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WARNING: The following article contains references to sexual violence.
The Bessie Coleman Conference Room
I remember where I was standing and the direction I was facing when he told the story and I suddenly realized.
Three of us were standing in a small circle at an event: me as your friendly government man, and two aircraft noise consultants. Location: the Bessie Coleman Conference Room at the United States Federal Aviation Administration (U.S. FAA) Headquarters in Washington, DC. We were within the back half of the room, and I was facing a spot in the left half of the rear wall. Surely I was waxing lyrical about improving community engagement for aircraft flight path implementation projects, since that was what my job (supposedly) was about.
In response, one of the consultants began sharing a 30-second story of his interaction with a “member of the community” at a public meeting. The community member had told him that her experience of aircraft noise was like her experience of being raped, over and over again.
Then he turned his head to the side and laughed.