Why I sometimes feel like I'm going crazy

Hello Blogspot. It's been a super long time and I am just super excited I managed to access this account again :) There is something that I really want to write about. So here we go. People are not born with an inherent understanding of many social dynamics. We as children grow up learning things like what a relationship looks like, men and women's roles, how to relate to and speak to other human beings. And even the most gifted and wonderful parents can't always be there to teach us all the details. So we sometimes learn from other sources. Growing up I learned a lot of things from my friends, as many children do. And I watched A LOT of TV. Like more than was at all healthy for a child but my Mother was big into letting me make my own decisions. And so I learned a lot of norms from TV and movies. If you think you didn't then I encourage you to count how many times in a day you think about movies or TV and then tell me that shit isn't in your head. So, TV and movies can make a big impact on how we perceive the world. That being said, sometimes it's not a good impact. I work at domestic abuse shelter as a crisis intervention social worker. What this means is that it is my job to sit down with the women and men who come to the shelter and be the first person who speaks to them. The first person to ask them what is wrong and what is happening to them. So I hear a lot A LOT of stories about abuse and violence and just general sadness. To be clear here, I'm not asking for pity. I love my job. The people I work with are unique and giving and have big hearts and senses of humor that help me with so much. So, no pity. Just explaining where I am in life's journey right now. So, I hear these stories. And I start thinking, "Wow, what makes it OK in one person's mind to treat another person like this?" Because abusers are not some inhuman monster as much as we would like to believe they are. They were children once. They were learning how the world works once and their place in it. Surely it's not just shitty parents that make them abusive. I know a lot of kids who had shitty parents and grew up to be just fine. So then, let's take a step back. Could it be our culture? Could it be our TV and our movies and our video games and our music and our dialogues that teach children that hurting and debasing another human being is OK? Yes. Of course it is our culture. Maroon 5's Animal. Grand Theft Auto. Girls Gone Wild. I could keep listing things but at the end of the day it's easy to see if you look for it. Start looking for the messages in what you're watching or playing or listening to. There's messages in everything whether you're willing to see it or not. Start asking yourself if what you're looking at has any examples of good, honest, equal exchanges between men and women. Asking yourself if violence is used as entertainment or shown as encouragement. You're an adult and you have a brain. All I'm asking is that you use your big sexy smart brain to start thinking about these things. Because once you do, it's a freaking trip man.