I’m picking you up — bring some matches. Let’s burn all these mother fuckers down. God, reading this makes me cry with rage. Rode their bikes over your shins?! Jesus Katrina. I’m so sorry for the cruelty of boys and men that seems endless.
You’re definitely not defenseless anymore, and definitely not alone. I’m with you, beside you, in front of, in between — whatever. Solidarity friend. Sending the biggest hug.
It's funny--I always thought the things that happened to me in my youth happened to everyone. But they mostly just happen to women, to girls. It's disgusting, and it's abhorrent, and we all deserve so much better. Sending hugs right back to you, my Solidarity Sister. XO
Yeah as women, our hindsight is fucking beyond 20/20. It’s all crystal clear how much this country has and continues to hate and try to oppress women and girls. I’m fucking done with it. Fucking done. Men can go eat a bag of dicks.
Yeah, he has actually been in a real fight, not like the two pretty boys he was facing. (I don't think they are pretty but I won't call them slang that denigrates someone else.)
Fuck those boys. All of them. I'm sad that happened to you. Fuckers. And yesterday's Oval Office still has the scent of their piss wafting from it. So embarrassed and ashamed of America now. Love you, my friend.
Love you, too. And yes, fuck those boys and all the boys and men like them. Sadly, I believe it's far too many. Those ugly, nasty boys grow up to be ugly, nasty men, and the damage they do is irreparable.
With you in everything you share, Katrina. What horrible things those boys did, and what we are witnessing currently is NO better! These are those young boys, never having grown the F up in powerful places that scare me senseless.
I am not looking away, and Jessica Yellin, who is on Substack, has been doing a weekly segment on Glennon Doyle’s podcast, We Can Do Hard Things, which is bringing into the light what need to know. Perhaps you are already aware?
I stood up this week to a bully by instantly blocking him on my phone as he went into a rampage. Baby steps, yet ZERO tolerance!
Your thoughts and presence are important. My gratitude. 💜📚💐💜
Yes to zero tolerance. I tolerated far too much for far too long. My amazingly strong and self-assured daughter has taught me so much about not taking any shit. So has my age. What an amazing gift that's been. Good for you for blocking your bully! It's so empowering, isn't it? To not give them an audience? Much love to you, Joanie! XO
This was painful and powerful and really relatable. I obviously don't know you or a fraction of what you've endured, but that feeling of fear and powerlessness as a young woman and as a young girl, I understand well. Like you, I'm older now and unwilling to put up with even the slightest amount of bullshit, misogyny, unkindness, or willful ignorance from men. Or from anyone, really. Some days I'm filled with so much rage that I feel like a ticking time bomb.
Thank you, Kari. So many older women that I know and love are bursting at the seams with rage. I think we’ve survived so much abuse throughout our lifetimes, only to have it be thrown in our faces again by this horrible, misogynistic bully of a “leader.” 💙
Katrina, this is a raw and unfiltered account of cruelty, power, and the ways humiliation lingers in the body long after the moment has passed. The piss-soaked gum, the bikes over your shins, the back bedroom—none of it should have happened. And yet it did, and here you are, holding nothing back.
Watching public humiliation and gaslighting unfold on a national stage can trigger that same gut reaction. The forced gratitude, the mockery, the power games—it's the same playbook, just scaled up. Seeing it happen to another can be re-traumatizing, something I’ve felt myself in moments of political reckoning. The morning after DT’s election, the evening of Germany’s last election—it landed like a blow to the gut, like watching a cycle I knew too well play out again.
There’s no "just get over it" when the world keeps proving that the same wounds are still being inflicted, over and over. What you name here isn’t just personal; it’s systemic.
And that’s exactly why it matters that you keep saying it.
Thank you so much for your beautiful, thoughtful message of support. You're right--it IS a systemic problem. And it's one I will continue to shout about for the rest of my life. Thank you for reminding me that even though my voice might be small, it still matters. XO
I’m picking you up — bring some matches. Let’s burn all these mother fuckers down. God, reading this makes me cry with rage. Rode their bikes over your shins?! Jesus Katrina. I’m so sorry for the cruelty of boys and men that seems endless.
You’re definitely not defenseless anymore, and definitely not alone. I’m with you, beside you, in front of, in between — whatever. Solidarity friend. Sending the biggest hug.
It's funny--I always thought the things that happened to me in my youth happened to everyone. But they mostly just happen to women, to girls. It's disgusting, and it's abhorrent, and we all deserve so much better. Sending hugs right back to you, my Solidarity Sister. XO
Yeah as women, our hindsight is fucking beyond 20/20. It’s all crystal clear how much this country has and continues to hate and try to oppress women and girls. I’m fucking done with it. Fucking done. Men can go eat a bag of dicks.
Thanks for this reflection. I love that Zelensky knew he was being bullied tight away and stood up to it. Same skills you have!
Yeah, he has actually been in a real fight, not like the two pretty boys he was facing. (I don't think they are pretty but I won't call them slang that denigrates someone else.)
Fuck those boys. All of them. I'm sad that happened to you. Fuckers. And yesterday's Oval Office still has the scent of their piss wafting from it. So embarrassed and ashamed of America now. Love you, my friend.
Love you, too. And yes, fuck those boys and all the boys and men like them. Sadly, I believe it's far too many. Those ugly, nasty boys grow up to be ugly, nasty men, and the damage they do is irreparable.
With you in everything you share, Katrina. What horrible things those boys did, and what we are witnessing currently is NO better! These are those young boys, never having grown the F up in powerful places that scare me senseless.
I am not looking away, and Jessica Yellin, who is on Substack, has been doing a weekly segment on Glennon Doyle’s podcast, We Can Do Hard Things, which is bringing into the light what need to know. Perhaps you are already aware?
I stood up this week to a bully by instantly blocking him on my phone as he went into a rampage. Baby steps, yet ZERO tolerance!
Your thoughts and presence are important. My gratitude. 💜📚💐💜
Yes to zero tolerance. I tolerated far too much for far too long. My amazingly strong and self-assured daughter has taught me so much about not taking any shit. So has my age. What an amazing gift that's been. Good for you for blocking your bully! It's so empowering, isn't it? To not give them an audience? Much love to you, Joanie! XO
XO 🩵
This was painful and powerful and really relatable. I obviously don't know you or a fraction of what you've endured, but that feeling of fear and powerlessness as a young woman and as a young girl, I understand well. Like you, I'm older now and unwilling to put up with even the slightest amount of bullshit, misogyny, unkindness, or willful ignorance from men. Or from anyone, really. Some days I'm filled with so much rage that I feel like a ticking time bomb.
Thank you, Kari. So many older women that I know and love are bursting at the seams with rage. I think we’ve survived so much abuse throughout our lifetimes, only to have it be thrown in our faces again by this horrible, misogynistic bully of a “leader.” 💙
Empty bullies. Sorry you had to deal with that
Nothing like lived experience to see reality wake up and do better.
Unbelievable perverse maelstrom of bully boys…
So many empty bullies in this world. How lonely a life that must be, to wound others to make yourself feel more powerful. Love to you, Prajna. XO
Weeping and raging with you, my beloved friend. Hugging little Katrina in my mind.
Little Katrina is feeling so safe and loved within your hug, my friend. And big Katrina is full of gratitude for you. XOXO
Katrina, this is a raw and unfiltered account of cruelty, power, and the ways humiliation lingers in the body long after the moment has passed. The piss-soaked gum, the bikes over your shins, the back bedroom—none of it should have happened. And yet it did, and here you are, holding nothing back.
Watching public humiliation and gaslighting unfold on a national stage can trigger that same gut reaction. The forced gratitude, the mockery, the power games—it's the same playbook, just scaled up. Seeing it happen to another can be re-traumatizing, something I’ve felt myself in moments of political reckoning. The morning after DT’s election, the evening of Germany’s last election—it landed like a blow to the gut, like watching a cycle I knew too well play out again.
There’s no "just get over it" when the world keeps proving that the same wounds are still being inflicted, over and over. What you name here isn’t just personal; it’s systemic.
And that’s exactly why it matters that you keep saying it.
Thank you so much for your beautiful, thoughtful message of support. You're right--it IS a systemic problem. And it's one I will continue to shout about for the rest of my life. Thank you for reminding me that even though my voice might be small, it still matters. XO
Katrina, it matters as much as mine, and if we amplify each other it reaches more people.