“Things started getting really rough when I was about seven....

“Things started getting really rough when I was about seven.  One of my mother’s friends beat her up really bad one night.  I mean really, really bad.  So bad that she was trying to jump out the window just to get away.  That’s how bad he was going in on her.  I was screaming, and crying, and trying to get him to stop.  And so many people heard.  We lived on the second floor.  Our window faced the street.  It was summertime.  So I know they heard.  And nobody did a thing.  We lived in a community.  Everyone knew us.  I thought people liked my mom.  But nobody called the police.  I had to call the ambulance myself.  That’s when I learned that no matter how hard you cry, some people don’t care.  Poverty creates a lot of sociopaths.  I never became one, but I can understand it.  Because when nobody cares about your pain, it’s easy to ignore the pain of others.”