When you’re at the wrong end of a gun barrel, sex doesn’t matter.
The person holding a quivering bullet inches from your head could be a 200-pound man resembling a Greek god, or a 100-pound woman resembling Mary-Kate Olsen. It won’t matter.
That’s what police officers face every time they step across the threshold of a home embroiled in a domestic situation. Officers take each situation just as seriously. So should the public.
It could be a teenage boy who comes out of the bedroom swinging, or a housewife with a hunting knife. Just because one is pumping testosterone doesn’t mean arrests won’t be made in both cases.
The cuffs are coming out, either way.
Local police say the men who do come forward to report abuse act embarrassed, and are reluctant to do so. That’s ridiculous.
If a social stereotype is standing in the way of victims getting their aggressors behind bars, then the stereotype has got to go. The public has to think an abusive relationship, not a sissy boyfriend or husband.
Because the facts indicate women can inflict just as many cuts and bruises as their men can. That goes for bullet holes, too.
Domestic abuse drains police departments of valuable time, and it provides the most dangerous situation for officers to walk into. It needs to stop, but in order for it to stop, it needs to be reported.
And if men feel they can’t step forward and admit their wives or girlfriends — or daughters — are hurting them, the black eye of domestic abuse in our communities won’t ever heal.
It’s a painful situation all around. If a victim comes forward, he or she runs the risk of getting someone they love thrown in jail. Society has been encouraging women to get the guts to come forward for years, and take that risk.
It’s time to widen that encouragement to both genders.
Can’t stand to see your tender, feminine love behind bars?
Then get the message out that it’s not OK to hit — whether you’re wearing lipstick or aftershave.
Opinion
Pouty lips shouldn’t equal lenience
Men shouldn’t hesitate to report domestic violence
- Opinion
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GLYNN: VFW post keeps spirit alive
At one time, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars-Post 313 would march down Main Street in Youngstown on Memorial Day to the 1812 Cemetery near Old Fort Niagara. That same scenario out of the past occurred for decades in cities, towns and villages across the U.S.
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HAMILTON: Dandelions, parades, broken poles and people
There are still those remnants of the fading bouquets of floral tributes that still hang at that base of a tree on city hall’s lawn. It is near where, last year, from his shiny silvery cart, Melvin Johnson sold hot dogs and sausages to both city employees and passerbys while his tiny white dog excitingly yelped at anyone that came near.
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GLYNN: Gillibrand seeks help for prime bread-winners
A recent report shows that working mothers across the Empire State earn nearly 15 percent lower pay for the same work as men.
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BRADBERRY: There really are spirits in the water
Over the centuries since it was “discovered” hundreds of millions of people have traveled from every corner of the world to visit Niagara Falls making it the most visited of the great waterfalls on the planet.
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CONFER: The reality of rationed health care
The ongoing debate over Obamacare has brought to light the concept of rationed healthcare. Opponents of health care reform keenly point out that while the bill never explicitly calls out rationing, it features certain provisions that will lead the markets to adjust to strict federal demands and, therefore, dispense certain procedures in smaller amounts or not at all. Because of it being the first time that the subject has really come up in public circles, most people, especially on the right, believe that rationing is something new. It’s not. The free markets have been practicing that for quite some time. I should know; with a 4-inch long, 1-inch wide scar running south of my belly button – and a couple of related scars around my groin – I could be the poster child for rationed health care.
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CITY DESK: A regrettable error
We owe Carol Sensabough an apology.
Several weeks ago, the long-time reader and Niagara Falls resident sent a letter to the editor explaining that she took offense to some of the things written by a syndicated columnist, Stephen Dick. -
HIGGS: Niagara Falls' own West Side story
Trusello’s Bakery was on Elmwood behind the family home at 840 19th St. The family, Richard, William (Billy) and Sam along with two sisters, lived in the house.
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GLYNN: Falls, Ont., rolls out red carpet for Wallenda
Before Nik Wallenda even started practicing his high-wire routine in downtown Niagara Falls, state Sen.George D. Maziarz, R-Newfane, had noted the warm welcome the tightrope walker received across the river.
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HAMILTON: Civic ‘ParticipAction’ can work too
Back in the 1970s, our Neighbors to the North ran a national campaign called ParticipAction to encourage Canadians to get off their butts and do things for the sakes of their bodies.
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GLYNN: Graduates find they’re in staggering debt
Countless senior citizens often gripe about something, sometimes even with good reason. Perhaps they should consider themselves fortunate, compared with the younger generation.
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