From the Holy Crap file: NH official calls domestic violence "gimmick"

[SoxFan]

Explanatory note: the Board of Selectmen is the local governing board in New England municipalities operating under a town meeting form of government.

On Tuesday, in Conway, the town selectmen (yep – 5 men) voted 4-1 NOT to provide any town funds to Starting Point, a non-profit that provides shelter and support for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. One selectman, Mark Hounsell later explained his no vote as a mistake, and plans to clarify it at the deliberative portion of the town meeting.

The deliberate ignorance of many local men on the topic of rape and domestic violence are no longer a surprise to me. What did, however, come as something of a surprise, were the comments made by selectman Crow Dickinson. This is the kind of thing that most adult men know better than to say in public, no matter how much they loathe women:

"I don't think taxpayers should be responsible for funding a program that takes in abused women," Dickinson said. "The church should, the neighbors should, and anybody who's interested should. But not taxpayers. "
Dickinson said, "Clearly, there's a need" for such a program. But he also said Starting Point is a "new program" that "needs to demonstrate they can do whatever they're doing and be successful and show a big need. "
Starting Point has been in existence since 1981.
"There are a lot of women who use (domestic violence) as a gimmick in divorce proceedings," Dickinson said. "All they have to do is call the police and get the person thrown out. If I call the police and say you're abusing me, they'd have to believe me. I wish people would split up and be more polite about it. "
Although Dickinson said he had "absolutely no question" that there are legitimate cases of domestic violence, he added, "Just because you have a worthy cause doesn't mean we should put money in a tin cup. Some people are very convincing. It's not an easy thing to say no. "
Instead of taxpayers being asked to give the organization money, Dickinson said, "A lot of people could make contributions to this effort."

http://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2009/02/conway-selectmen-against-taxpayer.html

[Blue_Tires]

1. i'm not trying to generalize,

but NH has more anti-tax folks per capita than any other state, and they use any kind of tristed reasoning their minds are capable of to justify no public spending...

[ThomCat]

2. That asshole should volunteer with abused women for a month

and see how much of a gimmick it is. x(

How do idiots like this get elected?

[SoxFan]

4. Crow's not the sharpest knife in the cutlery set

In 2003, he tried to board a plane in Manchester with a .38 in his carry-on bag. When TSA decided to have a word with him, he was baffled, and called it an innocent mistake.

[graywarrior]

5. He has a tv show on in N Conway

Him and Hounsell.

[SoxFan]

6. God help you.

Not exactly the Huntley-Brinkley Report, is it?

We have to settle for "The 2 Joes", with Joe Briggs (purveyor of anti-Semitic drivel and 9/11 conspiracy theories) and Joe Kelly Levasseur (all purpose right wing character assassin).

[graywarrior]

7. Everyone claims to not watch it but then they all write ltte complaining about

what they talk about. I don't know how Conway exists. Tons of business people but no one does anything.

[XemaSab]

3. If he went home tonight

and he forgot to pick up some chicken at the grocery store and his wife knocked him to the ground and kicked half his teeth out, that would ALMOST be deserved. x(

[MrCoffee]

8. $10 says Selectman Dickhead has a DV charge in his past