Location:
Canada
Occupation: Father
Raising my son and daughter in a home where violence is discussed – not resorted to. Dennis’ inspiration behind making a promise to Ring the Bell: “I became a father two-and-a-half years ago when my daughter was born. Two weeks ago, I was once again fortunate to witness the birth of my son and I now see firsthand how from day 1 boys and girls are treated differently. Despite my best intentions, I too sometimes fall into the trap of unconsciously treating my son differently from my daughter. While I want my kids to have a complete freedom to discover themselves and choose their own paths in life, I am also cognizant that how I treat and interact with them will have a profound impact and leave indelible mark on their lives. This absolutely scares me and at the same time energizes me to press on with what will be surely a wild ride.”
Location:
Sweden
Occupation: Hobo scientist in Microbiology and genetics.
Teaching my children and all I meet the values of all peoples equal worth and their right to exist without violence. That´s 24/7.. Hans’ inspiration behind making a promise to Ring the Bell: “I pledge to never bear a hand on a woman. I have never done.. I am an athlete (exswimmer and was captain of the Swedish national team. Big and strong, and that made me safe from the bullies at school. I avoided all physical violence although I have been slapped more than once by my exes. There are women who physically abuse men, I have been there, but I always refuse to sink as low as violence. I´ve stopped the mother of my child from trying to raise my son with a fist and degradation. And I´ve been slapped many times by my mother, who died Dec. 2012. I still love her. I understand that I was a hard child to cope with, but violence is never the answer. I Love the Ring the Bell initiative.”
Location:
Canada
Occupation: developer
being an example to my 2 boys on how to treat women with respect and to stand up and be a voice for what is right. Corey’s inspiration behind making a promise to Ring the Bell: “The trigger for me to join happened when I watched a YouTube video of Patrick Stewart answering a question at Comicpalooza. After I stopped crying, I realized that I had a similar life story albeit one generation removed from the horror of war and PTSD. This event is something that is positive and attacking the problem at its root, not merely treating the resulting mess left behind by domestic violence. I grew up reading books where the white knights prevailed and saved those around them. I always dreamed of being one of those guys who would do the one amazing act that would save the world. Reality set in for me about a year ago, and I realized that I was close to perpetuating the cycle of violence in my family. I had always sworn I would not have the same environment for my family where no one knew when things would spin out of control and result in violence. I have gone through some drastic changes in the last year and have made significant strides in ensuring that the cycle ends here and now. One of the things that this process has made me realize is that its not enough to internally make a commitment to something. You have to share it with someone else in order to really have meaning. I have come to realize as well that BIG change, world saving change is like a fractal picture. From one perspective it is a coherent picture and a single entity, something impossible to achieve by one person. But if you look closer,…
Location:
New York, United States
Occupation: cook
showing my son through my actions that women are to be respected and never hit and to show him how to treat a woman with respect. Ernest’s inspiration behind making a promise to Ring The Bell: “My mother was abused by a man she was with after my father until I finally found out about it and had her give in and have him arrested. Since then, it has always been important to me to take a stand against domestic violence. As a father to both a boy and a girl, it is important for me to teach them both that it is never ok to hit someone you love, so that he will not grow up to abuse women and she will never think it is ok to be hit by a man. I make this promise to the memory of my mother and to the futures of my children.”
Location:
Texas, United States
Occupation: teacher
Teaching my sons to respect women and to stand up to those that don’t. Kenneth’s inspiration behind making a promise to Ring the Bell: “A friend of mine brought the website to my attention and it was her passion around this issue that made me aware of the petition. From a father’s stand point, I want my two boys to grow up and know that they should speak up and step up to help stop violence against women. As grey as this world can be at times, there are certain things that are black and white. Violence against women is one of those issues; there is no grey area here. My boys (Tiger and Reese) have a little sister (Madison, she’s my princess) and part of being a big brother is watching out for their sister. It’s something I want instilled in them from an early age.”
