Sister Anna Monia Alfieri’s post
Well, we are in a television studio, the program and Forum: although the contenders are actors, it is clear that the disputes are true, the judge is titled and the sentences are at the point of law. So we are in a courtroom and we must never forget that in Italy up to the third degree of trial the presumption of innocence is in force. Dr. Palombelli was dealing with a sentence that obliged us to ask ourselves questions but, alas, uncomfortable questions. She reproduces her words verbatim: “As you know, in the last seven days there have been seven crimes, seven women allegedly killed by seven men. Sometimes it is legitimate to wonder if these men were completely out of their minds or if there was maddening, aggressive behavior on the other side as well
And one question, we have to do it by force, because here, in a court, we have to examine all the hypotheses ”.
Imagine, powder fire…! I for one suspend the judgment on the reactions that I consider legitimate and worthy of respect: raped women, lawyers, associations, priests, nuns, laity, a host of heroes who daily give their lives to snatch women from violence, perhaps they felt betrayed precisely. from her, the emblem of serious journalism. And I think this is positive, a confirmation of the fact that people today see in public figures (from politicians to conductors, from journalists to artists) as points of reference and they know how to discern who combines substance with form.
The words, however, must be placed in their context and, above all, it is right to ask questions, especially the uncomfortable ones. The question of Mrs. Palombelli is, in fact, very uncomfortable but absolutely necessary, because it is a question that many men and women have in their hearts and heads and do not declare it. The unspoken is terrible, because it legitimizes the most serious atrocities. I do not believe at all that Mrs. Palombelli justifies femicide: on the contrary, with her reflection she has allowed everyone to take a step forward, she has raised the carpet and made that dust evident so that she is swept forever.
Then the provocative question that I have grasped and around which I would very much like to open a serious discussion is: “Even today there are those who think that putting on a miniskirt legitimizes violence, still today there are those who think that men’s aggression derives by the exasperating behavior of the woman
“. Widespread thoughts, undeclared but that our silence legitimizes. Therefore, I would like to thank Mrs. Palombelli for having had the courage to break the politically correct and let us measure ourselves with such an uncomfortable question to which we must respond, not with disdain, anger or violence but with a firm No: violence is not never justified. In order for this No to become a reality, we must work on the education of our children, a respect that is won at school but also learned from the social reactions of us adults.
Let’s think of Lucia Annibali. By chance I came across her story in 2016, I followed the sentences, her interventions. And the beauty of this woman I had the honor of meeting for a few minutes struck me. An external beauty that refers to an internal beauty, a young woman who has come to terms with life. The reconstruction of the story of Lucia Annibali had left me with a sense of profound displeasure: between the lines there emerged the doubt that the aggressor had not withstood the pressure created by the situation, a sort, therefore, of justification for the violent facts. After all, it is that uncomfortable question that Palombelli has launched in a much more constructive way. As always, the behavior of individuals makes a difference. Lucia, victim, did not raise a storm, did not play the victim, she understood that at that moment she was a character who became public in spite of herself and that she could say to women: “Yes, it’s true, I came across a wrong love but this does not legitimize anyone to disfigure their face with acid”. And Lucia won because she was able to answer very uncomfortable questions with true answers that tell of a woman who was able to deal with her own reality.
So, the truth
is Here it is: we must be grateful to Dr. Palombelli for raising uncomfortable questions, of course, but which have allowed everyone to affirm, with a renewed awareness, their NO to any form of violence.
