OPINION: Chinese spy balloon targets the US, and domestic violence survivors know the feeling

While Americans across the nation spent the last two days tracking an alleged spy balloon hovering in U.S. airspace in an unprecedented act of audacity by the Chinese government, outraged citizens and U.S. government officials expressed their fears and anger over social media and in press gatherings.

Is the balloon carrying a potential biological, nuclear, or chemical threat? Is its purpose for surveillance and taking stock of our security resources? Are we safe? Is it a sign of imminent danger? Is it a psychological weapon? Why isn't our government addressing such a clearly hostile attack?

This is the same, unsettled feeling thousands of victim-survivors of violent crimes and psychological warfare live with every day. These brave souls fled their unsafe homes to find refuge from violence away from the perpetrator and an army of his appointed flying monkeys, only to find themselves immobile and imprisoned through coercive control tactics they cannot seem to escape.

Perpetrators are hard to shake for these survivors and rarely brought to any type of justice, due to systematic failure to understand and acknowledge the hostile, secretive, subtle, and indirect nature of terrorism in the home and of the psychology of intentional abuse, and its impact.

For these survivors, daily life is a war of surveillance they never asked for, a game of peekaboo, and an avalanche of cries for help related to safety and security, which go unanswered by those positioned to assist.

The issue is simple: our country operates as if domestic violence is a "one and done" deal- as if a person can be guilty of horrific crimes in one area and run a daycare without any issues in the other. As if violence starts with physical marks and bruises--- when in fact, violence begins in the mind.

For me, and in my house, my "spy balloon" looks like a watch with a GPS locator and audio capabilities sent into my home with a kid. It looks like a series of endless, expensive court cases, and requests for "discovery." It looks like playing wack-a-mole with social media accounts designed to intrude into my life where contact has been impeded and a no-contact rule has been successfully put in place.

This is war.

Until this issue is resolved- until lawmakers, judges, attorneys, law enforcement, social workers, and other resources for help and security are properly trained in understanding trauma and the patterns and nature of these types of crimes... survivors will continue to live day in and day out, with a spy balloon hovering over their home, threatening their existence, while the government reassures them that everything is fine, reminding them to calm down, keep their eyes off the sky, and get back to work.

But you see, the balloon wants to be seen and observed. The balloon is a plan, in itself. As long as we can see the balloon, and complain about its existence... we aren't working and meeting each other's needs. We aren't making money. We aren't improving ourselves and our situation.

We are just staring at a balloon in the sky. It really doesn't matter whether you shoot it down or ignore it. Just keep going. Trust me. This is the only peace I've known.

#SurvivalSecrets #WarAtHome