The Fate of Our Daughters

Hello supporters!

I am so proud to share that we have over 5,600 signatures in support of our petition! This wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. Thank you so much for your support and for taking a stand for the safety of our community.

Several folks have made comments on this petition that I would like to address. To summarize a few of them:

• “People like me” are vindictive. 
• We should not assume that Mr Brown hasn’t been rehabilitated during his incarceration.
• I would have more peace in my heart if I could simply forgive Mr Brown.

I’m going to assume that these people didn’t take the time to read about Mr Brown’s history before jumping to his defense. That certainly brings a little peace to my heart. I do, however, want to take a moment to make my motivations for driving this petition very clear.

Mr Brown began his abusive behavior at least 16 years ago. During that time he has been engaged in therapies (some of them court ordered) to deal with the mental health issues he likes to blame his behavior on. He has been in several serious relationships over the past 16 years where the women he was with encouraged mental health care and therapies to help Mr Brown with his apparent violent outbursts. What he received from each of these women was empathy, kindness and far far too much grace. Grace that he had no trouble taking advantage of.

My personal abuse at the hands of Mr Brown ended roughly 8 years ago. I will never be “done” healing from the trauma and pain that he caused me but my days have grown brighter. I’m well past resentment - I let those feelings go as part of my own healing journey a long time ago. But do I still fear him? Absolutely. Why? Because he never stopped. His recorded path of abuse halts at the end of last year. Why? Because he went into custody.

Not because all of the therapy he did helped. Not because being prosecuted for a violent crime made him stop and think about his behavior. Not because being on probation gave him pause about his choices. Not because the batterer’s intervention class he was taking had an impact. Not because he realized the error of his ways and learned a lesson after he violently assaulted his first victim.

Or his second.

Or his third.

Or his fourth.

Or his fifth.

The purpose of driving this effort isn’t to enact revenge on Mr Brown.

It’s to save other women from the same fate.

That being said, I also want to be clear in my statement to victims of violence: You are allowed to be angry. If forgiveness brings peace to your heart then by all means, seek it; but you don’t owe it to anyone.

This charge that Mr Brown is currently serving time for is strangulation. Speaking from experience I can tell you it’s a type of physical abuse that’s a personal favorite of his. But did you know that domestic violence victims who suffered strangulation at the hands of their partners are 7.5 times more likely than other DV victims to later be murdered by that partner? It speaks to an intent and a willingness to kill for control. Is that the kind of person you want walking among your daughters?

Please take a moment to print off one of these flyers that links to this petition. Take it to your local coffee shop. Take it to the places the daughters of our community go and hang it on the wall. Not only to ask for their support in this petition but so that one day if they ever cross paths with him… they’ll know.