When I was at school, we were sent for a few lessons with a self-defence teacher, who taught us many things. Aim for the balls, he said. That means eyeballs too. He showed us how to break someone’s nose with the heel of our hand, how to throw an attacker over our shoulder. But the thing that stuck with me the most was the entreaty to never shout ‘Help!’ because no-one will come. He said we should always shout ‘Fire!’ instead. Fire is something that people understand. Saying I’m sick feels a little like shouting ‘Fire!’, and I don’t want to do it anymore. I am not sick today. I am in a state for which we don’t yet share a language, or an understanding. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try.
— Read on katherinemay.substack.com/p/another-kind-of-winter
Another Kind of Winter… – Katherine May’s Stray Attention
