When You Speak and No One Is Listening. What happens when truth has no power.

I was on the trail today, gnashing my teeth about another crappy landlord, and then I suddenly saw what was actually happening.

Side note: this happens a lot when I’m on the trail. My body moving, eyes taking in the scenery, hands touching bark and grasses, music playing, and then a quiet stream of consciousness comes winding into the quiet space within me that isn’t occupied and tied up with activity to share big truths and ah–ha moments. The power of walking/hiking meditations!

Back to the landlord… I asked questions about the ongoing noise from downstairs tenants, and I was dismissed, not heard, and my experience was barely acknowledged. The tenant’s downstairs were obviously being prioritized and the landlord was showing their loyalty and preference pretty clearly. Those tenants are permanent. I’m a temporary renter in their furnished place for a few months while they go off to their second home in a warmer climate for the winter. Of course, the permanent tenants matter more. Of course, they’re favored. Of course, the landlords will be loyal to the people who pay their bills and keep things stable. How silly of me to think I mattered - even while paying them a hefty rent.

And that’s when it hit me – this isn’t just about landlords – this is about power.

I could see how often in my life I was not the priority because I didn’t hold it. Because I didn’t have enough money. Or the right position. Or the status. Or the protection. And how even when what I said was true, and clearly painful, and mattered deeply to me, it didn’t mean I would be listened to, believed, or acknowledged.

Truth alone was never enough. I see that clearly now.

I’ve spoken out about being sexually harassed by a college professor, and the school prioritized the professor. I’ve spoken out about being groomed for years by a man who was a neighbor and family friend, who later sexually assaulted me – and my parents did nothing. He was still allowed in our home. Around me. Because they cared more about him and their connection to his family, and about their friendship, and about what the neighbors would think if the truth got out.

So I learned early what happens when you tell the truth without power. You learn that safety is conditional. That belief is selective. That silence is rewarded.

It’s why I can see all the women and girls who have spoken out – and still no one cares. Or some pretend to care, or they say the right words while continuing to protect the system.

This woman landlord calls herself a liberal, progressive, staunchly advocating for truth with picket signs. She talks about protesting and speaking out. And yet she behaves exactly like the system she claims to oppose. Loyal to the hierarchy. Loyal to comfort and preserving societal norms. Loyal to patriarchy. Not loyal to truth. She is the problem and thinks she’s doing good work.

» This is why we have years of faceless, voiceless victims, and the Epstein files.

» This is why a convicted felon and rapist can hold office.

» This is why abuse is normalized and victims are told to calm down, shut up, soften their language, and stop being so angry and emotional.

People are more loyal to the status quo, protecting their comfort zones, and keeping men safe and not held accountable, than they are to truth, love, humanity, and what’s right.

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