Versión Español
Aiola Virella, editor in chief of Metro Puerto Rico, is a strong advocate for the victims of domestic violence. Well, actually, she only seems to care about half of those victims.
As is often the case, this career journalist used her Twitter account on November 25 to share a video regarding domestic violence with the hashtag #PazParaMujeres (Peace for Women). I responded to her post by asking if it shouldn’t instead be #PazParaTodos (Peace for All)?
@AiolaVirella @Metro_PR No debe ser #PazParaTodos? Las mujeres inician la violencia en la mitad de las incidencias de VD.
— Frank Worley (@FrankWorleyPR) November 25, 2015
Apparently not. Virella disagreed and invited me to “study the topic more.” So, I shared a few examples of source material that supported my point of view.
I started with a Time magazine report that cited 200 studies that confirmed women initiated violence in domestic situations on par with men. I followed up with a report on a Harvard study and another citing a study from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Her response? “Good luck in life with that kind of prejudice.”
@AiolaVirella hechos no son prejuicio
— Frank Worley (@FrankWorleyPR) November 25, 2015
But Virella is not just an average Twitter user. As editor in chief of Metro PR, she has a huge influence on the way people think and what they think about. Her unwillingness to acknowledge the suffering of men at the hands of violent women in domestic-violence cases is troubling. In many ways, her position is emblematic of the progressive left.
It’s one thing to disagree on certain points, but it’s another to completely reject one side of the argument. For example, there are plenty of studies that claim global warming is real, and I am a proud climate-change denier. However, I do not deny that human beings have done terrible things to the environment, and we should take action to correct these mistakes.
I simply point out that the “evidence” of global warming seems to be contradicted by history, solar activity, and other climate data. Further, I point out the political nature of the process, and the stated goals of those who push the human-caused climate change hysteria.
So, I wouldn’t be surprised if Virella simply said, “I think those studies are exaggerated.” But to completely ignore the long list of women who have committed violence, murders, and other acts against their husbands and children? In our conversation, she completely ignored the fact that there are, indeed, many violent women and male victims.
Today, we spend an awful lot of time telling men not to abuse women. That’s a good thing, but we should also be telling women that it is not okay to hit men either. Based on the studies that I have mentioned, if women stopped initiating domestic violence, these rates would drop by half.
For decades, women have demanded equality. Well, it turns out men and women are equal in terms of initiating domestic violence. However, women should also be held equally accountable for their role in this disturbing crime.
Men should have equal access to care and refuge when suffering violent abuse. I am unaware of any shelters in Puerto Rico for male victims of domestic violence. I hope that some day, influential women will use their power to help male victims as much as those of the opposite sex. #PazParaTodos
