intellectual, rational & grownup discussion with someone who disagrees with my interpretation, like urself". So you agree that if someone doesn't agree with you then they are not an intellectual person? Okay I get it, you are very smart. And just in case you didn't know, those classes do not teach them both sides of the argument. It breeds people like Anita, and other feminists which are no good to our society.
+Yami what? lmfao. I apologize. ...but idk if u meant to type "not an intellectual". actually whether some1 agrees or disagrees doesn't determine their intellect. my statement was more a jab at the many that choose video comments to crash & use as their personal sounding board.
i watched this forever ago and i just recently got back into slam poetry and searched for this and didnt find it until youtube reccomended came to my rescue. this is genuinely my favorite poem ever, and when i was younger i couldnt say why until i grew up and realized how much i relate
poetry is limitless. take it how you do, there's no right way. but I think if you don't walk away from this in tears, moved, something may be wrong with your mind.
I found this poem before the whole "triggered" meme and it's so horrible to see this comment section is now filled with so many idiotic teens jumping onto this bandwagon of making fun of something they don't even understand.
How personally attacked do you have to feel to leave a thousand comments on a video you don't even like? Just go man, don't waste your time being an idiot on the internet
I love(hate) how she didn't even mention being assaulted but we all know that's what happened. I'm so sad for her. Even now she looks so traumatized and upset.
the comments section makes me wanna throw up but this is very powerful. its actually so painful to see such bullshit responses to a woman's account of abuse
+Yami lmfao, I couldn't help but laugh. Some think the naked body is art bt I don't think ur one of those people Yami....I could be wrong. I personally think that art is subject to the viewer's creative "3rd eye".....& No Yami, that's not the same thing u were speaking of. I'm an artist but I don't like everyone else's art. I like her expression of an experience many woman can relate too yet not all are strong enough to talk about it nevermind put the asshole behind bars. If you can't appreciate the "art" at least give this woman props for having the strength to do what alot of women & most men could never do if in the same awful situation. I can't even respond to that other guy....He can't even acknowledge that some people have a mind of their own but you, you're at least funny about it. I think u actually read everyone's comments unlike the guy making comments just to get all the women on here all fired up... only people w/ no life do things like that... I think her expression is either going to have one loving it or hating it but either way she caught the attention of those that claim they don't think she was ever attacked & she's just a spoiled college women that took too many woman's studies classes....I think she got exactly what she wanted in making this poem. ...she got people talking about date rape, abuse, triggers ect. art or not, she has done something good for other women struggling. Unfortunately those that are too afraid to speak up will see some men's reactions & feel as though they won't be believed either...God forbid it ever happens to those same doubter's mothers, daughters, sisters or lovers/girlfriend ect... then maybe they would have a little bit more respect for what she's trying to do....
“I say it because I’m waiting for it to stop feeling like a lie” “bad men smile so wide they will swallow you, and you, you will convince yourself that you asked him to” these 2 lines hit me so hard, I feel this so deeply..
so many negative comments. she did very very well. this was the first poem that gave me goosebumps because she felt it. she meant every word. she's scared and she made it into something so powerful. she expressed herself and to me, that's what poetry is about. letting out all your feelings and making something beautiful with it.
This poem made me sob, but it feel like such a relief to hear someone say these things, these words that i am at times afraid to say. so thank you from the bottom of my heart!
For fucks sake, for every hate comment this got. Learn the difference between Feminist and Femi-nazi. Learn what victim means. Listen carefully to the poem and try to understand because the people who try to understand, most likely will understand. You clicked on this. If you are tired of rape poems or poems about people who are victims maybe the world needs to stop giving victims material to write these, by stopping rape. If you want someone to not be a victim, don't let them become one. Protect them with your fucking life. For every one who doesn't understand what a feminist is or how seriously rape is, think of this, you had a terrible thing happen to you that scarred you for life. And when you try to talk about it, no one listens and whenever you think of it all you can remember is the details of it that you don't want to relive because oh god reliving that isn't living, it's hell itself so just think... Please for one second, try to imagine yourself in this girls shoes.
This was well performed and touching. People really have gotten tired of the constant victim mentality of other people, though, as you probably know. Femi-nazis are causing a big problem for women by crying wolf and claiming rape culture and "men don't know they rape" and false statistics, blaming large groups of society for a small subset, etc. There needs to be discernment, waiting for evidence to come out, too much jumping to conclusions on all sides. Women are usually physically smaller and weaker than men, so like all people taking steps for self-defense may be a good idea. Rape investigations need to be even handed too, of course, and rapists should be punished severely. If people are found to have made false rape charges, they need to be punished as well, if it was intentionally done that is. If rape can't be proven, in any just system, that means no one is punished. If a rapist isn't punished because it can't be proven, we have to accept that this can happen but it doesn't make "rape culture". People charged of any type of crime may walk free if it can't be proven. The flip side is that innocent people charged of a crime may walk free as well. It would be worse to punish the innocent than try for 100% convictions. I just wanted to remind people of how a system of laws works. It isn't perfect and there are policies and other aspects that need reform, too, but the basic concept is valid.
that was beyond incredible! very good timing for this to come up on my feed as I am currently going through a court case with my abusive first boyfriend
I watched this because I use poetry to express my feelings, and I was curious to how the writer felt, especially considering the poem. As I watched the video, i related a lot to what she was saying. Anything can really be a trigger, even things that don't make sense.
This channeled some emotions I haven't felt for a while. Like, whenever I see a rape/molestation scene in a movie without blatant warning I cry hysterically and have panic attacks and flashbacks and stuff. I think you can see why. This was so powerful.
I am new slam poet and I would like to say to you. Thank you. Thank you for showing me that poetry isn't a waste. Thank you for showing me that one day, maybe my words will make someone cry with joy, like yours did to me.
Everyone in this comment section: y'all are so SENSITIVE Also everyone in this comment section: *loses their shit when the word trigger is in front of them*
For real. People love to talk about how sensitive SJWs are, but talk about any gender issue for a second, and you'll be attacked with men whining things like, "why does everything have to be about gender?" and "feminists are crazy lol." How do these people not see the contradiction when they're dramatically screaming and throwing a fit about how sensitive everyone else is?
I understand her to the point it hurts. Although I was not raped, I was molested as a child and have triggers. My PTSD is real, so are my night terrors and tears. To everybody that is making fun of her or calling her dramatic, unless you know what she has gone through, please kindly shut the fuck up.
Thank you Karina Stow. I used to write nearly every day, but then he-who-cannot-be-named ruined that for me too. I wanted to thank you because you got me to write again. So thank you, really. Thank you.
Damn.... I have so much respect for this girl,lady,woman. Someone deserving of respect. Not inspiration for something like this. Someone who needs happiness, not because she should but because she can.
to the girl who spoke this. thank you. i needed this in my life. i put my first "boyfriend" away as well. i have ptsd as well. this gave me chills and made me cry
why are people saying she complaining to the internet, in what way is she complaining? shes made a poem, an art form. she's converted her pain into art to share with the world as many people do with every form of art. leave her alone, she is damn good at what she is doing maybe you should get a fucking hobby and make something as powerful as her instead of just complaining about something not even aimed at anyone BUT YET people are still feel targeted because they are that shallow
you say shes "dramatic"? I know the pain. I know those shakes, those nights, those memories. so stop watching videos just to judge them and get a life. she is amazing nomader what shes been through. stop making it seem like shes not.
