Patheos/On Faith: Egypt Can Learn from Survivors - On Faith at washingtonpost.com

Egypt Can Learn from Survivors

By Marci A. Hamilton
Author, Professor and Patheos Columnist

How do the powerless overcome the powerful? Sometimes it is a very basic story. Young David killed the imposing Goliath with no armor and a slingshot. The clergy sex abuse movement started with less, as has the Egyptian movement for democracy. Yet, both show signs of success.

The survivors of clergy sex abuse, especially those from the Catholic Church, have forced an arrogant religious hierarchy to be more accountable and liable. They have dragged the bishops' callous actions and attitudes into the glare of a public spotlight; filed personally painful lawsuits that resulted in the disclosure of an increasing mountain of incriminating information and forced the bishops to pay for the harm they caused; and they have worked tirelessly against all odds.

Here are their three most potent weapons: 1) the internet; 2) their bravery; and 3) their tenacity.

The internet has been a critical tool for survivors to find each other. When an adult sexually abuses a child, it is usually accompanied by threats against disclosure, so a sex abuse survivor can be the loneliest person in the world. When a few began to tell their stories in public, others chimed in, groups like SNAP and Link-Up were formed, and individual suffering became a uniting rather than a dividing force.

The internet was crucial for the movement, because victims were spread across the United States (and we now know around the world). Not only did it assist with bringing the victims together, but it also made it possible for everyone to have access to the blockbuster files from within the bishops' "secret archives," and to reports like the Philadelphia Grand Jury Report on clergy abuse in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. No one needed to leave their living room to become fully educated. The gathering information spurred Anne Barrett Doyle and Terence McKiernan to form www.bishopaccountability.org, which now houses a remarkable trove of hard information on the cover up.

The clergy abuse warriors also have had to be brave against a condescending, wily, and aggressive enemy. The bishops tried to transform the victims into the Church's oppressors. They charged that any victim who filed a lawsuit was just "money-hungry." They then worked to triangulate the parishioners against the victims by telling the parishioners that the victims were intent on destroying their parish and dismantling the Church. They have offered the bare minimum in counseling to those they victimized, as though the lifelong problems suffered by child sex abuse victims were not their fault. Of course, they did not bother to disclose their extreme wealth unless required by court order. It is anathema to them to publicly admit that United States dioceses own vast real estate holdings unrelated to religious use, like office buildings, hotels, and empty lots. The victims have had to learn to accept re-victimization as part of the process.

Finally, their sheer tenacity has been an absolute necessity. Every time the bishops have held a meeting at which they have conferred and then announced "new" initiatives to redress their clergy sex abuse problem, the obvious intent has been to sweep as much as possible back under the rug.

Irrationally, but heroically, stubborn survivors have refused to accept their half-measures as enough. They have missed work, family gatherings, and an infinite number of hours of sleep laboring for this one just cause.

These same, basic tools have helped and will help those laboring for democracy in Egypt.

Tyrants, like Hosni Mubarak, have every reason to dislike the internet, with its facility for bringing together groups previously disabled by individual cells of silence. That is why Mubarak shut it down as soon as the protesters appeared at Tahrir Square. In a culture like Egypt, where the values of free speech and a free press are not honored by the regime, the internet is critical. By the time Mubarak reacted, it was too late to prevent its utility in fostering a community of opponents.

Every revolution requires bravery, but it comes in different packages. George Washington, who led the United States' Revolutionary War effort against all odds, was the bravest man of his generation. But that is not the bravery at work in Egypt or against the Catholic bishops. In the case of the Egyptian protesters, like the clergy abuse survivors, individual acts of bravery have created a sum greater than its parts. Both are a wide-scale movement of loosely organized individuals, not a military operation.

The Mubarak government keeps throwing bones to the protesters, much like the bishops have tried to mollify their victims with less than impressive reforms. It is rumored that one huge concession is a promise of a free press. But if they look to the clergy abuse movement, the Egyptians will see that tenaciously holding Tahrir Square until they have achieved all of their goals is worthwhile.

With the internet, a free press, and their own mettle, Egypt's Davids may well slay their Goliath. This may seem like an overly simplistic assessment of a complex political situation. Sometimes, though, complexity is nothing but a distraction from the truth.

Marci A. Hamilton is the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University and author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children (Cambridge, 2008) and God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law (Cambridge, 2005, 2007). Her column appears weekly at Patheos.

Comments

Please email us to report offensive comments.

IMPORTANT: Rich, Middle-class or Poor, If YE hath All these “Tetra-Needs“ then Ye hath No Worry’s on this [Nebula-Built] Holyi Planet, zero born in ANY biblical old [PRE-APOCALYPTIC] story's on S.pace-S.hip EARTH, aka S.S. GAiA, S.S. GEOiD and the ancient name S.S. TELLUSng something!

VOTE: "APOCALYPTIC GOVERNMENT" & GRIDARIAN-DEMOCRACY"

"Something To Live For Not To Die For!" iMagine:

A Better World To LOVE, LiVE & DANCE ON, Aye?
__

█▀█░██░█▀█░█▀░██
█░█░█■░█▀█░█░░█■
█▀▀░█▄░█░█░█▄░█▄
█ &. . . . . . .
. . . . ╔╗ . . . . . .
. . . . ║║╔═╦╦╦═╗
. . . . ║╚╣║║║║╩╣
. . . . ╚═╩═╩═╩═╝. . NO
. . . . ╔╗
. . . . ║║. . .╔╗
. . . . ║╚╦═╣╚╦═╗
. . . . ║║║╬║╔╣╩╣
. . . . ╚╩╩╩╩═╩═╝●
.
.
Now Sing; "Ommm, Aumm, Amen Now EKLAHt-i"
.

Posted by: IN_IT_WE_TRUST | February 14, 2011 5:28 PM

oooopppssa.

Sirs; Ye cannot be a "DR> in ALLAH, nor in the QURAN! Impossible! 1st; Go Get a PhD in the "GEETA" then the "KANGYURS" then the "CHUMASH", then the "BIBLE" then and only then can Ye Yo have the "HONOR"? to be called "DR." (In All Five Major Belief/Faiths; Real RELIGION); Like US, i [WE} EKLAHTi-ON's (NOt OFF's) of/on [Nebula-Built] S.pace S.hip Earth(s).

Posted by: IN_IT_WE_TRUST | February 14, 2011 4:35 PM

because i [WE] was blocked from Posting on Dr. Ali GOMaa (of What ?; Oye...!) Ali Gomaa, on his (GUEST) "THE EGYPT WE DESERVE," then;

ATT: DR. ALI GOMaa (Grand [Ex-OSIRIS] Mufti) et al;

Sirs; Ye cannot be a "DR> in ALLAH, nor in the QURAN! Impossible! 1st; Go Get a PhD in the "GEETA" then the "KANGYURS" then the "CHUMASH", then the "BIBLE" then and only then can Ye Yo have the "HONOR"? to be called "DR." (Off All Five Major Religions); Like US, i [WE} EKLAHTi-ON's (NOt OFF's). AND

ONLY by AEGYPT adopting America's Holyi [SECULAR] CONSTITUTION, will Egytian(s) finally & TRULY (opposite MYTH) be genuinely Free! And LET EGYPT Lead the ARAB-WORLD in this Forward Thinking, and then Let "ALLAH" (G_D, G-D, gud, God, Ishvara...) follow US, nay/NO We Follow ALLAH.

Dr.? ALi: YE & YO Do NOt have "R-E-L-i-G-I-O-N!" Ye only have "Faith" and or "Believ/f". RELIGION, if any is in ALL Reality or Fact INNATE!

Question; Isn't There a "MEMPHIS," Cairo near You? Well make that Your "MONTGOMERY, Alabama (i.e.; Via the ways of brethren Mr. Martin Luther KING JR. {pbuh et al} Note: Also From Muhattma GANDHI {pbuh et al}, This is what they Died For!! Not You! Blablabla.

PS: "911" (NINE ELEVEN) IS MADE IN EGYPT, Or Was it SAUDI? Time to Adopt The Whole U.S. Constitution, if Ye Yo Really 'LOVE"? and or Respect "KAFIRS" & CO. Aye???

RECOMMENDATION: Stay Out Of [SECULAR] Government; Unless TURKEY is Ye Yo Shining Light in SECULARANITY disguised in THEOCRACY?

VOTE: "APOCALYPTIC GOVERNMENT" & "GRIDARIAN DEMOCRACY"

'Something To Live For, Not To Die For!'
___

TO ALL, EVERY & ANY "HUUMATE in CONTiNUUM" via "ETERNITY AVOiDING LONLiNESS." WHEREFORE:
-
Ameennnnnn...

Ommmmmmm...

Aummmmmm...

Vahhhhhhhhh... AND now Sing

EKLAHhhhht-iON..
.
............................. ._.
........................ ._.|._.|._.
.................... , .|._.| .. |._.|._
.................... | .|. . |. . |. . |._.|
.................... | .|. . |. . |. . |. . |
.................... | .|. . |. . |. . |. . |
................ ._.| .|. . |. . |. . |. . |
........... | .| .) .\ . . ..^ ..^ ..^ . .|
........... | .| . .| . . . . . . . . . .. |
........... | .| . .| . . . . . . . . . .. |
........... |. | . .| . . . . . . . . . .. |
........... \ .\ . . . . . . . . . . . . .|
............ \ .\ . . . . . . . . . . . ../
............. ). \ . . . . . . . . . . .(
............ /. .. \ . . . . . . . . . . .\
.......... / . . . . \ . . . . . . . . . .. \
.......... . . . . . . \ . . . . . . . . . . .\
.......... . . . . . . . \ .. . . . . . . . . ..\
.

1) Inhale 'E' (sounds like hE/shE slightly)

2) Exhale 'KLAH' (use 't' for stop-gap in 'time') pause in a Mini Second, THEN

3) Inhale 'i' (sounds like hiii).

Try "IT".
__

PEACE, PAZ, SHALOM, SALAAM, MIR, ZHINGYU, AHIMSA, SHANTi, ONKAR
__

Credit: "JJ" http://onwapo.wordpress.com

Posted by: IN_IT_WE_TRUST | February 14, 2011 4:22 PM

Oh idiot, this is a revolution in Egypt and you are too timid to point out that Islam is finishing. Islam cannot sustain a history of lies and it finally cannot rule its people by Sharia or koran. Leaders in muslim countries hide behind islam and rule the masses. This had to end and has ended in Tunisia and Egypt, Iran is next. Islam is beginning to show how outdated it is when leaders cannot rule by Isslamic force anymore. The Catholic priests parallel is weak...okay. Egypt and revolting muslims can only learn by being secular and then have the guts to fix the history of Islam.

Posted by: Arif2 | February 14, 2011 1:13 PM

THE GREAT O I L --- E M B A R G O is COM'th!

O' SUPERSTUPIDSTITIOUS {JEWISH'S?).

To avoid this Calamity (yes, it's all avoidable; fortunately ye yo's hath a Last Chance)

Pleazza Kick Out ALL The HEREDI//TEDI To IRAN NOW where most of them are TODAY. Not Morrow. Oye Vay!

Posted by: wiki-truth | February 12, 2011 9:34 AM

Forgive ME; But,

"SATANIC VERSUS" Won; Not DEMOCRACY! YE YO' il See! AND With or With-out Pre-1967 Borders, The End of the 'JEWISH" State of Israel is near (less than 5 years).

Thank You Mr.'s [DEVIL advocates] Benjamin Netanyahu the h'abibi king a[MOLECH] (not King!) of fda 'YaHUdi's! And da other habibi, EHUD(i) OLMERT & CO.!

S-H-M-o-C-K-S!

The ISHLOMO's (via SUNNi-A-BOMB) & The SINO'S (ATOM-BOMBS) & Soon the SAHIA-B-BOMB) are gonna F-kkkkkk Ye & Yo's.

Reality, Fact & TRUTH(opposite MTH) YOU & YOUR (Yahudi (un-"GOY")Kind ) Caused All That Ye Yo See in Aegypt//Egypt. NOt Tunisia et al. NOt ALLAH! NOT HASHEM! NOT G-D! You You The "JEWISH"S!

My Father {pbuh etal}, 1st Hagganaian, & WE [i} the 1st "FIRST SABARA_ITES" , includes NEN GURION {pbuh et al} and Even ALBERT Einstein {pbuh et al} Was Right
about Ye Yo "JEWISH'S (Gabage!).

YE & CO., Killed Israel! You all ain't seen nothing Yet! WE{i} See & YE & Yo's Don't!

RECUSE YOUR SELF "bibi" & CO., SCKUMM of This Planet & M.E & Users& Abussers of America's! Stupi Xrstians Too!

Charra! DREKK! SHIYSTER! GONDOO! MYELDA! GOVNO!..!

VOTE: T Z I P I -- L i V N I
__

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW: In REALity!

The Sequel:
__

ATT: MUHAMMAD ATTA & Hi-J-ackers Above!

C/O: Ishlami BrotherHood/BurkaHoods & CO.:
. . . . . . . . . {Special Delivery}
.
....................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ./
...................... . . . . . . . / . . . . . . /
...................... . . ./ . . . / . . . / . . / . . . . . . . . . /
...................... . . / . . . . . . . / . . . . . / . . . . . . /
...................... , ---------------------- . . . ... . ,.-,
.................... / . . . . . .`--- . . . . . . . \ . __ . / . |
.................. [ . .by: . K . A . F . i . R.. _|_ . . . |
.................... \For:Satanic-Versus/ .. . . .\ . |
...................... `----------------------- . . .. ....`.-`
.
.
.
.
. . . . . . . . ^
............./. .\
............/=0\\\
.........../=1 =\.\
........../=2=.= \,,\ ,.. , . , . , . . , .^
........./= = .=1=\.`\ , ., . , . ,. .,/. ./\\
......../= == = = \,,`,\, . , . , . ,,/=1 =\.\`,.`,```.`,`.`,`^
......./= = = = = =\,.`,\ .,.,,,,,,,/=2=.= \,,\,``.,``,`.,/. ./\\
....../== = = = = =\.,`. \ ,. .,,./= = .=3=\.`\,`,`,`,,/=1 =\.\
...../= = = = = = = =\`.` \,`..///// , , , , , , . . nn_r
..../= = = = = = = = =\. ` \ `.,`.,` , ., .,. ,. , ,/\(\
`,`.`.`./////////////`..`..`.`..`.``..`,..,`.`,`.`,`.`,`.`.
nn_r . . . . . . . . . . . . .`````,,,,,,
/\(\ . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .``,..nn_r . . . .
.' "`` ////,`.`.`,`.`,`.,,.,.`,`.`,`...,`/\(\ .`..`.
,.``.`. . . ...`.,. . `nn_r , , , , ,
.`,`.`.,`. . . . ..`.`/\(\
. ,., . , . , . , . ,
.,.,,,. , . , ``
=====================================
MADE IN AMERICA; For Peaceful Purposes!
=====================================
Credits “JJ” http://onwapo.Wordpress.com/

Posted by: wiki-truth | February 12, 2011 9:27 AM

congrat egypt and brave egyptions,
the american hypocritical democratic franchise in egypt sank deep in the river nile,head in the mud.

global oligarchy is coming to an end soon,hopefully the $democratic free world$ rise up to the great event.

please take heed and compare between the brave egyption revolution and the invasion of saint bush the democraz to iraq and afganistan.

you may also study the silence and the deaf ears of DR shy/ed obama and princess of peace hillary.

Posted by: mono1 | February 11, 2011 2:49 PM

Posts By Category

Posts By Date

Egypt Can Learn from Survivors

Comments

Post a Comment