He's so sweet...He wouldn't hurt anyone

[cally]

http://www.the-broad-side.com/make-little-girls-voices-carry

This is hard to excerpt. I suggest reading the entire thing but the jest is:

He kissed my hand mommy and touched my nose, and I said no,” she repeated when I greeted her at the door. The director of the school happened to be there.

“He kissed her hand and touched her nose, and she didn’t like it,” I told the director, who I should mention, I like very much, and does a good job.“Oh, he is new to the school, and is affectionate, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly, he’s so sweet,” was her calm response.

I told my daughter again, “Just tell him no. No touching, and tell the teacher.”

...

Mommy, you have to get me Band-Aids. Five Band-Aids. Because (boy’s name) hit me and touched me and poked my face and hurt me.”

...

And the awesome mother...

So maybe some people believe the boy is sweet and he wouldn’t hurt a fly. But he did hurt my daughter. He hurt her by making her think it was OK for him to broach her boundaries, touch her and that everybody was complicit in it (he’s so harmless), so nothing would happen to him, so why even bother speaking up. That’s the message my daughter received.

And that? That is just not acceptable!! That’s how you get to a Steubenville. Because what happens when boundaries are ignored; when a girl speaks up and is ignored? What happens is that society is teaching her that her voice won’t be heard. And I am determined that will NOT be my daughter’s experience. Not while I can give her the voice she needs, and the power to use it.

Then, I moved on and didn’t think twice about it.