When a man stands up…

This is a note from Christopher Burger that he posted on FaceBook. He said so much that I wish I could express, I just decided to make a new post out of his Notes From A Weekend.
Christopher Burger:

You never know when someone or something will truly affect you. I have to confess that the V-Day movement is one of those things. Last year, I was given the amazing gift of directing the west coast premiere of the MENding Monologues. It was truly a struggle to find men who were willing to become part of the movement. (And, I must confess, even when we did find men some were still only actors in a show.) And, in continuing with the Vagina Monologues tradition, I handed off the director’s duties to someone else and got to watch Brendan have the same joys and the same struggles as I did last year.

I went to see the Vagina Monologues last night for only the second time in my life and I have to say that it moves me. If one gay man can be affected in such a way, I can only imagine how women must feel after the show.

As part of the show, they ask audience members to stand if they are a victim of physical or sexual abuse. And last night, I was the only man to stand up in the audience. I don’t know whether there truly were just no other men there last night, or if men have become so conditioned to NOT SPEAK OPENLY AND HONESTLY about their feelings. It’s almost like to even have feelings at all makes them less of a man.

The script of the show arrives each year, but its creator, Derek Dujardin, allows the local production to seek out new pieces by local authors based on their experiences. And that’s why I knew I needed to tell my story and why I knew I needed to stand up when asked to. We, as men, need to continue to speak our feelings. We, as men, need to stand up and take part of this fight because it is much, much bigger than any one of us.

It is because of you that each and every person in this room will realize tonight that they too have been affected by this type of violence if for no other reason than because they have heard this story. And it is because of you that my sister, and I, have been empowered and emboldened to do what we can do to end this violence.

We did not start this fight. But I will be damned if we don’t finish it

One Response to “When a man stands up…”

  1. Christopher Burger March 9, 2010 at 11:14 pm #

    Thanks, Derek.

    I had no idea you were doing this and extremely moved and flattered that you’ve taken my words to a much higher level.

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