Another Reason to Love Patrick Stewart

I'm out apartment searching all day, so instead of a essay-lette posting I leave you this, even further proof that Patrick Stewart is a Boss. Not only are his words extremely moving, he's also absolutely right about what he's saying. Read it. Pay attention. And, when we're talking about government programs, or increased government curtailing people's freedoms think about this: do we want our government to be dedicated to protecting the rights of opportunity for the Gladys and Patrick Stewarts of the world or, rather, dedicated to protecting the power that the Alfred Stewarts of the world use to control others. We can't do both. And we can't do the former without a powerful government.



"Our house was small, and when you grow up with domestic violence in a confined space you learn to gauge, very precisely, the temperature of situations. I knew exactly when the shouting was done and a hand was about to be raised – I also knew exactly when to insert a small body between the fist and her face, a skill no child should ever have to learn. Curiously, I never felt fear for myself and he never struck me, an odd moral imposition that would not allow him to strike a child. The situation was barely tolerable: I witnessed terrible things, which I knew were wrong, but there was nowhere to go for help. Worse, there were those who condoned the abuse. I heard police or ambulance men, standing in our house, say, “She must have provoked him,” or, “Mrs Stewart, it takes two to make a fight.” They had no idea. The truth is my mother did nothing to deserve the violence she endured. She did not provoke my father, and even if she had, violence is an unacceptable way of dealing with conflict. Violence is a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it.”