a couple of nights ago, on my way home, i saw a Woman at a bus stop with Her child in a pram. a man was shouting at Her. tearing Her apart as if She were nothing. i turned back and looked deep into Her eyes. She whispered, “it’s okay.”

but i knew it wasn’t.

still, i kept walking. i don’t know why. maybe fear, maybe shock – maybe something i still can’t name. when i got on the bus, i looked out the window and saw Her start to break down while Her child remained blissfully unaware. i wanted to jump off the bus and wrap Her in the biggest hug. but what if i made it worse? what if my intervention put Her in more danger?

as the bus pulled away, i began to cry. how could i have left Her there, in the cold, with a man as cruel as that? people told me to brush it off, said he was just being embarrassing. but i hurt because She hurt, and i still did nothing.

the guilt hit me hard. i wondered how i could feel sad about not helping Her – was that selfish? was i turning Her pain into my own? but then i realised something: even his words, hurled at someone else, made me shrink, made me question my own feelings, made me feel small and powerless.

and that’s when it clicked.

that’s what people like him do.

they burrow under your skin.

they make you feel like nothing.

helpless. useless.

defenseless.

but i see this everywhere, and i’m tired of tiptoeing around it. we didn’t have the mary wollstonecrafts or emmeline pankhursts of the world just for their work to fade into the background. and i won’t pretend otherwise – people like judy chicago, bell hooks, malala yousafzai, and so many others, women and men, are still fighting. but why can people still get away with treating others like nothing? we’re all human. i’d like to believe we want to be kind to one another. yet some people aren’t.

i don’t want to sound preachy, and i know i don’t know the whole story. i’m just one small person in a huge world. but my soul aches. and i know i’m not alone in that. why is it that a handful of men still dominate how this world is run? truthfully, the world doesn’t need to be controlled, it needs to be cared for.

the planet is sick, and i feel sick with it.

what needs to change for this constant, quiet stab of grief to finally ease?

we wake up day after day, stepping back into the world and everything it demands of us. we all want to achieve something, to feel useful, to feel like we matter. but honestly, just thinking about that makes me want to break down. even the simple act of existing feels overwhelming sometimes. maybe that’s more common than i realise.

i know we can’t all live in perfect harmony, and maybe learning to navigate that is part of being human. but when i think about the way people speak to me, the way i see others being treated – whether at work, in public, or even within families – it makes something in me collapse a little. it wears me down from the inside out.

don’t forget that people have feelings. the way you speak, the way you act – it all leaves an impact.

i’m writing this in a quiet pub, tucked away in a small library at the top of the building, hidden in a calm nook. the cold, blistering air is whirring outside. a kind man just handed me a pot of tea with an extra biscuit – just because. it’s moments like that that remind me of the good in the world.

i know i’m not alone.

i know i’m not the only one who’s hurting.

so why do a small handful of people get to decide what matters on this planet?

why do they thrive on making the rest of us emotionally numb?

i’m frightened.

but i don’t want to be anymore.

and i refuse to let them win.

i keep thinking about that Woman. i hope She’s safe, and i hope She knows She deserved so much better than the way She was spoken to.
And She’s not alone – too many people are treated this way. we need to look out for one another. community isn’t optional; it’s vital. it’s how we protect those who are hurting.

‘the big men’

ha

or should i say the weak men.

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