I finished listening to the Book "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett while I sewed yesterday afternoon.
The CD describes it as such;
"Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step...
In 1962 Jackson Mississippi, two African American maids and one white Junior League socialite- seemingly as different from one another as can be, will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed."
"In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three memorable women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mother's, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor and hope. "The Help" is a timeless universal story about the lines we abide by and the ones we don't."
I had read this book, watched the movie and then listened to it...all three times I was drawn to the courage it takes to step over the line.
Stepping over the line, isn't done lightly or without great personal risks and consequences, and yet if someone doesn't take a chance, speak out and dare show the wrongness, change doesn't happen.
Towards the end, the white character muses..."I may not have changed their minds... But at least I no longer agree with them." Speaking about her socialite friends.
She had broken out of a system that had been put into place long before her birth, one she had grown up in...and dared to explore and see it from all angles. Willing to see the wrongness of her people...
It came with a personal cost, she lost friends and love, but gained personal strength and courage.
I totally understand her dilemma...of stepping over the line, knowing you are stepping out of the life you have...into the unknown.
Stepping over the line is what has allowed us as a species to evolve...if we all stayed behind the line, no change would occur.
Once one takes a step, another will follow.
The lines are drawn often with the mindset or understanding at the time, and progress happens when someone dares to argue with the line.
I see one very entrenched line that is holding its ground and only a few dare to step over it and walk away...and that is the parental line.
When you cross this line, your life will change.
Most parents do not want their lines crossed...especially abusive parents.
The treatment of the children in these homes is similar to the African Americans...for they are not allowed to have a voice, to speak about how the treatment feels on their end. They are to serve the family in silence, bowing down to the heads of the households...a second class member...They are lower down on the totem pole, only those up higher can have their say, speak their minds and share how it feels...and enforce it. Disregarding your vote without an election.
This is the way of it, the line is not to be crossed...it stays firm until their death. Their feelings are to be considered at all times...and perhaps even posthumously.
At no point is a child to go against what the parent feels, thinks and believes, or they will be crossing the line...and stepping out of the family.
I would love to see a revolution within abusive homes. Of voiceless, choice-less children walking free. Marching for the right to stand up. Shedding the cloak of secrecy that keeps their parents reputations clean in the social world...while the child remains in the silent darkness of abuse. A flipping of the tables...
Fear is what keeps most from stepping up to the line.
The fear is as palpital as the ones the maids had. They had lived in fear of the white folks for so long, it never crossed their minds to speak up, even anonymously.
Some may say, they 'respect' their parents too much to speak out...but respect doesn't keep you silent, fear does.
Fear of stepping over this invisible line that has been there since you were little. Fear keeps you on your side of the line...as it always has.
In life, there are always lines...and you will define yourself by the ones you abide by and the ones you don't.
You have to wonder about lines and who they serve and why.
And depending upon which side of the line you are, that line will represent two drastically different views.
Look at the line of silence in abuse...see clearly how it divides and makes one a victim. One of lesser value...and one more powerful.
Abiding the line, you are agreeing with the imbalance.
What I too truly love, is that I may not be able to change your mind, but I love that I no longer have to agree with the line.
