Weigh In 46

I love being a dad.

I can't think of any part of it I would want to give up. My kids mean so much to me, it blows my mind to think about it sometimes. The thought of something bad happening to them literally wrecks me at times.

And that's why my heart breaks when I think about the millions of people, children and adults, who face a living hell everyday called slavery.

Slavery of any kind is unconscionable but the thought of women, men, girls, and boys being held captive and used for sex goes even further. There is something about sex slavery that makes me incredibly angry and sad all at the same time.

The thought of what one of my little girls would be going through if, God forbid, something like that ever happened... It makes me wonder about the people that are enslaved today.

A recent post on the Ms. Magazine blog gives a list of "10 Things Men and Boys Can Do to Stop Human Trafficking." There are some interesting things that the author has to say about language, pornography, strip clubs, and general behavior among men. But I think the best thing in this article is item #10 in the list: Raise sons and mentor boys to challenge oppression.

This carries over to daughters as well. Oppression is wrong regardless of gender. Unfortunately, our culture today still carries over several "Old Boy" mentalities that, perhaps inadvertently, help contribute to an environment where women can be demeaned or lessened.

As the father of 3 daughters and now a son, I take my job seriously as the leader, protector, and mentor of them. I want them to grow up to challenge oppression. To not accept it as status quo. But not only in its overt appearances. I want to them to understand it, and not accept it, even in the subtle forms.

Sometimes I do a better job at it than others. And I feel like I'm getting better each time....

Now for the numbers:

This week's weigh-in showed me:

232.0

Not a bad week's work... 22lbs to go to hit the next goal.

And, about that goal, we are still at $155 in pledges right now. We need to get to $210 to unlock the 1st bundle of matching funds. We need to get to $420 to open up the other $210 in matching funds.

If you can give any amount (even a single dollar) to support Love146.org, please let me know. Leave a comment here or email me at the address at the top of the sidebar. You can find me in twitter as well (@scbubba).

Thanks in advance for your support.

Photo credit to kwanie.