I saw something at work that warmed my heart

[ChickMagic]

I work at a hospital and was on my way through a park to
pick up my prescriptions at the pharmacy. There was a lout
hitting his wife/girlfriend. Three huge dudes confronted him
and made him stop. The woman walked away quickly and the lout
tried to follow her. These men wouldn't let him go.

I hugged each of them and thanked them for rescuing the
woman. My first husband was abusive and nobody did that
for me. It did my heart good to see that.

[oldtime dfl_er]

1. Let's hope she keeps walking

straight to the police.

http://www.cafepress.com/scarebaby/1386797

[ChickMagic]

2. A woman chased her down

I'm sure she will suggest that.

[zanne]

3. Good for them.

A long time ago, I was also married to an abuser. I had nowhere to go to escape from him and spent some nights sleeping outdoors. Nobody wants to "get involved", even the police. Friends were nowhere to be found. I finally went to a women's shelter (a new idea at the time) and got away from him for good. God bless those guys for standing up to an abuser. I wish there were more of them. And thank you for the wonderful post.

[MADem]

9. My family has been very lucky in that regard

I don't know if it's a cheerful gene in our genetic code, or a simple laziness gene that prefers confict avoidance, or simply a matter of careful vetting of potential spouses...but we don't have any abusive types in the pool...well, we had one, who married in, but he was kicked to the curb in short order and was not afforded an opportunity to reproduce.

I gave a car to a woman's shelter a few years back. It was a reliable old horse, good on gas, sturdy and safe. They appreciate practical donations along those lines, and old cell phones as well, so that the abusees can always have a way to get to nine one one if they're confronted.

A good charity, those women's shelters, if one is inclined to make contributions of useable goods...

[fudge stripe cookays]

11. Good for you, MADem!

My family has been remarkably lucky as well.

I read something recently about the cell phone program, so we're donating our old one too. If I just get reprehensor off his butt. He keeps promising to send it off, but I'm thinking I'll have to take this one in hand.

Laini

[lonestarnot]

4. The should have tied him to a tree and left him. keeeekeee keee

[ChickMagic]

22. I kind of wish they had contact paper

That way, they could wrap him up like a mummy.
If someone rescues him, it would be
really painful. :evilgrin:

[lonestarnot]

25. ewww yeah! no-fly-paper! No-fly-zone, walk or run either!

:evilgrin: back at ya!

[novalib]

5. Did You Report It to....

I know laws vary from state to state, but where I live, I would have reported the incident (along with as much information I I could) to the Department of Domestic Violence.

I hope the woman involved gets the support she needs.

And I hope the batterer gets what's coming to him.

[ChickMagic]

12. The abuser had his back to me

and was a good distance away. I wouldn't be able to
provide any useful information. The three guys
who helped stayed and verbally let him have it.

[novalib]

16. Pity

I hope that somehow the authorities get involved in this situation.

Often, the woman is made (by the abuser) to feel totally alone.

I'm glad the three guys gave the abuser a verbal thrashing.

But if the abuser was just let go, he can return to the woman and abuse her some more.

It's so sad.

[ChickMagic]

20. I hope so too.

They were too far away for me to ID them.
When the abusee broke free, she was booking.
The lady that followed her had to break into
a run. Since she went to that extent, I'm sure
she gave her good advice.

[seabeyond]

6. these are my male heroes.

i cannot say it strongly enough. these are the men that i love. thank you for the story

[ChickMagic]

14. You're welcome

They are certainly my heroes too. I think
it made them a little sad to have someone
hug them for what they did. I mean, they
were glad, but it told them how much women
get hurt.

[seabeyond]

19. my 13 yr old niece

had a waiter rubbing up against her. she was out with a friend of mine, 43 yr old woman. long story short, i asked if she said soemthing, she said no afraid. i said, say something to manager, she said a woman, didnt think she would do anything. i got mad that she left it alone, teaching niece ot take it. she said she was afraid to walk out to car, cause around the corner.

(this is why i am telling story)

i told her and niece, that if she was afraid she could have gotten any number of family men sitting at table and telling htem you were afraid to walk out to the car, and they would have, drop of hat. htey would have really wanted ot do that for them. every male i know would. that does a couple things

teaching niece, though there are pig males, there are good one too.
and.... it will be good for the male. remind him of his role as our protector. let the male know he is still needed and valued. let male know he is still trusted, with what our society has projected on them of late. would have been a good thing all around. an opportunity missed.

[ChickMagic]

21. That's so sad

Like I say, I carry baggage from my previous marriage.
I hate to say it, but I was surprised that these men
came to her rescue. Maybe that will help me unload some
of the bad feelings I harbor.

[seabeyond]

27. just to bring in balance

as i say, every..... do you hear.... EVERY man i know and have known would have stepped in. they are by far the majority. and be it my husband, father, two brothers, my male friends or the boyfriends, i have never had a man abuse me in anyway. firstly i wouldnt allow the littlest of disrespect so i dont know if i just walked from the man before it got to abuse, or if i am just lucky or if the majority is good so was the odds.... but..... this is the norm i believe. not the unusual. trust

[wake.up.america]

7. My sympathy with you concerning your first husband....

People have to stand up and do what is right. Most people are good people, unfortunately many are afraid to speak up. I speak up all the time.

[zanne]

10. Me too.

And it gets me in trouble every time!

[ChickMagic]

13. Back then I was a christerbot

and thought that marrying a "good" Christian
man was the way to go. WRONG. What I hate is
the baggage I carry because of the abuse. My
poor hubby (a Quaker) has to tell me from time
to time that he's not my first husband.

I never fail to speak up now.

[Warpy]

8. They did a good thing and so did you

I've seen that ONCE, but was on the other side of a highway and couldn't run up and hug the bruiser who stopped the batterer and tell him what a good thing he did. I did notice another woman talk to him, so somebody did.

And yes, it works both ways. I don't give a rip who's getting hit, it's wrong and it should be stopped and the batterer needs to know it's completely unacceptable behavior. Anyone who stops it is a hero/heroine.

[elehhhhna]

15. 20 years ago at my wedding...

my crazy massive funny brilliant ex-nam vet hillbilly uncle took my husband aside and said "We love ya, man--I love ya--but since her father's dead I have to tell you--if you ever lay a hand on her I will kill you."

good times, good times. he meant it, i'm sure.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

17. Great story, elehhhhna..

The night Mr. Wonderful and I told my parents that we were getting married, my mother said almost the same thing to him. She included my father and my two brother though as well.. "Just one thing though, if you ever lay hand on my daughter, you will have to deal not only with her Daddy but her two brothers as well"

Mr. Wonderful and I still laugh about it today. Mary Elizabeth meant every word...

:hi: :hi:

[ChickMagic]

18. You're really lucky

When I told my mom about the abuse, she told me that
I made my bed and had to lie in it. When I told my
dad, he laughed. It wasn't until the ex was ugly to
my mother that she decided he wasn't nice.

My mother had a benign meningioma and had to have
brain surgery. She was in a coma for 10 days and
I never left her side. It was long after my divorce
and quite a while since my sister's death. When she
came out of her coma, the very first person she asked
to see was my ex. I was completely disgusted, but I
tracked him down for her.

The worst part was that she had forgotten that my
sister died. She couldn't stop crying because she
thought Deb was not coming to see her because she was
mad at Mom for being sick. My other sister and my dad
wanted to keep her in the dark, but I couldn't bear it.
I told her that Deb died and she had to relive the
grief all over again. My other sister didn't speak
to me for about 2 years.

I still wince when I think about my mom asking for
my ex. That was so wrong.

[elehhhhna]

24. thats' so sad...

your mom was clearly not altogether when she asked for him.

[ChickMagic]

26. I try to bear that in mind

But it still hurt. My folks actually liked the guy.
Nobody else seemed to, however.

[noonwitch]

23. I've witnessed and tried to intervene before

Once I was pumping gas at Woodward and 7 Mile in Detroit. This guy was beating the living daylights out of a woman (I think she was a prostitute). I went into the gas station and asked the attendant to call the police. He sneered at me and made a statement about not helping whores. When I went back out, the guy had gone into the gas station, so I asked the woman if she was okay and if she wanted a ride to the precinct, which was just around the corner. She turned me down and I went on my way.

One time in Elkhart, IN, my sister and I were leaving a downtown department store after a bridesmaids' dress fitting. When we were walking toward the car, a couple was walking down the sidewalk. They looked very intoxicated. The woman started smacking the guy around. We started yelling at her to leave him alone-she had kicked him to the ground and was beating him badly. Several people walked by, including a bunch of men headed toward their office. We asked them to call the police, they laughed at us (but obviously did call them, or someone did, because they came as we were getting into the car).

Some people will stop if you yell at them, especially if you can get the people around you to join in the yelling. But I would advise people not to intervene if they are alone and can call the police instead. You never know if the violent one is packing a weapon, or even if not, if he or she might turn on you.