Pedophiles are worse than Noxious Weeds

"...known to be detrimental to human or animal health, the environment, public roads, crops, or other property."

Tending my garden is my way of nurturing my soul. I love flowers. There are numerous references to flowers in Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots. ¹

The spring bulbs are fading. Yesterday I spent the morning getting ready for the rest of the year. I don't cut the leaves on the bulb plants. I fold them so the leaves nurture the bulb. While I'm at it, I also pull the weeds that have crept in during the wet spring.

This year, there were a lot of weeds. If I don't yank them out, they will take over the entire yard. As I was digging and pulling I thought of a conversation I had this week. A gallant soul trying to confront the institutions covering up sexual abuse.

I thought of Wendy Hammond's preface to the reading of her plays, "Three Brutal Comedies: "I'm obsessed with what causes evil and what heals it.....We're going to read three one-act plays which reflect this obsession today, my struggle to understand and then to heal evil."

As I wrestled with one particularly thorny weed, I felt a prick go through my gloves and stick in my hand. I had to stop. I needed tweezers to pull the thorn out. I grabbed a shovel and dug that offending weed out, roots and all.

My neighbor walked by and said, "Have you thought of Round-Up?" I replied, "I have, but I've had enough cancer." ² We both laughed.

I continued with the garden, tending to leafy bulb plants, ripping out weeds, and making space for my grandmother's irises--which are starting to bud. I thought of the first time I met with David Hardy at Little America.³ Another courageous soul, enraged by the DARVO attacks against McKenna Denson⁴ and then motivated to take action to help the victims in my co-author's portion of the book.

I support David Hardy's efforts. However, I learned long ago that usually perps and those organizations camouflaging for the perps don't feel any sense of relief when confronted about their actions. There's a quote by Nicholas Klein, a trade union activist in 1918 who said, “First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you,”⁵

In my experience that pretty much sums up the process. It's a long and discouraging fight.

I've been ignored, then burned, and had to fight too much. The only monument I'll get will be my headstone, and I'll delay that as long as possible. I love my life. Yet, I'll support those fighting the ongoing battle against childhood sexual abuse: David Hardy, Wendy Hammond, an array of professional therapists and numerous prominent activists. Many are fighting this ongoing battle. I am as well, with a focus to help survivors. My focus is and always has been the victims. Those left lying on the battlefield. Those trying to identify their wounds and move away from the abuse, recover, and build or rebuild their own uniquely beautiful life.

Sigh, the things I think about while weeding. (It's similar to what I posted when I went to the dentist.) Weeds are annoying and can take over an entire garden. A weed can ruin a flowering plant. There's lots of different types of weeds that can ruin your yard. Even a weed like verbal abuse can cause a soul to shrivel. Other types of weeds are worse. Noxious weeds are closer to the damage caused by sexual abuse. A noxious weed is defined as, "...known to be detrimental to human or animal health, the environment, public roads, crops, or other property."⁶

I called the State Agricultural division because there is a rental property on my street with Myrtle spurge – Euphorbia myrsinites. Myrtle spurge is a noxious weed.⁷ It's toxic. Only professionals can remove it. It has been known to kill children and animals.

Noxious Weed: Myrtle spurge – Euphorbia myrsinites

Noxious Weeds are like a pedophile. Only the damage inflicted by a pedophile is much worse.

Can you imagine if Noxious Weeds received similar reactions from the uniformed public? Or even the big institutions trying to shore up their power and money? What if Noxious Weeds enjoyed the same protections, the same denial, cover-ups, DARVO and other nonsense as sexual abusers get?

Imagine a reaction like this:

• "Oh no, Myrtle spurge will drive the property values down. Let's spray paint them pink and tell everyone they are Firewitch Dianthus!"

• "I'm sure the professionals at the Department of Agriculture planted these in my yard. It's the professionals fault for suggesting it."

• "The media is exploiting this! Noxious Weeds aren't really toxic. They are safe to eat."

Firewitch Dianthus

No one with any degree of sense would believe such non-sense. Nor should anyone believe the nonsense spewed after a sexual perpetrator is convicted. If a conviction is not possible,⁸ we must give pause and respect to those survivors trying to rebuild their lives. Extend a hand. Believe them. ⁹

The damage inflicted by sexual assault is much worse than Noxious Weeds.

I applaud those trying to eradicate sexual assault at the top. Those trying to change laws. Those trying to hold large institutions accountable for aiding and abetting criminals. Those bringing awareness to the public at large. Those educating the masses of this travesty.

I support and applaud your efforts. Please be cautious. Don't use "Round Up" to eradicate the problem. Meaning, take care of yourselves. As I said to Elizabeth Smart, ¹⁰and I said to the Floodlit organization, remember, Nietzsche's words: "And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee." ¹¹

As for me, I'm committed to rooting out the weeds in my garden. I am deeply committed to supporting those victims and survivors wounded, healing and recovering.

To my beloved survivors: Take one step at a time. Be gentle and patient with yourself. Tend to the garden of your soul because it is exquisitely beautiful. When the time is right, you too may join the ambitious in combating and healing evil. Or, you can continue nurturing your soul and decorating your own garden. Thankfully, it's your choice. You can have an authentic and meaningful life. One day you can be free from the shackles of sexual assault.

1. It stems from the damaging "Chasity" lesson I received in Beehives (7th grade) decades ago.

2. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/product-liability/roundup-lawsuit-update/

3. See Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots, epilogue

4. https://apnews.com/article/religion-lawsuits-provo-a65262ce00204392a154133c4b2b6690
https://religionnews.com/2018/03/20/retired-mormon-mission-president-admits-he-molested-a-female-missionary/

5. https://apnews.com/article/archive-fact-checking-2315880316
This quote is frequently attributed to Ghandi. It’s a great quote, but Ghandi did not say it.

6. https://www.ag.utah.gov/plant-industry/noxious-weed-control-resources/state-of-utah-noxious-weed-list/

7. https://www.almanac.com/6-noxious-destructive-invasive-weeds-and-how-get-rid-them

"...so harmful that we need to destroy or contain them to limit their spread."

8. Changing the laws is one of the huge endeavors undertaken by other activists and heroes.

9. https://www.elizabethsmartfoundation.org/we-believe-you

10. See Epilogue, Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots

11. Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil Aphorism 146