Who are these men, Philly?
These pussy ass men who think it’s OK to tell a woman what she can and can’t do?
To beat them. To grab them. To slap and hit them so violently they leave visual reminders for days, sometimes weeks – not to mention the permanent mental scarring. What it’s alleged Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera did to his girlfriend is not only classless but for me, honestly, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
For the latter part of a month I’ve been reading and watching and listening to men, old, stodgy men play the role of the decision makers, passing laws on what women shouldn’t do with their own bodies. Men, who have no idea what it’s like to be woman ban services that allow women to render informed decisions and then make ultimate choices based on those decisions.
I’ve been already slightly irritated over all of this news and then on Tuesday, we find out that an athlete from our own hometown team allegedly put his hands on a woman seven years his junior? To the point where he left bruises on her body? Just the latest piece of shit meathead in a long line of jacked up douchebags to take their anger out on their better half.
LeSean McCoy. Ray Rice. Randy Moss. Floyd Mayweather. Josh Brown. Austin Watson.
That’s only the ones I can readily recall off the top of the dome.
Listen, I’m not going to sit up here and not pretend like my significant other hasn’t made me upset. Fights are a part of relationships. But you say your piece or say nothing and leave the room. At what point does it go from a shouting match to physical assault? At no point during or after do you stop, reflect and say to yourself, ‘wow, I’m really a piece of shit for even thinking about doing this?’
And women this isn’t one-sided. Stop letting these men beat up on you. The last thing I would condone is violence, but I am a advocate of protection. I don’t care how much you “love him,” or “think the world of him,” or think you can “manage his temper,” if your man has a propensity for violence you need to protect yourself at all costs.
That is your right. Men can’t take that from you.
It’s time for equality. It’s baffling to me that in 2019, women are still marching for equal pay or asking to be treated fairly or not to be mansplained to. Women should be able to dress as provocatively as they want and get checked out without being whistled at, catcalled, grabbed or followed. Women need to feel safe in a relationship, that they won’t get slapped in the face for speaking their minds or for calling you out or for putting you in your place.
Sadly, Herrera won’t be the last douchebag we hear about – and even as we speak some woman somewhere just caught a beating at the hands of someone they love. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, there are more than 10 million reported cases of abuse nationwide annually, an average of 20 people experiencing domestic violence from a partner every fucking minute of the day.
That’s sickening. There are that many pieces of shit out there that think it’s OK to abuse their partner. I’m talking about men beating on women, women beating on men, men beating on men and women beating on women.
What will we ultimately learn from the Obudel Herrera situation?
Not much. I fear that sadly, just like this column, the knee jerk reaction of anger from Phillies fans will pass until there’s the next thing to get upset about. But while all this happens in the immediate, because it’s “alleged,” Herrera sits at home in the shadows, collecting a check Major League Baseball while all of this runs its course.
For me, however, this isn’t a knee jerk reaction. I don’t even like baseball, so I could care less who I offend or what organization won’t want to work with me as a result. A column that I’m sure is bound to get me a stern talking to by my superiors but it’s a talk I’m prepared for. I’m pissed off. I’m pissed that we’re still talking about athletes beating up on their partners. We’re still talking about men removing laws that don’t apply to them because it upsets their beliefs.
Men in power desperate to preserve a life inside the womb, but comes only prepared with “thoughts and prayers” when those same kids get shot up inside the sanctuary of their schools. Same men in a position of power act like they’re all for women’s rights but behind closed doors treat their wives like its the 1950s and wouldn’t bat an eye to degrading their significant other physically, emotionally and oft-times, sexually.
Fuck these gutless sacks of shit. All of them. Needless to say, I’m angry this week, Philly. I’m angry that this is where we are in America at this point in time.
And somewhere down inside, I really hope you are too.
TWITTER: @SPRTSWTR
