Givin' it up for Shelton

My name is Erin Weed, and I'm the founder of Girls Fight Back! While I am not a survivor of violence myself, one of my favorite girlfriends was murdered in 2001 by a stranger who broke into her college apartment. Through her death and the subsequent pain that followed (especially the murder trial for her killer) I have heard a lot of stories. Today I try to supply hope to people who have forgotten how incredible they are. I attempt to make amazing women like you realize you are worth fighting for!

Angela has asked me to contribute to this blog, which is a real honor. I thought I'd start out my first post by saying what Angela would never do herself...tell you all the attributes she has which are so key to healing. There are two major things about her that have brought the movement so far. First up is her honesty. In my six years traveling the US speaking to women about their personal safety and self-defense, I have learned two things. #1: Everyone has a story and #2: Nobody is sharing them. To share our deepest hurt and pain is to really expose ourselves to some scary stuff...but it also exposes us to angels who can help.

The second thing I love about Angela Shelton is her humor. Just last night I was watching her movie "Searching for Angela Shelton" and I literally laughed at loud during the climax of the movie...when she is confronting her abusive dad on Father's Day. It was the part when she was marveling about how a little kid would ever come up with the idea of putting a broomstick up his ass without the help from a twisted adult. Or when she came on my radio show a few weeks ago, I asked her: "How do you move on, as an adult, after a childhood of being so horribly abused?" Her response was, "I don't know...become an addict?" (Listen to the whole interview here) The thing is, if you're reading this blog you've likely lived through, seen or experienced some pretty awful shit. And I really believe we have to find something to laugh about, even if it's dark, twisted and horrifies the rest of the population. Being able to laugh is the same as taking back the power...which I think Angela is really targeting with giggle therapy and so many of her other projects.

So overall, I just want to say it's great to be here in your lovely community. And I'm happy to blog about anything in regards to helping you reclaim your personal safety and learn to defend yourself. I'm sending a big CHEERS to Angela and her army of angels everywhere.
Strong. Resilient. Spirited. Unified.