Now that I have had a moment to calm myself down from the brutal, yet very honestly done scenes from today’s episode; I decided to jot at few things down. I know many of you have no clue who I am and we may never cross paths in our lives, but I wanted to put some of my personal experiences in here. After all that is how all of us know how to interact and interpret things in the world, based on our own experiences. As always there is no need to buy into what I am saying, I merely wish to start a conversation on important issues.
I’m not going to lie, I had to fast-forward through most of the scene where Aaron gets beat up again due to it reminding me of the times when my mom used to hit me, corner me, and scream in my face, that I was never going to be anyone of importance. The time she told me she wished I was dead still rings in my mind constantly, something no parent should ever tell their child. Suffice to say this episode hit me on a deeply personal level and it was meant to!
According to international statistics in 2001 nearly 40 million children under the age of 15 were abused worldwide is startling. Imagine what that number is now and where those children have ended up in their lives. When did the point come in their lives that our characters are at in Emmerdale? What saved them? What damned them? The reality of the matter is Emmerdale is showing us that we all have decisions to make in our lives, whether to sink or swim. Fall into a system of violence, drugs, abuse, prison, etc. or do we take a different road? One that leads us to a better life having learned that there is no need to play a victim your entire life. I speak from experience that the road to deciding which direction to go isn’t easy and can often claim a person before they even know what has hit them. Every single day of my life I am grateful I ended up in the hospital, forced into having a surgery to fix my back, ultimately helping me walk properly again. It was in that moment, I realized no one was going to save me from myself or where I had gotten myself, I had to do it. One way or another I needed to decide to continue being the victim of child abuse or go and live. Once I made the conscious decision to make a change help arrived, everything I had ever needed just appeared in my life to get me to where I needed to go. Thank goodness I chose to live because life truly is amazing, well once I let go and started to really live.
As for the episode tonight, I thought it was brilliantly done! The issues they are addressing are increasingly important to the world, if we are ever going to move past all the hatred that we turn a blind eye towards. Brutally beating someone the way Jason did is beyond disgusting and angers me to my very core. Jason while I am not trying to redeem his character, has had the same life millions of others have. He made a decision to not let others in, to bottle it all up as if he could handle it better alone. It got him exactly where it gets most people, lost. While the beating was brutal and startlingly real to life, it was perfectly depicted. It was honest and hard to watch for anyone who knows that someone like Aaron whose lived a harrowing life already doesn’t deserve. The show delivered its message poignantly! Ask yourself what a scene like that makes you really feel on the inside, let that feeling be what leads you in your life to making a difference. If it made you as sick as it did me then I know it has moved something inside you to help change the conversation.
I am glad Liv, Rob and Aaron had someone there for them to put some sense into their heads but the lack of communication is deafening. It made me realize the deeper point to the story. Homophobia, while a big part of it, isn’t where the lesson in this story goes, it is towards moving past what has happened to our characters to have a better future. Father Adian made a point to tell Aaron to be proud of his story and his father because it doesn’t have to be where his story ends. Aaron has already proven that his father can’t dictate his future, if he had he wouldn’t have his family in his life. For Aaron this is about learning that he doesn’t have to be the scared little boy anymore, that he can let who he was go and have that life he truly deserves. I myself am thankful at times for what my mother did to me because it has shown me who I am not, what I deserve, and that I don’t have to follow down the same path she did. Same goes for Robert and his unceasing ability to pretend he has everything together to prove he is strong. Rob is going to learn quickly that he needs people to lean on as well and in doing so it doesn’t make him weak. I would argue it in fact makes him stronger. Liv has always been someone after my own heart because she has to grow up at such a young age. It is time for her to learn she can be a teenager now and that Aaron isn’t going to treat her the same way her mother did. That Aaron loves her unconditionally, as does Robert. Like I said the lack of communication is very irksome to me, especially when we know it will solve so many of their problems.
For the fans, I think it is important that we understand this story has a purpose to it and it is shedding light on a situation that quite frankly affects people’s lives in detrimental ways. We, as in the people on this planet, have the ability to make it so those stories don’t end up being sad or all for not. Step back for a moment and let go of the fact that it is a fictional character, put yourself in Aaron’s shoes, a friend, a family member; what would you do to ensure that they know you/they are loved and not alone? It is what we choose to do with our abilities that ultimately decides our lives and the lives of others.
For me at least, Jason is/maybe a lost cause at this point in his life, however, Aaron, Rob, and Liv all have the chance to really make a change. They all are on the tip of a mountain and one move, either way, could change their entire lives. I wholeheartedly get why Emmerdale is doing this now, they want to show people that life is how we decide it to be. I commend them for doing this as honestly as possible. Likewise to Danny, Isobel, Ryan, Sam, and everyone else who is apart of it. They are the ones who have offered to us and glimpse into a world we often don’t want to see, the least we could do is learn from it.
Another ending to a long post! Love to all of you!
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Mindful Meanderings 
What an insightful post. I feel incredibly sad reading about the violence you suffered to your mother. No one should have to go through that. I also admire your courage and strength to pick yourself up and go, to give yourself the life you deserve. Hats off to you.
One thing your post reminds me of: people have to keep in mind this is a soap, and these people are actors. Yes, they do a darn good job of showing us the intent in the story line. But it is a soap, it is make believe. True, it portrays real life problems and situations.
If those people want to really get upset, then why not volunteer with a shelter or with an organization that deals with “reality”. That will be reason to cry, to be offended, to demand justice. The actors in tonight’s episode are very talented and do a great job. They actually teach us a lesson and we should take that into the real world.
Thank you for your posts.
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