Where’s the line between political expediency and evil?
January 9, 2009
by Sheryl Lee
|Editor’s note: Beginning this month, The New Agenda Blog will be featuring regular columns from a diverse group of terrific contributors. Sheryl Robinson is a writer and feminist activist. She is a co-founder of The New Agenda and manager of this blog.
On December 19th, 2008, Karla Giraldo told an Emergency room doctor that Hiram Monserrate attacked her, deliberately stabbing her in the face with broken glass, leaving deep gashes around her eye that required 25 stitches to close.
Investigators say Monserrate attacked Giraldo in a jealous rage, believing a business card he found in her purse was evidence that she was seeing her ex-boyfriend.
A security video from the hallway of Monserrate’s Queens apartment shows an enraged Monserrate attempting to throw something from Giraldo’s purse down the garbage chute. Another security video recorded Monserrate screaming at someone inside the apartment. Later, a visibly frightened and distressed Giraldo is seen on the security footage knocking on neighbors’ apartment doors with a bloody towel clutched to her face. Still later, Monserrate is seen wrestling Giraldo out of the front door of his building.
Monserrate, a former marine and former police officer, who had been elected to New York State Senate on November 4th, was arrested and charged with two counts of felony assault and one count of possession of a weapon, but he denies attacking Giraldo, and Giraldo has declined to press charges, corroborating his story that he tripped while bringing her a glass of water and accidentally cut her face.
Giraldo has been uncooperative with investigators, but they are pursuing the charges based on the security video and the testimony of witnesses. Monserrate’s legal representatives say this move by police is motivated by their concerns about Monserrate’s pledge to reform the police department. The police, Monserrate’s representatives claim, are pursuing specious charges in order to bring public ruin to a man they fear.
Investigators dispute those claims:
“No one can look at the security video and think that this was an accident,” said a law enforcement source who saw the footage. “The woman looks scared out of her mind and trying to get away from this guy.”
The video shows Giraldo grabbing the apartment’s front door as Monserrate tried to drag her out of the building, sources said.
Other video clips show Giraldo clutching a towel to her injured left eye and banging on the door of a neighbor’s apartment for help, sources said.
That neighbor, Carolyn Loudon, 46, said Tuesday she heard Giraldo banging on her door but was too scared to open it.
She said she is used to noise coming from Monserrate’s unit, but the ruckus was worse than usual on Dec. 19.
“It was frightening,” Loudon said. “I heard screaming and then banging on the door.”
Then, later “at 3 a.m. I looked out the door and saw a bloody towel,” she said. “About an hour later, I heard a noise and looked out again and the towel was gone.
“I know I should have called 911. That was a mistake.” […]
Emergency room doctor Dawne Kort told Queens prosecutors on Tuesday that Giraldo accused Monserrate of bashing her in the face, sources said.
“The doctor’s testimony cements what you see in the video – a terrified woman, begging for help,” said a second source who was briefed on the content of the video sequence.
Despite the serious nature of the charges and numerous objections from local politicians and women’s rights advocates, Monserrate was sworn into New York State Senate on Wednesday.
Brooklyn Republican Sen. Martin Golden had filed a resolution to delay Monserrate’s swearing-in for a month, but Democratic colleagues of Monserrate said that Golden and other Republicans were merely playing politics in order to forestall the seating of a Democratic majority in State Senate—the first in 40 years. Without Monserrate, their majority hangs in the balance, and the Democrats won’t have enough votes to pass legislation.
Jimmy Vielkind at the New York Observer reports:
But State Senator Eric Adams said he’ll give Monserrate “the benefit of the doubt.” I asked him whether he would sign Golden’s resolution.
“It’s a stupid resolution and it’s an insult to the victims of domestic violence that he would try to play with this and politicize and issue that his conference has been weak on,” Adams said. “That’s smacks straight at the face of our criminal justice system. A person is innocent until proven guilty. A case could take up to year. Do we allow his district to go without a representative until then?”
Golden fired back, saying “there’s no such thing as innocent until proven guilty here – we’re not putting him in jail, we’re just asking him not to sit in a body that is as esteemed as the State Senate.”
According to Golden’s office, State Senators George Maziarz, James Seward, Charles Fuschillo, John Flanagan, Betty Little, Cathy Young and Bill Larkin have all signed on. All are Republicans. Cathy Young issued a statement when she announced she had signed on, calling the charges against Monserrate “disturbing.”
Not only was Monserrate sworn in on Wednesday, but Senate Democratic Majority Leader Malcolm Smith appointed him chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee—an act for which he drew criticism from anti-domestic violence advocates, Republicans, and even some Democrats, who said that in giving Monserrate the chairmanship, Smith sent a bad message.
“Giving this person a position of authority is a slap in the face to all women in the state,” said Marcia Pappas, president of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women.
In November, Monserrate had initially refused to support the selection of Smith as Majority Leader, but the two men had reached an agreement, and Monserrate had granted Smith his support after all. Smith has remained silent about the charges against Monserrate, and appointed him to head the Consumer Protection Committee without commenting on the case.
This week, Democrats celebrated the seating of their slender majority, and Monserrate gloated:
“I guess they were wrong. I’m here, and I’m here for the long haul,” Monserrate said of his critics. “Of course my colleagues are treating me nice,” he said.
* * *
Seating Monserrate because the Democrats will not be able to hold onto their majority without him is politically expedient, but it signals that Monserrate, despite the very serious charges against him, is still an insider, still welcome in the corridors of power. It sends a message that being accused of carving up your girlfriend has no serious consequences: you still get to hook your finger in the brass ring.
In the plainest terms: The New York State Democrats’ support of Monserrate and Obama’s choice of Rick Warren have two things in common: both are politically expedient, and both make women’s lives more difficult and more dangerous.
The New York Democrats need to ask Monserrate to step down. They need to surrender their majority, if that’s what it means. To keep Monserrate in the State Senate in order to hang on to political power is a compromise that will cost them far more than their Senate majority: it will cost them their credibility, and it will leave New York’s citizens with lawmakers who gave up moral authority to hold on to power.
Where’s the line?
I suppose some people could believe rank and file Democrat women, especially those in power, find this sacrifice of a woman perfectly acceptable to maintain the political power status quo. What’s the ripped face of one woman to have another seated Democrat? The mysogyny of the Republicans is just as bad for not calling press conferences, showing pictures and screaming to high heaven about this – - and to think we used to condemn the Taliban for stoning women! How we have regressed, it makes me sick to my stomach.
I’m making plans to go live in the woods. Anybody want to join me?
Wow. I can’t believe this happened without any notice. I have not seen a thing mentioned in the NY press. Just terrible.
it’s that blind spot again.
In my younger days, I was searching and ended up going to alot of churches. At a particularly low point in my life, I ended up at a fundamentalist Christian church for awhile. They were so kind to me and nurtured me through some hard months. Once I started feeling better, I started paying a little more attention to what was actually being preached. It was the exact same stuff that Warren is espousing—-the man is the head of the home and the woman, subservient. Whatever the man says goes.
I couldn’t listen to it anymore and decided to leave that church. To thank them for their kindness, I felt that I owed it to them to meet with the pastor and discuss my decision.
We talked about how their teachings about subservient women was a recipe for disaster, and an open invitation to be abusive without cost. The pastor was shocked and told me that “the men know that it isn’t Christian to behave that way.” And I asked him what he would do if a man in the church turned out to be an abuser. He told me that “the church would take care of it.” I told him that I wasn’t comfortable with that and said good-bye.
That was 20 years ago, and with Warren nothing has changed. There’s this disbelief that people will go against the teachings of the Bible and be violent, that it just wouldn’t happen. And a blind eye is turned to the problem .
In the end, the victim is more likely to be blamed for not obeying the husband than the husband is for losing his cool.
Oh wise ones, is there anything to do regarding Monserrate now?
Can impeachment procedures be initiated?
Can the people who put him into office take their vote back? Can a special election be called for?
How about Malcolm Smith? He refused to delay the swearing by a month, as requested by a Republican rival–he needs to feel consequences too. What can I do?
Will standing in front of Monserrate’s office in Queens with a sign that says, an “abuser must not be rewarded” “Monserrate represents abusers, not New Yorkers”…make any difference?
At some point women will learn that this is what is to be expected of the New Democrat party. It would help if this was covered in the corporate media which is the only media some people consume. The Dems have been playing women and “women’s groups” like pawns for years and still they have a passel of women voters who show up and vote Democrat without even considering any other choice.
I think men really need to be needed at home and in society and they sometimes can’t figure out where they fit in, in a world where brute strength is not often needed. In my opinion that would be why they turn to authoritarian religions. I suspect if we were to show them a better place to fit in to society and be needed they would be fine with the alternative. People who are lost gravitate to these authoritarian religions which have stood the test of time but often hang their entire philosophy on a bad translation of an ancient text. Still because they have stood up to time they seem authentic or even correct to the lost.
NOW NY State has a press release out this morning:
“Monserrate Appointment Is A Slap In The Face to Women
National Organization for Women-NYS Wants Answers
For more information contact: Marcia Pappas, 518-452-3944″
I would start there. Maybe if the calls become more than NOW can manage, they’ll post information for email contact or a letter-writing campaign, but for right now, I’d contact Ms. Pappas.
Edited to add: NOW NY email – info@nownys.org
Fascinating story, Cynthia.
Monserrate’s alleged assault of Karla Giraldo is characterized as “a jealous rage.” By framing it that way, the reports imply that she did something to invoke that rage. It’s a subtle way of making excuses for the accused at the victim’s expense: “She was asking for it.”
Sheryl,
This is an EXCELLENT piece. Thank you for writing this. I posted it on my Facebook and I am discussing this with others. And I am a New Yorker! I can’t believe this is happening.
Thanks Sheryl. I just left her a voice mail and emailed her.
Hi Ali!
I posted it on my Facebook too and sent it to my friends. We should meet one of these days. I’ll email you.
If you look at this poll, “Should Sen. Hiram Monserrate have been sworn in?”, you’ll see that opinion is almost evenly divided, with a slight majority favoring his swearing-in.
In the comments, people seem to be equating not allowing him to sit as a senator with convicting him without due process. This is entirely wrong. If he were still a cop, he’d be suspended while the investigation proceeded. He would not be allowed to continue in his job while such a serious charge was hanging over his head.
Would he?
That’s not a conviction without process, that’s protecting the public from a potentially volatile and evil individual. He doesn’t get due process when it comes to upholding the public good. He should step down.
I would make this an ACTION ITEM with any and all contact info for action easy to find, including the Maria Pappas at NOW, media links and other central contacts in NY State government. If TNA has members in New York, I’d send out a special alert for them to contact their elected officials. I’d also consider sending this piece to conservative web sites (American Thinker and Pajamas Media) to expand the sphere of influence and to prod others to action who may be sympathetic for political reasons, if for no others.
Let’s brainstorm all of those who would be important to be on a contact list, track down their info and post it with this piece, unless you think that’s reinventing the wheel cause NY NOW is covering all the bases.
What about contacting Greta? What about contacting Senator Clinton? (I realize this is about the state legislature, but…)? How about Geraldine Ferraro?
Sheryl, thank you for this piece.
Anna, I think that’s a great idea. Let’s blitz them. I encourage others to post contact information for Greta and whomever else might be interested in the story.
QUESTION
Does anyone know if the woman he attached is his girlfriend or his wife? I’m writing a short letter to editor and need that info? Thanks.
She’s his girlfriend.
Here’s a quote from Human Rights Watch for your letter, if you can use it:
The projected number of violent crimes committed by intimate partners against women increased from 389,100 in 2005 to 554,260 in the 2007 report. By comparison, the number of violent crimes against men by intimate partners went down.
“Domestic violence is often a hidden crime, and these numbers are a stark reminder of how serious and widespread this problem is,” said [researcher for the US Program at Human Rights Watch, Sarah] Tofte. “The Obama-Biden administration should make prevention and protection against all forms of domestic and sexual violence a top priority.”
Thank you, Sheryl. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to post again on this tread as I see the page is off center and the post box is shifting such that I won’t be able to get my cursor into it. If I can’t post, I’ll send my letter to TNA.
HELP NEEDED
I need a link to a site that gives me DV stats. I had some bookmarked (like the DOJ site), but I can’t find the stats anymore. If anyone has something handy they can post, please do. Thanks.
Left a voice message at the DOJ Violence Against Women office re: stats. Meanwhile, here’s a curious tidbit from their site regarding recommendations for faith leaders in dealing with DV. I found the rec relatively tepid, leaving room for a lot of improvement in terms of directness of language. Wondering what others think of it:
http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/faith-based.htm
I think I found the stats I need.
HERE’S A LETTER ANYONE CAN USE. MOST PAPERS HAVE WORD LIMITS OF ABOUT 200 WORDS.
————————————————————————————
To the Editor:
I am writing to you regarding the deteriorating state of women’s rights as evidenced by the behavior of government officials that have gone unchallenged.
The President-elect has appointed 5 women to his Cabinet as compared to 7 in the Clinton administration. This is a set back for women who, in the 21st century, deserve gender parity at the highest levels of government.
Obama selected a pastor to deliver the invocation on inauguration day who has stated that domestic violence is not a justification for divorce.
Obama’s Director of Speechwriting, Jon Favreau, groped a life-sized image of our incoming Secretary of State, Senator Hillary Clinton, and there was no public apology from Favreau or Obama.
Most recently, NY State Senator, Hiram Monserrate was sworn in despite evidence that on December 19, 2008, he brutally attacked his girlfriend.
The issue of women’s rights is an issue of human rights.
As for domestic violence in the United States, the increasing trend is well documented by The Department of Justice, the FBI, and Human Rights Watch. The situation is grave. It is estimated that two to four million women are battered each year. Four women are killed every single day as a result of domestic violence.
Regrettably, I see no public outcry, no media coverage, and no public official willing to take a stand to speak out against this shameful reality in America. Instead, our elected officials and others in the public eye appear to be sending all the wrong signals to girls and boys, men and women, and people all around the world regarding our attitudes toward women’s right in America.
Don’ t know what happened with the formatting of the paragraphs of the second half of the letter.
Anyway, here are some links to letters to the editor:
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR LINKS
http://www.publishaletter.com/
http://www.allmyfaves.com/
http://www.mondotimes.com/
http://newslink.org/
http://www.democrats.org/page/.....uilderLTE/
http://www.centerforinvestigativereporting.org/
http://www.womensmediacenter.com/index.html
Typo in letter: Mispelled freaking state senator’s name:
Should be 2 “r”‘s and 1 “t”, not the other way around.
[I fixed it. Sheryl]
Great letter Anna. Thanks for the link to the religion guidlines. The thing is these churches do not condone violence against women the problem is they oppose is divorce which keeps women prisoners of abusive men. True it is a very fine line however you will not find them teaching that men should be violent with their wife what I have heard from them is if there is violence the situation should be resolved so that the marriage can go on. True if I had a church that is not what I would say but I don’t do the work to be a church. Churches do much very good work. But they are ultimately run by men and they need to be pushed to recognize women’s problems as valid issues. For some reason men do not intuitively see women’s problems as real.
I think Monserrate should become a big focus of ours. As a New Yorker, I will do what I can do bring this to the public’s attention. Imagine if we could get this out? Bring this to the attention of the national media? Protests are in order here. Whatever else. I’m game.
Great letter Anna. THANKS. I HOPE YOU AND OTHERS WILL USE IT, AT LEAST AS A STARTING POINT FOR YOUR OWN VOICE. JUST REMEMBER TO KEEP IT SHORT.
Thanks for the link to the religion guidlines. YOU’RE WELCOME.
The thing is these churches do not condone violence against women the problem is they oppose is divorce which keeps women prisoners of abusive men. YES, I UNDERSTAND.
True it is a very fine line however you will not find them teaching that men should be violent with their wife what I have heard from them is if there is violence the situation should be resolved so that the marriage can go on. YES, THIS IS A CONUNDRUM.
True if I had a church that is not what I would say but I don’t do the work to be a church. Churches do much very good work. I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS ARE LIKE PEOPLE – CAN BE GREAT, DO GOOD, AND CAN BE HORRID, AND DO BAD, MISGUIDED THINGS.
But they are ultimately run by men and they need to be pushed to recognize women’s problems as valid issues. For some reason men do not intuitively see women’s problems as real. SADLY,, THERE ARE PROBABLY A LOT OF WOMEN WHO’VE BOUGHT INTO THE SYSTEM WHO DON’T BELIEVE THEIR PROBLEMS ARE REAL, EITHER.
Not screaming. Just don’t know how to do bold, or italics, or some other way of differentiated my text from yours!
Ali – Light a fire under those you know. Contact the media. Contact the Governor. Contact the state Attorney General’s office. Link up with NOW’s actions on NY state. Post on like-minded blogs to see if you can organize an action. Google “violence against women” and see if there are any orgs doing anything? If so, get involved. If not, ennlighten them! I’m a native New Yorker and wish I was there on the ground to help….
Ali – continued….
Contact the NY State DNC Chair.
NY State Governor Patterson’s contact page:
http://www.ny.gov/governor/contact/index.html
NY State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo contact page:
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/contact.html
Democratic Party of New York State contact page:
http://www.democrats.org/a/loc...../new_york/
New York NOW info from upthread:
Contact: Marcia Pappas @ (518) 452-3944
NOW NY email – info@nownys.org
Easy to post over at Pajamas Media on a piece that is a critique of Obama’s and his success, or lack thereof, in implementing the “change” that he promised. But the article makes no mention of women’s issues. Let’s get over there and do some consciousness raising. You don’t need to register to post:
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/w…..-politics/
Sheryl, thanks for this….Ali, you go! Do it….bring attention to it locally and we can try to help fan the flames from afar…
TNA will be preparing a press release to address this situation.
Amy – Good, cause I fear waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much pressure on our poor little Ali who dared to share that she lives in New York!
This former party of mine… it simply goes from bad to worse to horrific!
Where will it end?
Stray Yellar Dog
My former party, as well. But, sometimes I wonder if it was always like this and it’s just that 1) many folks woke up this year, and 2) issues became more highlighted because of the nature of the candidates (black and two women).
God only knows what sorts of bs has always gone on, the horrid comments behind closed doors, the battles faced by the women’s caucus (there is a women’s caucus, isn’t there?), what it has always taken out of women running for office and succeeding, no less surviving.
Both parties have always had corruption. Men cheating on their wives. Addiction problems. And who knows what else?
Perhaps it’s not as much that our party has changed as much as our eyes being open. Or, like so many things in life, perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
BTW, love your name!
Here are a few points worth noting regarding Hiram Monserrate.
The Monserrate matter has received MUCH coverage in the NYC press and elsewhere.
Liz Benjamin at the NY Daily News did an excellent job of covering the matter:
http://www.nydailynews.com/nyd.....Submit.y=0
There have been plenty of people — male and female, in and out of the press corps –who have condemned Monserrate for abusing a woman. Sadly, Malcolm Smith, the newly crowned state Senate majority leader, and his Democratic Majority, including several women, would have done ANYTHING to get Monserrate’s vote for majority leader. And they did. The NYS Senate has now reverted to a Democratic majority for the first time since the 1960′s.
Since there’s zero chance that the Senate Dems will vote to remove Monserrate from office, the only way to get rid of him is if he’s convicted of a felony for abusing his girlfriend. She now claims that the beatdown was not a beatdown at all. It was merely an “accident.”
Fortunately, there was video of Monserrate dragging Giraldo down the hall of his condo building. Keep your fingers crossed that the Queens DA prosecutes this case to the full extent of the law and obtains a felony conviction against Monserrate. Otherwise, we’re stuck with him in the state Senate.
News Junkie, there may have been press, but I just don’t hear the public outrage from our leaders, political and community.
There is no way in hell that man is going to stay in the Senate. Not if I have anything to say about it. I speak for myself, but I think I have Ali as an ally in this, I’m going to do all I legally can to make sure this abuser is not rewarded, if somehow the legal system fails to do its job.
News Junkie – “She now claims that the beatdown was not a beatdown at all. It was merely an ‘accident’.” – Sadly a common part of the cycle.
Anne-Marie – “…there may have been press, but I just don’t hear the public outrage from our leaders, political and community.” I agree. Where’s the coordinated public outrage?
I hope TNA and its members keep on top of this issue as it is 1) important, and 2) directly relates to what TNA has set out as among their top priorities for 2009: addressing domestic violence.
Anne-Marie,
Be sure you and Ali keep us updated and let us know what is going on locally and what we can do to help.
We’re staying on it, Anna. We’ve been discussing the best course of action.
[...] this month, we reported on Hiram Monserrate’s being sworn in to NY State Senate despite a felony assault charge for cutting his girlfriend’s face with broken glass. We have [...]
[...] those of you new to the story, read Sheryl’s piece originally posted on our blog on January 9th. Monserrate beat his girlfriend in the lobby of an [...]
[...] in New York, we are focusing on the Hiram Monseratte controversy (see blog postings on the subject: here, here, and here), in Ohio we are working to get women on both the Democratic and Republican ballot [...]
[...] http://thenewagenda.net/2009/0.....-and-evil/ [...]
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