Diamonds in the Rockpile - Class of 2009: Violence UnSilenced

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Violence UnSilenced
http://violenceunsilenced.com/

I know what you're thinking. "Conflict of interest!" Because yes, I am involved with Violence UnSilenced. I think everyone else should be involved with it as well. And what I "do" on VU, more than anything else, is something anyone can do and I hope more and more people will do. The most important function I have at VU is one you can perform yourself. I read every story. I comment on every story. I offer what little comfort, encouragement and support I can to the unbelievably courageous souls who cut open old wounds and lay their deepest, most painful secrets on the altar of the Greater Good. It seems like the least I can do.

And yes, VU's creator Maggie Dammit already has a DITR on her virtual mantelpiece for her personal blog Okay, Fine, Dammit. So it made me stop and consider whether I'm conferring the award on the blog or the blogger. But if you ask Maggie herself, she'll tell you that all she does is moderate. The content belongs to the individual authors who make VU what it is. So this award is for all of them as well as VU as an entity. And then I decided it doesn't matter anyway because -- like I said when I first invented this thing, my award, my rules. And Violence UnSilenced is deserving of any and every award that comes its way. Deal with it.

Seventy Million Rocks.
Only a handful of diamonds.

I'm not nearly the first to confer honors upon VU, it's been named for several awards in the three-dimensional world as well as the 'sphere. AllTop even went so far as to create an entire new channel in their listings for domestic violence when it went live. Zimbio did the same. It was an idea long overdue, and it's already made an enormous impact on a lot of people. I'm only waiting for one accolade however. The day when someone writes in and says, "Because of something I read on VU I found the courage to leave a violent relationship and now I'm safe." That award doesn't have a name. But it's the one that matters. Meanwhile, this one will make a nice addition.

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