To anyone back home, calling someone older or wiser than you “sir” or “ma’am” was simply a sign of good manners. But to me now, the practice epitomized everything about the culture that had made me vulnerable to abuse as a child. A culture ruled by power dynamics; a culture that demanded my obedience, silenced my voice, and guarded my secrets; a culture that told me to do what adults said, no matter what.
