This is so awesome. I’d had to deal with a few perverts in my life, and while I’m older now, it was really hard to admit that it wasn’t my fault. If I have kids, I’ll definitely show them this.
I like your comic, but, to my ear, the good is undone with the forgiveness and praying. You point out pervert’s problems are pervert’s — your first commenter loved this part too! — but then the contradiction: ‘victim should internalize it & do something about it’. Why can’t she just be ‘free’? And free to be angry! Our cultural norm of swashing girl’s anger into palatable “nice” is a huge, unrecognized problem.
freethoughtmom — I agree it’s important that all kids exercise their right to be angry. It’s a good conversation for another comic. My experience is that anger has a function but resentment is toxic. It must be dealt with. Forgiveness is not for the offender’s benefit, but for the kid’s.
Maybe that’s a heady lesson for a kid who just got creeped on by a pervert, but it is the completely justified resentments that linger longest.
I just 11 and I showed this to all of my girlfriends, and they, as well as me, thought this was great advice! I haven’t had to deal with a pervert yet, and I hope I don’t have to. But if I do, I know what to do, thanks to this page full of advice! I can’t stop reading it, even though I practically memorized it.
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This is so awesome. I’d had to deal with a few perverts in my life, and while I’m older now, it was really hard to admit that it wasn’t my fault. If I have kids, I’ll definitely show them this.
I like your comic, but, to my ear, the good is undone with the forgiveness and praying. You point out pervert’s problems are pervert’s — your first commenter loved this part too! — but then the contradiction: ‘victim should internalize it & do something about it’. Why can’t she just be ‘free’? And free to be angry! Our cultural norm of swashing girl’s anger into palatable “nice” is a huge, unrecognized problem.
freethoughtmom — I agree it’s important that all kids exercise their right to be angry. It’s a good conversation for another comic. My experience is that anger has a function but resentment is toxic. It must be dealt with. Forgiveness is not for the offender’s benefit, but for the kid’s.
Maybe that’s a heady lesson for a kid who just got creeped on by a pervert, but it is the completely justified resentments that linger longest.
I just 11 and I showed this to all of my girlfriends, and they, as well as me, thought this was great advice! I haven’t had to deal with a pervert yet, and I hope I don’t have to. But if I do, I know what to do, thanks to this page full of advice! I can’t stop reading it, even though I practically memorized it.