HIDDEN WOUNDS

I met James on the social media. He never hid his hatred for the female folks. He would rant and cuss out at them. Yet, he confessed, he has many ladies as friends, with such admiration. You could literarily feel the anger yet, the supposed love he has for ladies would pass for lip service.

On this day, he posted something disturbing that attracted a lot of reactions from people but mostly condemnation. I read through his post then sent him a private message. “Could you send me your number if you wouldn’t mind?” He obliged. Then I called James, introduced myself, and then plunged into the real discussion.

For about 30 minutes, I prodded into his past to unravel the genesis of his hatred for ladies. James confirmed that his parents were divorced but no apparent bitterness from lack of parental care to warrant such hatred for ladies. He had unfettered access to his father as well as his mother. After several minutes of scrutinizing the past, we found something scary.

As a teenager, James was returning from an errand to the street where they lived. At the entrance of the street were couple of boys on the trail of a lad that had attempted raping a lady. After much pursuit, the rapist got lost in sight. As they made to return, James appeared in sight. “Here is he”, one of them shouted, before James could deny or affirm his identity, he had received the beatings of his life.

Left to die, someone helped him home. He was accused of raping a lady when he was innocent of the charge. He wept and moved on with his life. The thoughts were repressed with years but the damage had been done. With time, James overcame this emotional trauma but he failed to confront it.

Do you agree that bad experiences can turn an innocent boy into a beast? Share your thoughts in the comments. #RealMan