Compassion void

If I am honest with myself compassion isn’t my first response. Not to injustice. No, injustice draws my anger, wrath, righteous indignation. Injustice makes my blood boil. When it cools to a simmer I then struggle to find a compassionate response.

That is where I find myself this evening, on the low road, struggling to find the compassionate action.

Facebook is refusing to take down a page that endorses rape culture, instead stating in an official comment that the page is akin to a ‘pub joke’. Yet Facebook famously banned breastfeeding pictures for fear of offending people.

I for one am offended that Facebook, with more than 800 million active users (according to their own stats) can find breasts more offensive nursing a baby than being violently assaulted. The salt in this gaping wound is that over 192,000 people ‘like’ the page, and only 3,300 have signed the petition to have the page removed.

I stopped by the page myself, to verify the articles I had read and was tempted to post comments, to school and scold the commenters. To not-so-politely ask the ‘likers’ which of their mothers, sisters, wives, girlfriends they think will be one of the one in 5 women raped in her lifetime.

Meeting ignorance, ambivalence & disrespect with aggression, hate & righteousness isn’t going to achieve anything other than more hate.

So I am left with the question, what is the compassionate response?

Here is the petition to have the page removed if you care to sign it.