A monologue written by J.P. Pressley and performed by Doron JéPaul.
You can watch the performance below and on Instagram, and read the original monologue copy at the bottom of this page.
You Weren’t Blindsided (Original Copy)
You weren’t blindsided. You have twenty-twenty vision, and the flags weren’t hidden. They were waving right in front of you. Rippling in the wind, big, bright, and red. And you decided not to play matador.
It was a bullrush, and they sacked you. Not physically, but mentally. Emotionally. Financially. But you saw it coming. You followed them into senseless battles, arguing arguments for argument’s sake, warring with words where there was once peace in silence. You caught on to the gaslighting, always a match to diesel whenever you had an opposing point of view. You saw the AmEx card slip in and out of your wallet, its departure and return never announced and always unauthorized.
Still, you didn’t move. And I can’t fathom why.
Did you think every bull was Ferdinand? Or did you want to get gored? Did you think you would domesticate a beast? Or did you want to feel pain? Want to…feel.
Answer that for yourself. Pray to God. Talk to a therapist. But stop texting me. Stop weeping around me. You won’t find any pity here. Because you weren’t blindsided. You chose to act blind.
(beat)
What a waste of eyes.