November is traditionally the month of being thankful, and this month's topic asks us to explore the idea of giving and receiving, especially in the context of being thankful. And let me just say I tried. I really, really tried.

But it's been a long year. My daughter just turned one which means I'm finally stringing together something resembling a full-night's sleep. As a feminist blogger it's been a busy year, with Congress deciding NOW was a good time to declare a war on women and all. And just when I was feeling like things were settling down a bit, where I could get my legs back so to speak, the Penn State tragedy broke. So when I think of giving and receiving right now, well, those thoughts are not exactly polite.

So be it.

I'm grateful my family is safe--for now. I'm thankful I'm empowered--for now. And my hope is to give that safety, that empowerment to those who had it stripped from them, who feel that in the face of abuse and manipulation they will never have either safety and power again. Society may consider you voiceless and you may be too hurt to disagree. But you're not. You may not feel safe to speak and you may not even know how. But I'm here to give you permission to receive that voice, my voice, and the voice of thousands of others who fight on your behalf.

There's a lot I'd like to give. I'd like to give a society that perpetuates rape culture and victim blaming a swift kick you know where with a reminder not to mess with us again. I'd like to give those in power who think it is worth the lives of thousands of women for short-term political gain a reminder that we pay their bills. And maybe most of all, I'd like to give all those who stayed silent in the face of abuse, complicit in the crimes, a chance to never speak again.

Right now, that's what I'd give.

Call me angry. Tell me I'm irrational. Guess what? I'm thanfull for my craziness and I embrace my irrationality. Maybe in the face of the logic and calculation that currently rules the day a little crazy and a little irrationality is due.