Crazy Love by Leslie Morgan Steiner
I feel that this TED Talk is extremely important for everyone to see, especially with the growing number of women being unknowingly drawn into abusive relationships. Steiner frames abuse in a way that is very understandable for anyone and everyone to understand. She captures the audience’s attention with the gun she pulls out and remarks that this had been the same gun her ex-husband had threatened to kill her with several times. I feel that hearing personal experiences really puts the issue into perspective. She was not a hopeless victim of abuse, she was a strong, successful and intelligent woman. I just feel that knowing her background made it easier to understand that abuse can happen to anyone, it does not mean they are stupid or “should have left.” Which is the common misconception and ideology held by much of our society, an ideology that leaves victims to blame, excuses abuse, and neglects to heal those who have been subject to it.
Steiner mentions this stigma that society has with abuse, making women who are victims feel that it is their fault for staying. But she frames it in such a way that it is easy to understand, as a human being, why you would stay with someone you trust and love—not even knowing you are being abused, or not realizing it, until it is too late. Many women do not realize that the abuse will worsen over time, some do not even see that they are being abused. She listed the stages of the intimate partner abuse timeline in such a way that the audience, and just about anyone, could understand them as if they were in her situation. Many people are very judgmental about abuse, because they have not undergone these conditions, yet they think they can judge without truly understanding what is going on.
Steiner's story speaks volumes to a number of women around the world suffering from abuse similar to hers. Her voice is one that needs to be heard. I feel this TED talk is something everyone should see. It is just so important to know the warning signs and how it builds up slowly. It’s also important that we understand it could happen to any of us and we should be understanding not judgmental, especially when friends come to us in a similar situation—which very well can happen in the future.
