Legislator Stabs Spouse, Rival Candidate Says He Won't Criticize Her for Her 'Personal Habits'
May 22nd, 2008 by Glenn Sacks, MA for Fathers & Families
"Andrew Brownson, one of the Republicans challenging Allen, said it would not be appropriate to ask or force her to resign for her 'personal habits.'
"'I don't believe in that,' said Brownson."
According to the UPI, "Assemblywoman Francis Allen (pictured), R-Las Vegas, is accused of using a steak knife to stab Paul Maineri in the forearm...[Allen] said she stabbed her husband because he embarrassed her in front of friends...Maineri told police his wife of seven weeks refused to get help for him so he drove himself to the hospital."
Nevertheless, Allen's male colleagues don't seem to be holding it against her. Joseph K. Cooper interviewed Allen's fellow legislators and also Allen's rival candidate in an upcoming election in his upbeat article Facing felony charge, Allen continues legislative work (5/21/08). Asked about Allen's arrest for battery with a deadly weapon, no legislator expressed concern over the stabbing victim or even alluded to the seriousness of domestic violence.
To be fair, one can understand and appreciate the legislators' hesitance to rush to judgment about their colleague. But I doubt if a male legislator were arrested for stabbing his wife his colleagues would be so upbeat and positive. And were a male legislator to refer to the stabbing as a "personal habit" he didn't think should be made an issue of, one can bet there'd be a storm of feminist protest, and the legislator would be forced to make a humiliating public apology.
[Note: If you or someone you love is being abused, the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women provides crisis intervention and support services to victims of domestic violence and their families.]
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May 22nd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
She's apparently claiming he did it to himself. I'm reminded of a cute scene in My Name Is Earl where one of his idiot country friends accidentally shoots himself in the shoulder with a crossbow.
It doesn't make sense. She says he did it to himself but at the same time I read that she says she did it because he embarrassed her in front of friends. (Note how this ties into people saying they would have excused someone beating severely a man trying to peek under women's dresses with a mirror.)
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:57 pm
You guys, remember. He's a man, he's supposed to not be a baby. It's just a steak knife.
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Wow! Can it get anymore clear how we devalue men. Now it's okay to stab a man and no one bats an eye. Gee I can't wait to get married!
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:06 pm
David,
You say "Now" it is okay. It has always been okay for women to abuse men and not be held accountable for the violence she engages in. Only men are accountable for their actions. NOT WOMEN.
Easy solution, don't get married!!!!! Enjoy all the free milk and never buy the violent, over privileged cow!
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Well come on now....he DID embarrass her after all...he probably went so far as to DISAGREE with her for gods sake!!
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:22 pm
How do we find the emails to some of those colleagues who were interviewed?
I'd love to write to both of them.
This is ridiculous. Had this been a man, I strongly doubt his colleagues who would want to reserve judgement until they talked to him. They would have at least condemned the sin, if not the sinner. But since this is a woman, she gets off scot free.
Great.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:23 pm
...[Allen] said she stabbed her husband because he embarrassed her in front of friends
-----------------
I was under the impression that women NEVER committed acts of domestic violence except in self defense. I'm hoping one of the feminists on this board can help me understand how Allen's act was in self defense. Thanking you in advance.
I hope this poor, poor woman gets the treatment she needs. She is obviously the victim here. Battery with a deadly weapon?! Pleeease! It was only a little stab in the arm, for heaven's sake. That Maineri guy needs to sack up and should be required to take counseling until he understands how his actions led to him being stabbed, and what he should do differently to avoid future domestic violence. [yes, I'm being sarcastic- in case you couldn't tell, but I'm sure some feminist blogger will say something similar in complete seriousness.]
I find Mr. Brownson's characterization as battery with a deadly weapon a "personal habit" profoundly disturbing, as it suggests Mr. Brownson would find it unalarming if such habitual attacks continued.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Here's what I think: Innocent until proven guilty.
However, it's a shame that only applies to women.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Serenity Now Says:
"I was under the impression that women NEVER committed acts of domestic violence except in self defense. I'm hoping one of the feminists on this board can help me understand how Allen's act was in self defense. Thanking you in advance."
Good one, SN. I'd love to hear this one too.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
It has long been my experience that politics is a field which attracts some of the most lacking-in-conscience people on the planet. Add narcissism to that in the case of this woman.
So he embarrassed her in front of other people? Deserves a good stabbing in her book apparently.
Wonder if he's feeling the "7 week itch" about now?
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Serenity Now wrote: I was under the impression that women NEVER committed acts of domestic violence except in self defense. I'm hoping one of the feminists on this board can help me understand how Allen's act was in self defense. Thanking you in advance.
Allow me to take a shot on their behalf: In court, you'll hear about how her spouse has been systematically abusing her for years and this was a culimination of having to endure years of "being embarrassed in front of others" which is spousal abuse. It may have even been rape. Her feelings were repeatedly raped and she finally snapped. It was self-defense because she saw the opportunity to act without risking her own life.
How's that?
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:01 pm
"Allow me to take a shot on their behalf: In court, you'll hear about how her spouse has been systematically abusing her for years"
They have only been married for 7 weeks.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
”Andrew Brownson, one of the Republicans challenging Allen, said it would not be appropriate to ask or force her to resign for her 'personal habits.'”
Chivalry isn’t dead.
But the continual blows to the head have caused it severe brain damage.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Audrey the Gender-feminist: Men lack the emotional intelligence of women, but women do not lack the intellectual intelligence of man. As such, men do not feel pain. It is okay to hurt them (especially when they deserve it). Although I am a vegetarian, this is also why I still eat fish. Fish and men are similar in that they lack emotion. And speaking of fish.........a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bike.
Mike the Masculist: (mutters to self) Hippy-crite.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
She could be sentenced, if convicted to 10 years in prison and fined $10,000.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, oooh, ha, ha!...Oh, that's a good one! She could be made the Queen of England, too. There is absolutely zero chance that she will spend even one minute in jail. She's a woman who stabbed her husband. Practically speaking, that is not illegal in the US.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I'm hoping one of the feminists on this board can help me understand how Allen's act was in self defense. Thanking you in advance.
=======
Having been stewing in the Kool-Aid for 35 years now, my guess is that it would go something like this:
"He embarrassed her in front of friends. By doing so, he diminished her sense of self, trying -- like all active co-conspiritorial patriarchs -- to actually deprive her of her own feeling of self-worth. This is tantamount to stripping her of her very humanity -- to killing her human spirit! By only lacerating his arm, she (so typical of gentle, oppressed females) was actually UNDER-reacting to this assault on her very essence. Indeed, if her patriarchal husband's attempt to steal her self-esteem -- his assault on her very personhood -- were to be evenly matched by her defensive response, she would have been justified in using that knife on his manhood, and even killing him with it could be justified. Women shouldn't have to take this abuse! A woman should be able to defend herself from the patriarchy by any and all necessary means!"
How's that?
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Serenity Now:
I was under the impression that women NEVER committed acts of domestic violence except in self defense. I'm hoping one of the feminists on this board can help me understand how Allen's act was in self defense. Thanking you in advance.
The internet can only handle so much bullcrap SN. But sadly what JayR says at 2:29pm is pretty spot on except that he forget to say something to the effect of whining about how she will be subject to the harshest penalties in order to put her back in her place. And something about how men women are always treated more harshly in court.
So Spitzer was stealing money and spending it on prostitutes (one of whom the feminist community circled the tanks around because she was the true victim for having $4000/night consentual sex with him) and he was shamed into resigning but I'll bet this won't even be a blip on the MSM radar. Its good to know that stealing money and spending it on prostitution is worse than stabbing your husband (NOT spouse, husband. And you know why.)
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Legislative bodies are country clubs. The will always circle the wagons whenever a member is accused. Legislatures are full of people who regard themselves as the elites of society; their tribal instincts will take precedence over the law when it comes to their own tribe. Which is kind of ironic, considering what it is that legislators are supposed to be doing.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
JRP wrote: They have only been married for 7 weeks.
So what? The fact that they've only been married 7-weeks wouldn't preclude years of systematic abuse.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Off topic. I've been in the hospital since Wednesday May 7th and I'm going back in for another week. However,
MY BOOK HAS BEEN RELEASED. How To Train Your Woman is selling like hot cakes. You have to wait until I start advertising on this site. Glenn, email me an address where I can send you a copy. Take care folks.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I thought that "there's no excuse for domestic violence?" Oh wait, it goes "there's no excuse for violence against women." My bad.
And JayR at 2:29pm is spot-on: If a man embarrasses a woman in front of her friends it's considered domestic violence, but apparently knifing him in retaliation isn't, as long as the person with the knife is a woman. However, I wonder what the reaction would be if the person with the stab wound was a woman, i.e., if this was between two lesbians? I'm guessing that because men are valued far less than women there'd be substantially more of an outcry about this because a woman was seriously injured.
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:34 pm
...because someone is "the man" in that type of relationship anyway, right?
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I would anticipate that she will plead the felony down to misdemeanor domestic battery and get a year's probation with court-mandated anger management counseling.
I hope her husband has some warning bells going off in his head and runs to hire a divorce attorney. He might even be able to get such a brief marriage annuled.
Sheesh! If she'll stab you during the "honeymoon period" of a new marriage, imagine what could happen once all the romance wears off!
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:55 pm
hate to tell you folks but this is entirely HIS fault - for proof I refer you to the Deluth Model power and control wheel. Simply put it is impossible that this woman did anything. The fact he got stabbed is irrelevant. It was a function of the patriarcy and his demaning of her by making fun of her that cause her to have to "defend" herself by stabbing him.
For those that can't figure it out this is complete sarcasm on my part -cept for those who write the feminist dissent they would be in lock step with the above paragraph
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
We've said it before and I'll say it again, but when will this change? When will our corrupt legal system and government get it?
http://tinyurl.com/62qor3
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
A lawmaker of all people, stabs a man because she thought he made her look bad. And feminists have the audacity and gall to say that when we examine domestic violence perpetrated by women, we need to understand the "context" in which the woman felt compelled to do violence, recognizing that she was afraid, intimidated, or otherwise battered and controlled. Never would they care to admit that it is far more common that a violent woman is hurting others simply because she has vaunted expectations of adulation and respect, and will enforce those expectations through any means necessary.
In this case, who is the domestic terrorist, exactly?
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Mr. Bad, I was kind of wondering the same thing. Actually, I think the media reaction would mostly be befuddlement; they'd try to figure out how to decry the act and sympathize with the perp at the same time, and it would probably just come out an incoherent mess. However, going back to the lesbian-child-custody case that Glenn posted here about a month ago, I wonder if at some point the media will, in cases of woman-on-woman violence, start trying to cast one of the two women in the "man" role, and then proceeding according to that. If, for example, the perp is butch and the victim is very feminine in appearance, you get a huge outcry about violence against women. However, if the perp is feminine and the victim is butch, it goes in the "Odd News" section on page B-26.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
this is a classic case...
Double standards... lack of female accountability... the myth that females are always the victim and males are always the perpetrator...
If the perpetrator of aggravated domestic violence were a male... his career would be over and no one would be referring to the incident as a "habit".
If the use of a potentially deadly weapon to exact a toll against someone for embarrassment is categorized as a personal habit, then our society is in DEEP TROUBLE.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Mr. Bad:
However, I wonder what the reaction would be if the person with the stab wound was a woman, i.e., if this was between two lesbians? I'm guessing that because men are valued far less than women there'd be substantially more of an outcry about this because a woman was seriously injured.
Actually if it were one lesbian stabbing another it probably not have been made it to the media. Woman on woman DV is rarely talked about because it forces "experts" to acknowledge the fact that women can commit DV. Yes they are willing to sacrifice that lesbian's abuse victim keep the female abuser under wraps.
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:41 pm
her fellow assemblymen won't condemn because of the women vote. simple? 51% and all. try taking a position that supports men for ANY reason and see how many votes that gets ya big boy!
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Hey, he embarassed her. Hes lucky she didnt stab him with a chainsaw.
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
If the doclove system of dating was taught to all young men this fruitcake
would be single, guys stay single if this is the only type of woman you can find.
When will men wake up? A woman in your life is not a necessity, a woman in your life is an option.
We have to start educating the young men about the perils of (some) women.I am talking guys 15 - 20 years of age.
Tom Leykis show, hehehehehe, the young guys should listen to this also.
http://www.blowmeuptom.com/
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
women get away with everything...and men are partly to blame...especially liberal men...why can't the govt. help men like it does women
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I'm not real clear on the severity of the injuries suffered by the husband, but it does sound like they might be considered serious bodily injury (SBI) for her to be facing 10 years.
I wonder what this poor guys chances are him he decides to stay married to this, um, er self-expressive woman.
And, just to lighten things up a bit, I saw this on another site, and thought it may fit for this thread:
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Hello Slwerner. Awesome 8:52 post. You say that the bit of prose you posted was meant to "lighten up" the discussion. I am afraid it is so much more. There is philosophy in them words!!
Thanks again,
MXY
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:33 pm
He's screwed. The idiot recanted his story and said he stabbed himself. Next thing you'll hear is that he's under arrest for assaulting *her*.
I made the same mistake myself.
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:32 am
I read that he'd said it was an 'accident' on her part once the police got involved because he didn't want her to get into trouble.
Yeah - because handling steak knives at 4am is what every average Joe (or Julie) gets up to.
Kudos to the police for having actually charged her. If they're consistent then they'll not drop this - after all we've seen plenty of cases where wives 'recant' or withdraw an allegation of assault but the police will still press on with charges.
I wonder if the theory behind that policy (that the victim is subject to intimidation from the 'abuser') will stick here?
I have seen some comments threads on other blogs (there are a few around linking to the original news story) saying that the guy's a wimp for having attended hospital for the wound (3 stitches) or for having complained about such a 'minor' wound. Those sorts of attitudes are part of what prevents female on male DV from being taken seriously.
If she was prepared to stab him in the arm after just 7 weeks of marriage then he'd better start wearing a cricket box in bed!
After all, his wife could well take Lorena Bobbit's example to heart should he ever do something SERIOUS to piss her off (like spill wine on the carpet for instance or remark that "yes, your bum DOES look big in that..")
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:34 am
And Offended_Dad:
"I made the same mistake myself"?
So did I.
Chivalry's a f@#ker.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:34 am
His statement in the police report says she stabbed him, then locked herself in the bedroom. After removing the knife from his arm, he forced open the door, demanded her help, she told him to call his mom. He bagged up the steak knife, drove himself to the hospital, and signed a release for the police to retrieve the knife from his car.
here's a pdf of the arrest report - w w w2.lasvegasnow.com/docs/allen.pdf
Aparently, she's been in the news before for other antics related to her wedding and time in office:
In memory of the career of Francis O. Allen - w w w.politickernv.com/wallynv/1527/memory-career-francis-o-allen
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:53 am
DCR,
How right you are! He was "verbally" abusive to her by embarrassing her in public, so stabbing him will be justified by the Deluth model wheel. I have shared here about my abusive ex-wife, and this picture reminds me of her. See how she is talking with her hands? She is trying to convince someone of something. This is common with sociopaths. My ex did the same thing.
Seven weeks? He better "get it" and get it quick.
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
PolishKnight Says:
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
"She's apparently claiming he did it to himself..... "
"It doesn't make sense. She says he did it to himself but at the same time I read that she says she did it because he embarrassed her in front of friends."
I don't think she means he did it to himself physically. I think she means he's responsible for her actions because he embarrassed her. It wouldn't have happened if he didn't embarrass her but he 'choose' to do so. As though the consequence should be assumed like written law [ murder = jail] Some women simply don't take responsibility for their own actions. (like this child) It's the man's fault. You know the blog so I'll leave it at that.
May 24th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
... because men like bitches in the way women like bastards who treat them badly until it goes too far. It's sick and sad. Pictures can lie but as a woman I would not like to get on the wrong side of this nasty looking ambitious hard as nails chick. Get real everyone, he is a masochist and this is not the first time she abused him. How this whole relationship got as far as marriage is incredible... although I detect a critical nasty mother in the background. Look - you KNOW when someone is "high maintenance" and difficult right from the first date, don't you? Get out NOW!
May 24th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
spiderchannel says: "Look - you KNOW when someone is "high maintenance" and difficult right from the first date, don't you? Get out NOW!"
PK responds: I don't think it's THAT simple. I wish it were. "Bad boys" (and bad girls) develop survival mechanisms like anyone else and are masters of charm. This is partly why they're bad: They develop a morality that makes it ok since they think they can get away with it.
Women and men like "bastards and bitches" but not necessarily in the same way. Bad women put on an a charade of innocence to rope in unsuspecting men while women are often attracted to what is obviously bad behavior in men because it resembles masculine dominance. Men in our culture have become attracted to domineering women due to feminine conditioning: Foreign men find masculine women unattractive but in a culture where so many women are like that, they get used to it.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Cooper is one moron I certainly wouldn't vote for. First of all this is not a personal habit, it is domestic abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. Second, if it had been a male rival accused of stabbing his wife through the hand, do you think this genius (Mr. Cooper) would stay silent. Of course not, he would be screaming from every pulpit that a spousal abuser has no place in public politics. This is just another politician pandering to the radical women's movement.
I can't help but comment on the first post, where it seems Mrs. Allen makes two conflicting statements - 1) he did it to himself, and 2) she did it because he was embarrassing her. This is common for women who abuse husbands, they can easily put two conflicting statements on record and still get away with the act. In my case, my ex-wife had me arrested for allegedly "Kicking her in the stomach, which lead to her falling down an entire flight of stairs." However, at the fist hearing when I commented that it was unlikely she could sustain such an assaut without so much as a bruise or a scar she changed her statement to "I kicked her in the stomach and she almost fell down the stairs." Later, in her statement to the Forensic Psychiatrist she said "I tried to kick her in the stomach and she almost fell down the stairs." Regardless of the fact that she made three conflicting statements (two of which also conflicted with the police report that they found her at the bottom of the stairs) the courts had no problem turning a blind eye, labeling me as an abuser and throwing me out of our home, subsequently depriving me of a living because I ran my business from our home.
September 20th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Nose picking is personal habit. Stabbing a spouse is not.
Other personal habits common amoung Nevada Legislators:
Gambling
Hiring Hookers
Dropping dead from Hospital drugs
Failing to claim Real Estate Transactions on tax forms (Reid)
Corruption
and now, stabbing a spouse.
Don't ya just love the double standards?