I'm so grateful for this sub.

Had to post this here. I'm so glad I found this sub. I've subscribed to it in multiple accounts. The validation I receive when I scroll through the posts is immense and I want to thank every single one of you for creating this space where women can speak freely. Thank you Chambers for not taking it down yet. The time I spend on this sub has been really healing for me. I have 12 minute commute to work and I get in my car, open chambers on my phone, click on KillAllMen and the first thing I see is that I'm not crazy. I'm not overreacting. Mentally and emotionally broken, traumatized women are validating my hurt and I'm validating theirs. Then I go to work and put on a brave face and pretend I'm okay. <br><br>I'm a combat veteran. I enlisted as soon as I turned 18. I served for 5 years and deployed in 2010. I saw combat, but not as much as the men. I was attached to an infantry battalion and I remember feeling like I had something to prove. In training they gave us these "girly" jobs that didn't require us to be in combat and I felt like my service was nothing compared to theirs so I volunteered to be part of a foot patrol. Three other women in my unit did the same and we were attached to three different platoons. The platoon I was attached to was the one that went out the most and I saw a lot of things. I saw our troops murk innocent people all the time. I once had to give a statement over the radio as a female voice so we could go into a house with a family because terrorist were hiding in there. I was a puppet, a tool, awert, a whore, a bitch, a slut, a cunt... I was a lot of things for a lot of people. I was only 19. I was so young and when I came back things were hard and I was angry.<br><br>I think it was in 2019 I learned more about feminism and the way women were treated everywhere in the world. I started feeling that same anger I felt back in 2011 and in 2015, when i first got out, I was angry at the women who didn't do what I did. I thought they were privileged, lazy and selfish. I was angry that they didn't have to go through what I went through. I was angry that they were bragging about being independent and strong when I was over there being all of that and so much more. I felt like they owed me something, like I was better than them. That mindset ruined friendships and relationships with other women. They felt like I was better than them and I thought I was. I thought the only women in the world who felt the way I did were the women in my battalion, but then I learned more about the world, about how women everywhere in the world live and I started feeling that same anger. The more I learned the angrier I got.<br><br>Then I found this sub. I got here in 2020 and the validation is immense. I don't feel like I'm overreacting when I talk about how angry I am at men and how much I hate the patriarchy. The need to vent and talk about what happened to me in Afghanistan is something I carry everyday with me. The need to vent and talk about the hate and contempt I have for men is also something I carry everyday with me, but not many people want to listen. They say I'm hurt, damaged, traumatized and that's why I feel the way I do. They say I need help. They say I need to go to therapy. They say I need to go to church. They say I need to go fuck myself. They say a lot of things. They police and gatekeep my feelings and the way I talk about them. They talk to me like I'm a child who needs to be taught. When I open my phone, open chambers and log into one of my accounts I feel better. I feel validated and I can release all my anger in these few minutes I spend scrolling through this sub. I feel better. I feel like I'm not alone. I feel like I'm not crazy. <br><br>So, I want to thank you. Thank you all for making this space. I pass by this sub at least once a day, almost twice, everyday. I feel better after that. Thank you.