Today's musings...

www.mp3.com/zrak

First album freely downloadable for a limited time.

Second album coming soon...

...not only do you recognize the problem but you also speak out about it. Yes, abuse of women is a scary thing, especially for women...the domestic violence is the most scary because it's hidden and often kept secret. Things are changing but far too slowly because for centuries women were considered the property of men who could do with them whatever they chose to do. I think the answer lies, at least partly, in awarenes--not just of the violence but also of the fact that, apart from biology men and women are pretty much the same (i.e. emotionally, psychologically and intellectually). I read a great book recently, "Real Boys Voices" and what I got from it is that this situation and many other misconceptions are to some extent the product of society expecting boys to be macho, sans emotion, the man of the family etc. Part of the responsibility, then, lies with every parent--to treat sons and daughters as equals and teach them things like it's okay, normal and natural for boys to cry and it's also okay for girls to be smart or strong. When each sex respects the similarities of "humanness" of the other then maybe some men will stop using violence to control women and maybe more women will understand that they don't have to be the victims of men who don't value them as human beings.....nightsword

more then just genes are passed on through generations.... actions and behaviors are too...

Well, I've known a number of women who have been in abusive relationships, and even dated a woman who had had a lifetime of abusive situations in her life. Over the course of that relationship, I came to understand a great deal about the deep psychology of situations like that, of how both the abuser and the victims think and perceive the world. It pu me in much deeper touch with a problem that I feel is greatly overlooked by our society by and large. So, I figured I'd do my own small part to try to call some much needed attention to the issue and wrote a song about a woan who finds the strength to break free from her abuser and ove on with her life. It's "Broken Circle," and can be found on my mp3.com page. So much music seems to be about sex and love, yet so little seems to focus on the negative issues that occur in some "relationships." So, despite whatever backlash it may or may not have caused, I made my little song public. Encouragingly, the reaction has been quite positive. A lot of people simply enjoy the song as an instrumental epic (which it is), while others have gleaned deep personal meaning from it. Plus it's been a steady player in a number of internet music charts... So, even though a lot of people may not feel up to talking about it, at least there seem to be a lot of people out there who are at least willing to acknowledge the problem.

- Zaranyzerak
www.mp3.com/zrak