One of the most riveting quotes from the Reason Rally stage was this one:
I will continue my fight until I die.
That was said by author/speaker/activist Taslima Nasrin.
Unlike most of us, who might say such things in the naive, comfortable bravado of our safe and secure lives, Nasrin has been under threat of death, under sentence of death by Islamic decree since 1993.
In her case, as I mentioned in Rusted Pickup at the Senior Prom, her statement is a fully-conscious admission of the possibility of murder.
As I also said in that post, I am in awe of such courage. I mean, I have my little adventures, parasailing and cliffside hiking and such, and they scare me, but nothing in my life comes anywhere close to this.
She is an avatar of courage that is both fantastically admirable and, in its example, personally demanding. Her entire life grabs you by the lapels and says “What will YOU do when the angry voices come?”
Most of us will sit back and shut up. A very, very few of us will stand in place, look death in the eye, and demand change.
Taslima Nasrin, this incredible human being, is joining FreethoughtBlogs under the banner No Country for Women.
Welcome, Taslima!
For all of us here, and for all of you reading, the bar is raised.