Amy Rebecca Klein

When I heard the news, the first thing that came to mind was the murder to Mia Zapata from the Gits. The similarities stood out to me—a woman walking home late at night—Esme from a party, Mia from a bar, the way the two women loved music and used it both to inform and to uplift, and the seemingly random nature of the crime. Except neither crime was as random as we’d like to think. In fact, Esme’s killer attacked two other women that same evening. Mia’s killer had a history of violence against women, including battery, assault, and domestic abuse. Violence against women and girls is endemic in this country and if we think we’re safer now in 2012 than we were in 1993, when Mia was killed, then we’re only deluding ourselves. If we want to honor Esme’s memory, we should try our best to stop violence against women in our communities. A woman who gave so much of herself to others, working with special needs kids as well as young musicians, deserves the kind of memory where you do something, instead of just standing by. This year, when I watch the girls learning how to punch and kick in self-defense class at Girls Rock Camp, I will think of Esme, and how empowering young girls is not just a theoretical framework for feminist thought; it’s a survival tactic. We hope that someday, we’ll have the power to save every girl’s life. I didn’t know Esme personally, but from what I’ve read on the internet, “Esme got it. She knew rock and roll was eternal. As long as we’ve got the sound, we’ll never lose her.” -Alyx Vesey. I’d like to add that the kind of supportive, really positive feminism that volunteering at Rock Camp instills in us will continue as well, and that whenever we teach self-defense, or offer to walk a female friend home late at night, or stand by watching just to make sure a drunk guy shouting at his girlfriend on the street doesn’t hit her, or comfort someone who’s been hurt, we are honoring someone’s memory.