Resilience

Kara had a knack for giving her public affairs and events. And there wouldn't be anyone better in the world that Nina would trust to fully surrender her life in her hands. Inevitably Kara and Lyon began to dedicate themselves to this world of new stages in their careers and in their daily lives. They would have to reinvent themselves.

To accept public appearances and grant interviews, Nina had an agreement with any advertising agency or media outlet. Questions were sent ahead of time, all arranged with Kara and Lyon before Nina accepted someone into her house to interview her or attend a program. David's name and his private life were forbidden to be mentioned in the questions. All duly signed before granting the materials. She had already participated in a thousand events, interviews and campaigns, even on television over the course of the days that went by. All adapted in live streaming, without physical presence, due to the pandemic. Always with bold messages facing the oppressors of the digital age. Inevitably, she became a combatant of human rights crime in general.

Good journalists, who did not condone oppression throughout the digital age, supported it. Making thousands of people start to express positive opinions about her.

David's eyes were glued to the screen of his laptop watching her talk, he was on one of his breaks from recording when Nina was reminded and asked what she thought of the case of the policeman who killed a black man, who was unarmed and in custody when was killed. The case took place on May 29, 2020. There were protests around the world against this case. People went to the streets and social networks to demonstrate against racism. What ended up also generating other types of controversy, since many internet users did not accept that other people who were not black, including famous artists, used their voice to defend this cause.

Nina spoke about discrimination, racism, violence, exclusion and cultural disrespect. She gave many examples of what is seen every day in the news around the world, and especially in Brazil and countries with higher levels of violence. He talked about crime, and about the protests that many people on the internet have made, reproaching people of other ethnicities for campaigning against racism.

— I have been marked every day on thousands of issues related to prejudice, discrimination and racism. Everything about violence against human life concerns all humans. What I could observe was that in countless cases of public debate on social networks, many people do not accept being defended by people who are not of the same ethnicity as them. For example, if I am a woman, a homosexual cannot use his voice to talk about feminism, or a man cannot campaign against female sexual violence. The claims are as diverse as possible. People are more and more radical. My personal opinion is that: Protest is protest! And the more people engaged in propagating the good, the greater and better will be the result in combating inequality, in whatever form it may be. That's my opinion.

- I am aware that I will suffer even more attacks from people who disagree with that opinion. The truth is, when you choose one side, you'll never please the other. So, do good without looking at whom! Don't do anything to please a crowd, follow your heart, your principles, as long as you don't harm any living thing on earth.

— Among thousands of comments I read, one of them said: “A white person will never know what a black person goes through in his daily life, in terms of prejudice, racism and persecution”. Many other people said, whether they were redheads, blacks, whites or Asians, against whites who campaigned against racism...

...These are years of history and suffering. Yes! Only a black man will know what he suffers, will know what it really is to feel persecuted, ignored and unjustified, by racist people, yes! I agree, but like the blacks, the "favelados", as people from the less favored class are called, the Indians who have suffered genocide since the time of maritime and commercial expansion, the obese who are constantly discriminated against by society, wheelchair users, LGBT , and any other type of human being who lives under oppression, as well as these, the “whites” also have the right to be sympathizers. You have the right to be human, and just because you are human, you already have the right to fight for another human who is being attacked or wronged! Whichever ethnicity he is. Read the constitution! This is a world law.

...We have to accept that the struggle for acceptance and inclusion starts from somewhere. The more people set an example on their social networks, the more people will become aware of prejudice! Isn't that what matters? Change society?

We have to be more flexible. Violence generates violence! And to protest against other races, that is, whites who are wanting to defend blacks, is to contradict oneself. IF we want acceptance, we have to accept it too! We set an example starting from our own behavior! How can I say I can't campaign against a homeless person because I have a home? And like saying I can't donate money to orphans because I was raised by my parents, it's like saying I can't fight for a disabled person because they don't have a disability, it's like creating an even bigger blockage preventing people from becoming aware. It's like excluding them, taking away the right to opine on what is right or wrong regardless of color or social class.

...Really only a black person can talk about the feeling of racism, because only they really feel it, but why stop other people from defending the cause? By making it more visible and stronger? I don't agree with some terms, of course, that white also suffers racism for being white, I think it's very different in everyday life, but anyone can suffer exclusion, prejudice and discrimination, even if they are white. My grandmother is black and everyone in her family is black, my grandfather was white and throughout our family there is this miscegenation or miscegenation... And regardless of my skin color, I do want to have the right to defend mine grandmother, for example, if someone thinks they can offend her because she's black. I am her granddaughter! And that hurts me, yes, I feel this pain, even though I'm not black. We need all races united, so that it becomes more and more normal to be the way each one is, so that everyone can one day speak as equals, without worrying about skin color, eyes, without worrying about parameters of beauty or social class. Nina concluded.

After Nina agreed to participate in campaigns against written or spoken verbal violence on social media, she became increasingly bullied. All sorts of offensive comments about her femininity, her long blond hair, her body and her personal life. So many nasty comments talking about his past, one of them said: “I used to live in the favela and now comes to want to teach the bourgeois to behave”?

Another comment reproached her for fighting inequality, for coloring her hair. The most diverse insults were published on its official website, which was created precisely to fight this type of behavior: "Fake blonde!" and rich from Hollywood, a sought-after model, someone more important wanting to show up at David's expense!” The crazed fans said they were obsessed with him, among thousands of insults talking about his way of dressing, his way of talking and thinking.

David followed everything that had to do with Nina's name. He had to practically hold his fingers in order not to respond to countless insults, as he knew it would cause even more stir on her page. In another campaign against bad character, against bullying, digital influence, she said:

— Don't take revenge! Study, work, love yourself, grow! Can not? Is revenge inevitable? Then make your personal success your revenge. Leave people in a vacuum, with no answers to your causeless attacks. Don't give ammo in the bad guy's hand. Yes, thug, yes. The word bandit means: individual who engages in criminal activities. Whoever attacks, hurts, hurts, persecutes and humiliates the other without a cause, is a criminal. A cell phone, a laptop, a tablet can indeed be used for good, to give a voice to those who don't have it, it can be used in countless ways for good, but it can also be used for evil. Think about this when you're making small groups to belittle someone in your school, college, building, or neighborhood.

...I'm not saying it, it's written in the law. Think about it when you have this digital weapon in hand. “Then the camera focuses on the cell phone, and flicks it over to her pointing to the head. - Stop and think! How are you acting? Like an oppressor, dictator, like a bandit? Watch out for that digital gun — and again the camera focuses on the laptop, zooming in on it pointing to the heart. "It has the same destructive power that any other weapon has!" Let's spread empathy. A better world awaits you after the pandemic! It's just up to you and how you're going to use your influence on public networks.

Several other texts of this style stamped her face. Nina was not afraid of the controversial texts that could cause debates around the world. They'd been debating her life for months now, without her request let alone with permission, out of sheer futility, so at least she'd be raising people's awareness of what was wrong this time. If somehow this wave of nightmares that had happened in her life was going to be worth anything, then she would use her voice for good, since being silent had resulted in nothing. The attacks never ceased. If she would help 10 people around the world with these campaigns, she would be satisfied. There were ten less people suffering.

— People suffer a lot on a daily basis. Life itself is already so painful for so many people who had no family, who had no home, or who were not accepted for being sick, or suffering from obesity, or for being homosexual, or too tall, too short, single mother, old, and so on... the list is endless. Many people suffer just because they are different. Still having to live with verbal attacks every day, and even physical ones, for not being able to meet the demands of a hypocritical society, is hell on earth. — Said Nina in another interview.

“No one should go through this. I don't even understand how this is allowed. Bad people find reasons to oppress, point out faults, they even create their own reality. They are blinded by their convictions, and most are hypocrites. Most people who are stalking others on the internet, or wherever, are no better than them. They should suffer more severe punishment like any other crime. This has to change. It has to be put into practice by good citizens. There has to be a fine for every verbal attack someone makes without thinking about what is causing the other.

When I go into the pockets of the majority, those who are brave when they are with a “cool” class at school, or those who are behind the phone taking out their own frustrations on others, then yes I believe we will see a significant change. Working in the economy, in your pocket! Here's the tip! It works in Norway. Search. Today I was the victim, tomorrow it could be you! - Nina said again in another question session.

David knew how much it cost Nina to be participating in those campaigns, he knew she was helping a lot of people through social networks and donating money from these campaigns, it was a way of rubbing in the face of people who called her a scammer, self-serving Latina, manipulative, and Machiavellian, how much she cared about money, so much so that she donated everything. Far more than anyone who criticized her would.

Everything she said to encourage others was part of the suffering she carried alive in her chest. Every word she spoke hurt him like a knife, he could almost feel what she was feeling as she said every syllable. It was more like an outburst. He could see the pain in her eyes. For that reason, people who were going through the same problems listened to her, as she was a living example that she was going to keep fighting for what was right, despite being so hurt, even though it cost her such a high price. And she spoke with an open heart:

— Only those who have been through pain know how much it hurts to talk about it... — Nina spoke in another video focused on sexual violence against women. — I didn't suffer sexual abuse, but I want to say that supporting, showing solidarity with those who suffered, fighting all kinds of violence, speaking out, makes all the difference!

— You are seeing what is happening now this November in Brazil. Where several groups of women are protesting against the sentence that was given to the rapist of a victim, classifying it as “involuntary rape” — Said Nina, then divulging the telephone numbers for complaints.

She participated in campaigns against domestic violence, violence against children and adolescents, and especially animals. And as absurd as it seemed, each day she suffered more attacks because of it. Nothing she did or said would change the minds of people who were determined to be haters!

In some interviews, she was already talking about herself:

“Tell us more about your professional life, Nina.

“I was finishing a three-year study to become a midwife when I met David, while working for a decade at a renowned hospital in Bergen, Norway, as head nurse in my sector. In his spare time, he worked in a well-known beauty clinic, applying butolinic toxin, hyaluronic acid and many other modern beauty treatments. They were fantastic places, where I received all the support I could from my co-workers. And that was enough for me, it made mehappy and proud... until the pandemic came first, then this whole storm in my life.

...Amidst a worldwide pandemic, instead of generating more conflicts around the world, I went to dedicate myself to books and studies. My revenge is to fight cybercrime, invasion of privacy and bullying on social media. I'm using a voice that the haters themselves gave me. Due to so many attacks and crimes they all commit against me every day, I have gained visibility. Something I never wanted, but since I have it now, I will use it properly. Since seeing me silent and cornered, they only increased the insults, more and more daring and bold, I decided to turn the spell against the sorcerer...

...I am using all possible types of messages and videos that I find on the internet against me and posting on my page as an example of a crime against human rights. I am exposing the oppressors' profiles. And everything monitored by the federal police specializing in these types of crime. I'm giving examples that virtual oppression, social network stalking is also a crime, no matter what your age, if you have the power to use a phone like a bad guy, use a gun to diminish, frighten, humiliate and curse someone, attack someone cowardly , then you are old enough to bear the consequences.

“People have to start paying for these acts. Not only on social networks but also in everyday life. In Norway this policy works very well. The laws against the crimes of libel and defamation are strict, they really work. Heavy fines are applied to those who break the law. And particularly I think that the world population will only pay due attention to this issue when they go through their pockets. Then there will be mass protests, campaigns, and re-education against digital and verbal crime. Everyone knows the topic, it's current, but in practice, it's as if everyone ignored it.

The days passed and she had already prepared everything to travel. Finally Nina would tell the world her version of the story. An interview like that, on this blessed television show, would really have worldwide visibility. It was what David so craved for her. That she spoke on this program what she had been talking about in local media campaigns. Despite being very sad to have to face this situation, where all the ghosts that haunted her at night would be unearthed and thrown on the fan, there in front of everyone, open to anyone who wanted to share, she had a consolation for having managed to get Kara and Lyon should travel together with her, even with the pandemic, for the two of them encouraged her and made her look up!

— “Packages, documents here, hair ok, makeup ok, nail ok, eyebrow ok” — conferred Kara, who drove them to the airport along with Lyon, in an endless whimper and joy, so the trio boarded.

Nina trembled as she arrived at the hotel where she had stayed. Everything had been arranged for them, the tickets, the hotel, transportation and a guide, Marcus, who guided them, and was part of the show's team, where she would give an open interview about everything that happened.

Every artist from the best known to the least known, businessmen and scientists, had already passed through that stage. She kept asking Agent Marcus: Why her? She was nothing. She was not an artist. The agent asked her to calm down, and he was there for it. To guide her, to give her instructions, to assure her that nothing would go wrong, to give her complete confidence.

The agent was tall, handsome, charming, very charming. He was also a homosexual, just like Lyon and the presenter who had arranged everything for Nina. He was married to a very important director from the middle of hero film productions. He managed to leave Nina, Kara and Lyon at ease. He managed to win their friendships in a way that made them want to make an effort and decide to fight. They were no longer afraid.

Marcus said that everyone on the show was on her side. He was very funny, helped them shop, spent the entire day together that weekend. I was training with them everything that was going to happen on stage. Elena, the renowned presenter, had also found them to make them less nervous when recording. All at David's request. For Nina was terrified and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She didn't like spotlights, didn't like crowds on top of her. I was so nervous I wanted to vomit and pass out.

What Nina didn't know was that the host of the show she would be on was one of David's best friends and admirers. She had personally told him everything. Every detail of how difficult it was to convince her to defend herself from so many months of attacks and criticism. Elena told him the whole process step by step and all the failed attempts. David followed everything closely. He himself instructed people how they could convince her. If they talked about money, fame or strategy, she would run away and shut herself up like an oyster forever.

David landed at the airport in the same city where Nina would give the interview. On the same weekend the two would be in the same city. He was picked up by Elena's program agents and taken to the same hotel where Nina was staying. He was gnawing inside, imagining how scared and nervous and hurting she must be. He knew her and knew it was the last thing in the world that would make her happy.

David did all this because he thought she deserved to be heard, and deserved to show that she owed the world nothing, and he wanted it to be on her own merits. That's why he was silent, that's why he didn't want to show up and spoil it with another scandal between the two of them together on the internet. I didn't want to corner her. He watched her from a distance with Elena's agent at his side. When he saw her in the hotel lobby, he smiled, that wide smile was there, she was beautiful, arm in arm with her best friends, but at the same time her eyes filled with tears imagining the distance between the two.

He ached to imagine how much she must be suffering. He knew the panic she felt whenever she was exposed. He had followed closely when they were together. Her biggest fear was being stalked and attacked, as she saw happening to thousands of ordinary people on the internet, and to most artists, and that's exactly what happened to her. She was right all along when she acted in that paranoid and suspicious way, and he, he rebuked her!

His heart was apprehensive. I wish I could hug her, kiss her, hold her in his lap, tell her that her heart needed her love to live! He wanted to protect her and tell her how much he missed her. She was so close and yet so far… If he showed up at her hotel room door, he could ruin everything. It was better for her to continue with her anger and pride, even if she was a slut, so acting like a spoiled girl who took away her right to choose, he knew that then she would face the world and even challenge it, if need be. How good Ariana she was!