The Clothesline Project

On April 2nd, I went with Ashley Jay to the UC and walked around the event called the Clothesline Project put on by the Women’s Center here at Tech. We walked in thinking we would be in there for about 5 or 10 minutes, but we ended up looking at the shirts for over 30 minutes.
Walking in I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I had never heard of or done anything like that before, but to my surprise it was an interesting experience to say the least. There were shirts hanging up on clotheslines everywhere. I’d say there were close to 300 shirts expressing people’s feelings toward rape, abuse, assault, death, etc. The shirts were all different. There were no two that were alike. They were made by people who have experienced these tragic situations and also shirts in remembrance of someone who had died from an abuser. I walked through and read every shirt. There was no possible way that you could pass a shirt by and not read what it had to say. I never realized that so many people suffer, just in our own community, from these disgusting acts. As I was walking by, reading these shirts I couldn’t help but ask myself why. Why do some fathers molest their daughters? Why would you lay a hand on your wife who you supposedly love so dearly? I still don’t understand why things like this happen in the world, but just from reading those shirts, I now understand that it happens all the time even in places and to people that you don’t expect.
As I was walking out, I noticed a little 18-24 month size sweater and on the front all if said in blue sharpie was “I was only this big”. This was the most disturbing and touching shirt there. That poor little girl was put through hell for no reason. I still don’t understand.