Do you know that silence serves violence, empowers and multiplies it? LGBTIQ people like my friend are assaulted because their love is taken as unworthy and repulsive. Because strong and powerful never get punished for hurting the weak and vulnerable. And this violence engenders a paralyzing fear that mutes the voices of those who are in need. My friend has a short story to tell you how he found a way to protect himself:
"Silence is a weapon of violence. To break silence means to respond to the violence, recognize and cease it. For LGBTIQ people like me having a chance to voice our pain is a way to withstand further assaults against us. The state and media won't always speak for us, therefore it's our greatest responsibility to get heard. Fear of being attacked and pursued makes me flee from myself, from being loved and love others.
Eventually, I realized that hiding serves the violence and crimes committed against gay people. Being silent makes us even more vulnerable and powerless in the face of our aggressors. Inaction and silence simply reproduce those mischiefs and our misery, criminals and their victims. To break this vicious circle I needed to break the silence, and social media can empower me. I started to blog about the stories of gay people I know so they could be heard. I found the way to resist this silence through storytelling, so other people could relate themselves to our pain and lives."
Now, I have to confess that I made up this story. But before you start throwing stones at me, let me tell you one more thing. Storytelling is a powerful method that helps us to connect with the experience of the storyteller. Storytelling is the way how we make sense of ourselves. Through narration, we can learn how it felt to be on the other side of a story. In stories, we can observe how events were evolving and what sense the teller made of them, what wisdom he or she has learned. And because storytelling has a reuniting power it teaches us empathy and develops our emotional intellect, ability to sympathize to others and understand our own feelings. Understanding leads us to the hearts of other people, it creates a community around our stories. With social media, we can share our stories with more people, to educate and guide them.
Bloggers can find great use of social storytelling as well. With stories, bloggers can teach you about their lessons, failures, and hopes. Through storytelling, bloggers can empower communities by breaking the silence. Stories can set us apart and fuel hatred, but they also can bring us together and unite.
What are your examples of storytelling helping other people to be heard? How did storytelling help you to understand other people? What's your brand's storytelling? Share your answer in the comments
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