Let’s get this out of the way first: I’m a nerd. Absolutely, totally a nerd. I play Warhammer 40K, Malifaux, and one of my first experiences with Sci-Fi was Star Trek. Along with that, I’m a Sir Patrick Stewart fanboy. Absolutely. I sat through Lifeforce just to see Stewart (I don’t recommend the movie, but Stewart is amazing as always).
But all that being said, I’ve ran into something that makes me respect the man even more. I found these stories the other day.
The Amnesty video was particularly moving – I had not known that Stewart had had that type of childhood, and I had not known of his activism in this area. That man is a consummate public speaker – and his emotion still overcomes him to the point of losing his words at times.
The more recent speech, at the launch of the “Ring the Bell” movement, was also moving. His continuous pounding of the podium was quite stirring – as well as the statistic that accompanied it: “Every 9 seconds, in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten.”
That is abominable. This must change. As Don Mcpherson, also at the event said, “Men need to confront men.” The privileged people must confront other privileged people – because the problem with privilege is that it allows those with it to ignore those without it.
Aaron K Collett 