What the people are saying

by: jmcbride

Tue Oct 20, 2009 at 10:26:55 AM EDT

Some comments about domestic violence:

If we do not remove Montserrate, we are sending a TERRIBLE message to all the girls and women trying to strategize about their options or escape abuse and violence.

If our lawmakers can get away with domestic violence, then what message does that send to everyone else?

What a classic case of scaring the victim to lies.
He should be imprisoned.

Comments about the impact on government:

Senator Monserrate should do the right thing and resign. I am so tired of the lack of ethics and the bad behavior of many of our State Democrats, and was especially upset by the actions during the summer. For the first time in a long long time, we had a chance to show the Republicans how to govern. We (or should I say YOU) blew it. The reputation of all the representatives has been destroyed. You have to do better. We- the people who voted for you all -deserve better.

Nothing will hurt the Democratic party more in New York than keeping people like this in the Senate.

Several signers have made this point:

This requires courage to do the right thing, but is morally, ethically and politically the right course of action.  Do not hesitate.

There are hundreds of comments, and I have not been able to read them all.  There are several more after the flip.  

Many years ago my mother's sister, a mother of 4 and resident of Whitestone, Queens, committed suicide after being abused by her husband, a NYC police officer. She committed suicide because she felt her please for help were falling on deaf ears. She was 35 years old, left four children under 11 behind, and that was 30 years ago. I would like to believe domestic violence does not fall on deaf ears anymore in our society. It is absolutely essential that the senator resign or be removed from office. Domestic violence is often an escalating situation. If left unchecked by society, or, in this case the powers that be, it will escalate further. The senator's refusal to resign is just an indication of his failure to recognize he has an illness. If the people of NY do not put this man in check, all of the people of NY will loss out. And, what message does it send to others who commit domestic violence. FIRE MONSERRATE now!

Senator Monserrate is a poor role model for anti-violence. Until Men take violence against women seriously and hold MEN accountable for ALL their behaviors violence against women will persist.  On the average every day in the united states another women is killed by her intimate partner. And many of those women discounted and minimized the abuse until they were killed. And, as a society we minimize the abuse and violence against women.

There are many, many problems with NY state government, but one of the biggest is incumbency spawned by safe districts.  This leads to irresponsible, public-be-damned inaction and behavior that so depresses the would-be voters and delights the 24/7 media.  Result?  Nauseating entities like the state Senate make those of us who believe that change should come through the electoral process want to give up too.  This fall as we knock on doors to help get our good local candidates elected we hear apathy and disgust with politics--"they're all crooks.  I'm not voting."     Take this first step. Now.

FIRE MONSERRATE! SENATOR DIAZ, SHAME ON YOU FOR SUPPORTING THIS ABUSER. FORGET ABOUT THE NONSENSE OF THE TRIAL AND THE LAW AND THINK OF THE FACTS.

YOU CALL YOURSELF CHRISTIAN, YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL WIFE AND FAMILY. WOULD YOU SUPPORT MONSERRAT IF HE TREATED YOUR WIFE LIKE THAT?

No more "Albany as usual."

Yeah...big man, Monserrate. A real man never assaults a woman. Go get a life somewhere else. You're no longer welcome in public office, and you're an embarrassment to the body and the state, with each passing second the taxpayers foot your salary.

Domestic violence is a serious matter and a violent crime that cannot be ignored or dismissed.
A woman who has no place else to go often comes back and will stick up for her ""man. This is a classic case and women in those situations often end up dead. Remove him before a bigger scandal ensues.
After all, it was the Republicans him his power. They should vote against him, too.

What kind of representation can I expect from a man who drags his girlfriend by the hair.  If he abuses a women he supposedly loves, what will he do for women he is supposed to be representing?  I don't want someone like that having authority in the NY Senate.