HEY LADIES—GET THE MESSAGE?

I knew when I had to make the choice of cutting back on my blogging in order to deal with a heavy schedule at home that I would miss out on a lot of news. After all, the world doesn’t stop turning just because I have work to do….although I think it should.

Anyway—I’m back on my soapbox, here goes…..

THIS IS PURE FREAKIN’ BULLSHIT!

I’m sure most bloggers know all the news about Rhianna and Chris Brown. Personally, I’m not one to follow the Hollywood gossip news shit, my life has enough drama in it, I don’t need watch it on TV. Anyway, there is a point to my commenting on this story. So, it looks like Chris Brown struck a “plea bargain” and managed to get away with beating Rhianna severely about the face and threatening to kill her, with just five years probation. Of course, anyone who isn’t brain dead could see that justice was not served in this case. But then again…when it comes to women being beaten and threatened by men, is it ever served? I’m beginning to wonder….

On the front page of the Chicago Tribune this morning, the headline of the day…

“HE GETS PROBATION–SHE FEARS THE POLICE”

As the story goes, a woman named Karolin Obrycka was a bartender who had a run in with a Chicago off duty police officer, Anthony Abbate, who was drunk and went after her because she refused to serve him any more liquor. Apparently he took offense at that so he hurled her to the floor and started kicking and punching her. Mind you, Karolin is a petite young woman and Anthony Abbate is a burly guy who looks like he could snap a tree trunk in half without much effort.

Karolin had her day in court, and as is often the case, the our court system let her down. Karolin no longer works in a bar because she fears that something like this will happen again. She said, “If I ever go back to bartending, the owners would have to be there all the time.” Karolin was also affected by this beating in other ways, she’s afraid of the police because they might be friends of Abbate’s who want to take out retribution on her for having the nerve to press charges against him. She realizes that fearing all police is “not rational” but as she stated, “I know they don’t want to hurt me, but I have fear.”

The judge in this case, Circuit Judge John Flemming, decided that Abbate shouldn’t get time because Obryka didn’t suffer “serious injury”. During the trial, Abbate’s lawyer, Peter Hickey, blamed Karolin for the incident. Of course! It’s all her fault that she was following the law by not serving someone who is already drunk, more liquor! So…Abbate get’s off virtually scott-free and Karolin Obryka gets to live in fear of the police and fear working as a bartender. Circuit Judge John Flemming feels that Abbate has already “been punished enough for his act of stupidity”. Judge Flemming also opined, “He went out and got himself so drunk that he got into this position and ruined his life.” I guess the fact that the woman he beat up is living a care-free life now, eh?

The Chicago Police are just as guilty of adding to the unfair treatment of women who are abused by men…they tried to charge Abbate with only a misdemeanor…that is until the video of the beating came to light.

Moral of the story: It’s ok to beat a woman, just don’t punish the guy for doing it…it’s not his fault he did something “stupid”.

OH, BUT IT DOESN’T END THERE!

Another story in the Chicago Tribune (hidden away on page 10), shows what happens when guys like Abbate are given a pat on the back and sent back to the good ol’ boys club.

NAPERVILLE: “MAN ACCUSED OF BEATING GIRLFRIEND”

For those who aren’t familiar with the Chicago metropolitan area, Naperville is a suburb of Chicago and happens to be the town I live. It seems that a man, Darron Richard who is 38 years old has been charged with “domestic battery” for, as the paper states it…”striking a 42 year old woman”. That’s putting it mildly, believe me. The woman is now in a coma and on a ventillator and has a 50-50 chance of living. If she does live, the chances are that she is so brain damaged, she will not live any type of a quality life. This whole thing came about when she and Richard had an argument and he “beat her with his fist, knocking her to the ground, unconscious.” Afterwards, instead of calling an ambulance, he picked her up and put her in bed where she remained unconscious until Sunday when a family member “convinced him to take her to the hospital.” I guess the family member didin’t think it was necessary to call the police or to call an ambulance themselves…because, you know…this was just another one of those “stupid” things that happens in society. No big deal, she’s just another woman who needed to be put in her place.

Is Darron Richard in jail? Nah…bail was set at $750,000. Believe me, if you live in Naperville, that’s not a lot of money to dig up. Oh…and just another note to add to this story. Richard had previously been in prison on a battery charge before being released in April. So, of course! Give him bail on another battery charge!!!

Just a few beatings…no harm, no foul. Except…another headline in the Chicago Tribune this morning:

LIFE IN PRISON FOR BRUTAL KILLING OF WIFE

In the Chicago metropolitan area of Harwood Heights, a man, James Pender, will spend the rest of his life in jail (not the death penalty) after bludgeoning his estranged wife to death with a large hammer on a River Forest sidewalk. Therese Pender, the victim, had filed for divorce and had an order of protection against James Pender (which we all know is nothing but a piece of paper that gives a false sense of security).

James Pender didn’t care about the order of protection, he took a Metra train to River Forest and waited in Keystone Park with a brief-case containing knives, a large hammer, a ski mask and other items. When he saw Therese walking down the sidewalk, he took the hammer and grabbed her arm and “tapped” her on the head. When she screamed, he hit her multiple times in the head. Moments later, she lay on the ground with her head surrounded by “wounded brain tissue”.

The reason that the Judge gave this guy life instead of a death sentence….Pender had “a long history of having narcissistic and antisocial personality disorder.” According to the Assistant Public Defender, Preston Jones, “The death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst, James Pender is not that.” “He is a 57 year old pathetic man….it doesn’t mean you kill him.” Just a pathetic old man….no problem.

The Court System in this country continues to give guys like Chris Brown, Anthony Abbate, and Darron Richard all the breaks they need, until they kill someone…a woman, and then they will be sent away because they aren’t “the worst of the worst”. What is the message that is being sent to women in this country? Answer: Women don’t deserve justice until they are killed…and even then, justice is not guaranteed.