The entire atmosphere of grinning teenagers, watching, and enjoying the fight, and the deadened look in all their eyes, made me shudder. Fortunately, my very presence was enough to break up the fight. Violence is learned from exposure to violence. There is a schism between their thinking and feeling natures. Abuse begets abuse.
Violence begets more violence.
This experience cemented a decision that I have been trying to make for a while now. My growing frustration has been leading me in this direction all along. Ever since the conference on child abuse, with the lack of empathy by some of the professionals, and through my contacts with agencies at both the state, county, and local levels, I have thought of the possibility of adults in the Downeast Maine area, who are recovering from childhood abuse, joined in an organization whose sole aim is to work toward ending child abuse in our area, any, and every way possible. We are in a position to help educated society about the subtle, as well as gross forms of abuse. I have learned many things this past year.