Rape, part two

[H2O Man]

16. My biggest fear

at the time was that one summer's night, a group of my nephew's friends would travel to the other town -- about 15 miles away -- and seek revenge. Young men do, at times, engage in that type of behavior.

I also had a couple men (who were serious and capable) ask me if I wanted them to do me a favor? Indeed, I did: do not take any action beyond attending the court process, which lasted from June to October. Or write a letter to a newspaper. But definitely not go out to try to violently get revenge, even if they were confident they would never get caught.

Yet I fully understood why all those people felt that way. In fact, there were times when such thinking played in my mind, late at night. But we won't curb violence with more violence, or cure hatred with more hatred. Somehow, as difficult as it can be, we need to continue working towards being a nation of laws, a land where social justice becomes our reality.