Recently I found out about BACA: Bikers Against Child Abuse. My daughter Chelsea, a newly licensed social who works with DV (Domestic Violence) victims told me about them, and we watched the video on their website, Bacaworld.org. Founded by child therapist J.P. Lilly, Lilly got frustrated working with so many scared and abused children. He was a biker, keenly aware of the ‘bad boy’, violent and scary stereotype many people have of bikers. Putting his two loves together in a bold, brilliant move, his vision of BACA became reality. Please watch the video on their website—watching two strong bikers standing with arms folded in the driveway of a little boy who had called them to cover his back because he was having nightmares of his abuser, will melt your heart.
B.A.C.A. Mission Statement
Bikers Against Child Abuse, Inc. (B.A.C.A.) exists with the intent to create a safer environment for abused children… [and to] empower children to not feel afraid of the world in which they live…. We work in conjunction with local and state officials who are already in place to protect children…. to lend our physical and emotional support to them by affiliation, and our physical presence. We stand at the ready to shield these children from further abuse….
Chelsea’s client is a woman who was abducted as a young person on the West Coast and kept as a “slave” while she worked and reared her child in horrible conditions. (Watch the movie Room if you can bear it.) She recently escaped from her captor and ended up in Chelsea’s office in Park City, Utah. Up to this point, no FBI or law enforcement officials have believed her story or helped her, let alone arrested or investigated the perpetrator. The client strongly desires to go back and retrieve her few worldly possessions from her former captive home. The local chapter of BACA has met with her and Chelsea several times now, and the West Coast chapter of BACA has agreed to accompany and protect her when she’s ready. They are modern-day heroes!
We all need someone to cover our backs at times.
Who’s got your back?
It dawned on me this past week that Cinderella was what we might call today an abused child. After her beloved mother and father die, she lives with a cruel step family, with no one to cover her back, to protect her and treat her with love. In the rougher and tougher original version, (not Disney’s beautified version), Cinderella is not as pretty as her stepsisters, but her heart is pure and helpful and good. Maybe some of you readers can relate to her plight: seeking a loving family, or at least a partner who will cherish her and build a life with her. I know I can.
Life has dealt me some difficult tasks these days: of discernment of new and old friend, of vocation, of growing in self-love and care. The tale teaches us that the creatures will help us as we perform these tasks. Cinderella’s journey is all about transformation: Cinderella’s servanthood to her inner strength, mice to horses and a pumpkin to a royal chariot. Oh, and don’t forget the rags to the stunning ball gown! If we keep doing our inner work, my friends, we can discover our own inner royalty. Our radiating kindness and grace will shine like the jewels on our raiment!
The psychologist Carl Jung teaches that the sacred marriage of loving and strong male and female within each of us is the most important work we can do, and perhaps an outer marriage may occur in time. I imagine my Prince Charming as my animus, my inner male/lover. He’s definitely got my back when I’m feeling scared and vulnerable, and my Cinderella persona is a pretty darn brave and tough cookie, as well. I imagine her in their new castle in the mountains of Utah, wearing cowboy boots so she can kick ass when necessary!
But the true magic, my dears, is that we get to guard each other’s backs whenever we choose. Like the bikers, we can show up, in pairs, in community—and stand tall and firm and yet with gentleness beside or in front of stranger or beloved, abused child or anxious adult. Thank you, BACA members and Cinderella, for being my heroes and reminding me of my true protective and brave nature!
With special thanks to Erika Dobrzynski and Joe Werne
