June/July 2009

Letter to the Editor

I just finished reading the latest issue [April/May 2009] of Men Talk and find myself feeling a little uncomfortable with Bill Ronan’s Injustice story. The part that makes me uncomfortable is his assertion (and anger) that his problems are a result of VAWA. He very obviously was scammed and it’s unfortunate that the judicial system was unsympathetic to his plight to some degree (although he was cleared of charges). It feels irresponsible, however, of Men Talk/The Men’s Center to leave readers with the impression that it supports Bill’s assertion that VAWA is a bad thing and perhaps even unconstitutional, unless that is TMC’s stand in which case it should be clearly stated as such. While I’m appalled and angered when women make false accusations of domestic violence or sexual assault against men instead of dealing more directly with the issues between them and while I understand there is some criticism of VAWA (due process/equal protection), VAWA has also done considerable good in protecting women from violence perpetrated against them by men. Perhaps some brief statement by TMC at the end of Bill’s story would have been appropriate, either affirming his assertion about VAWA as also being TMC’s opinion or raising points of VAWA’s merits and problems to present a more balanced perspective.
— Jan Hayne

Editor's Note: The opinions of our writers are their own and are not necessarily those of the Twin Cities Men's Center. We strive to present a diverse range of articles reflecting the complexities of being a man. For perspective, in our Feb/Mar 2009 issue we presented an article about rape from a woman's point of view. For the record, the TCMC does not condone violence by any gender.