What you can do about “Senator Slasher,” Hiram Monserrate
April 5, 2009
by Sheryl Lee
|
Silence is consent
Indicted last week on six counts of felony assault, and prohibited from having any contact with his alleged victim until December 2009, NY State Senator Hiram Monserrate has inexplicably not been forced to relinquish his senate seat as he goes to trial.
He’s a state legislator charged with a serious felony, and until that issue is resolved, he cannot be trusted to serve the public good.
Every time this story gets some traction in the press, Monseratte’s PR firm contacts the publication and attempts to intimidate them, as they did with The New Agenda and NY NOW.
Don’t allow this story to sink below the surface while an accused violent felon remains comfortably ensconced in his office, collecting his substantial salary as a senator.
This is a travesty, and the message it sends is that violence against women is no big deal.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
If you live in New York State, call or write your legislators at one of the links below and ask them to insist that Monserrate step down until his case is resolved.
Click this link for a list of all NY State senators, including contact information
Click this link for a quick list of NY State senators’ email addresses
If you live in or outside of NY, write letters to the editor to Albany, Troy, Queens, and other NYC, NY papers. You can also identify reporters and ask them why this isn’t a bigger story. Call or write television networks and ask why the story hasn’t received more national coverage.
Click this link to find contact info for newspapers in NYC
Contact CNN
Contact FOX
Contact NBC/MSNBC
Contact ABC
I didn’t know it was necessary to intimidate NY NOW I thought they just laid down and rolled over without command, without reward.
You know, the fact that the first comment on this post is one bashing another women’s group just sort of depresses me.
Have you done anything to protest about the Monserrate issue, Bes, or are you just here to criticize those that have?
I don’t live in New York so I don’t involve myself in NY politics. I work on politics local to me. And I criticize NY NOW based on their behavior not because they are women. They are supposed to represent the interests of women and they don’t because they are wedded to their Democrat dogma and they can’t identify with women who aren’t of their class.
Bes,
Don’t confuse NOW NY with NOW National. NOW NY is run by President Marcia Pappas and she is very much an activist. She does her own thing and does not follow NOW National.
Marcia has been and will continue to be (I hope) a great partner to TNA.
Thank you for that comment, Amy. It improves my opinion of NOW as well.
Well, Bes, I don’t live in NY, either. In fact, I live in Canada. I work on local politics, too, but if you don’t think that what happens in the NY state legislature affects our politics locally, then I don’t know what to tell you.
It’s a very small world.
The actions the Dems. have taken in support of Hiram the Slasher, if ignored, if not called out, are “permission” and examples for others. NY is an example being set right now, e.g.: Oh well, boys will be boys, and she probably asked for it. And business as usual. Let’s raise money to defend this poor, persecuted Hiram.
a plea to Sheryl and Bes:
The two of you may take a cue (as Karen did) from Amy’s comment above, which calmly and clearly states an important difference between the national NOW versus the NYS chapter.
Sheryl, though I share your pov re. local politics in a small world, the tone of your reply to Bes made me wince. You were as quick to judge Bes as you’ve accused her of doing to NOW-NYS! Talk about irony…
…we just posted, this afternoon, a commentary about how bashing is used as a label and a tool, notably by Obama supporters such as several who appear here at TNA occasionally. Sheryl, you did the very thing that the “Slashing the Bashing Label” commentary tries to warn about– you conflated “bashing” with *constructive* criticism.
You already know what real bashing is, and what Bes said is hardly an example of that. She might have been more careful to see some distinctions between Gandy and Pappas, but she is both factually correct and morally justified in criticizing the NYS chapter for specific reasons she gave in her follow-up.
“Slashing the Bashing Label” by DG Whiz
for the Impeachment U.S.A. project at our
free Stick-It Art Gallery (Animated GIFs)
http://www.dgwhiz.net/Stickers/Stick-It.html#IUSA
Thank you Sheryl! I like your action plan. Let’s keep the pressure on.
It’s outrageous that the PR firm is trying to block the media . . . I wonder where Monseratte the Monster and Slasher got the money to pay the PR firm.
Another QUICK ACTION PLAN:
1. How about TNA formally inviting all of the NY State Senators to the VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN FORUM.
2. Then TNA could release a Press release letting everyone know that the NY State Senators have been invited to the FORUM, because they really need to learn about violence against women, etc etc.
3. It would also be a good idea to invite the GOOD GUYS — i.e., the DA and Prosecutor and others who are pressing the case AGAINST Senator Slasher. We should thank them for their work!
T.I., you’re right – I was being testy.
We’ve worked awfully hard to keep this story in the public eye, and NY NOW and Marcia Pappas have been there, shoulder to shoulder with us, for the last three months. I know we occasionally criticize national NOW around here, but if you’ve read anything of the history on this story as we’ve reported it here, you’d know that NY NOW has been very involved in protesting Monserrate’s presence in the NY legislature.
Still, I can’t expect everyone to know the background. My apologies to Bes for jumping on her.
I am not a bit fan of the recall process (I think it gets abused too much), but in this case it would be warranted. If the current state government elected politicians do not do anything, then maybe even the initial petition process might get things rolling.
Hi Sheryl!
Speaking of testy, ahem, I’ve been popping a lot of fuses of my own. It seems to happen with every news story I read on my favourite blogs.
Paradoxically, I rely on these same sites for something just as vital as the news– a place where I can take a deep breath, express myself freely, while feeling safe and sheltered from the storm. It’s quite a fine balance, isn’t it?
I’ve got the passion, I’ve got the anger, I’ve got the skills and experience, and I’m more ready than ever to fight the good fight. But I have to keep reminding myself (as in kicking myself in the butt) to focus on our real opponents and issues– keep the focus, keep the momentum. Don’t be distracted by false arguments used (e.g. by trolls and MRAs) to “Divide and Conquer” and above all, set aside those inevitable small differences between friends on our own side.
ER, great idea inviting the senators to the VAW forum. I think I will mention the forum in the letters to the editors.
[...] here and Amy will tell you what you can do about this savage, sub-human felon who is still serving as a [...]
Another idea, in addition to inviting all of the NY State Senators to the VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN FORUM:
I don’t know how the recall process works, but how about starting the initial petition process at the VIolence Against Women Forum? There will certainly be lots of people attending who would sign a recall petition to get Monserrate out of office!
[...] here and Amy will tell you what you can do about this savage, sub-human felon who is still serving as a [...]
[...] of national attention for his “leadership” role in the slashing of women. Amy pushed really hard to get his sleazy name and face recognized everywhere, and she made sure New York’s senators [...]
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