Letters to the Editor

The silent stereotype

Who says men

can't be victims?

Editor, The Times:

"A guiding light" [Times, Southeast Faces, Oct. 7] left male victims of domestic violence totally invisible, and quoted Victoria Throm of the Covington Domestic Violence Task Force as saying, "I want women to know that they can come out of abusive relationships and be successful."

What about male victims? Why are they being ignored?

The latest fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states: "In the United States every year, about 1.5 million women and more than 800,000 men are raped or physically assaulted by an intimate partner," and also states that one-fourth of intimate-partner homicide victims are men.

In May 2007, the CDC found half of heterosexual domestic violence was reciprocal and women committed more than 70 percent of the reciprocal violence.

In fact, although men are less likely to report the violence, virtually all sociological research worldwide shows women initiate domestic violence as often as men and men suffer one-third of the injuries.

When we ignore male victims, we also ignore their children, who suffer long-term damage by the exposure.

It is absolutely wrong to go on ignoring male victims and their children like this.

— Marc E. Angelucci, Los Angeles chapter president, National Coalition of Free Men, Los Angeles, Calif.

Bush's speech

A plurality of hope

"Bush stumbles while asserting progress in education" [News, Sept. 27] ridiculed the president for saying "childrens" ["Childrens do learn"].

I am absolutely not a fan of George Bush, but I recognize a learning disability when I see it. About 10 percent of men and an unknown percentage of women work to overcome the frustration and humiliation of attention-deficit disorder and various learning disabilities.

If he does nothing else, George Bush gives courage to all these people by refusing to allow petty and juvenile media critics to ridicule him into retreat.

The media have a more important role to play to keep us informed, even to offer education about why Bush has this problem. It is not related to a person's intelligence, as so many media have implied.

— Rea Anne Scovill, Ph.D., Kent

A tongue twister

President Bush has every right to say we don't "condone" torture ["Bush: Interrogations follow law; Dems claim stonewalling," News, Oct. 6].

"We don't torture" lost credibility with Abu Ghraib prison.

The fact that he still says it as though it's true in light of events at Abu Ghraib brings into doubt his grip on reality.

— Mike Moore, Kent