SPOKEN WORD WEDNESDAYS - KEVIN KANTOR'S "PEOPLE YOU MAY KNOW"

It's been about two weeks since I reactivated my Facebook profile after leaving for over a year to focus on school and on healing. Upon my return, I was reunited with friends and introduced to others. Facebook's "people you may know" feature gave me daily suggestions about who to (re)connect with based on mutual friends we shared. Imagine my chagrin when my ex-boyfriend popped up, who is the literal last person I would ever want to think about. I quickly blocked him with the wrath of God and continued on my Facebook shenanigans for the day. For Kevin Kantor, the person that Facebook suggested he "may know" was actually his rapist. His poem about what ensued absolutely brings me to tears every time that I listen to it. Not simply for his powerful individual story, but for all of the young men who have been victims of sexual abuse who are afraid to tell their stories. It is because of this shroud of silence, this defective and toxic societal misunderstanding of masculinity that these horrors continue to happen to our young men. We don't allow them to speak about it, so those who victimize them go unpunished and typically go on to victimize others. We need to normalize letting men share their stories. We need to normalize allowing men to be human. I cannot force society to do that, but I can start by doing that here in sharing Kevin's poem. May he inspire young men across the world to acknowledge their own stories to whoever they trust. You are not alone. We love you!