No one deserves to be abused

I don't often find myself addressing a presidential candidate during an election. But I thought I'd take a moment, Donald, to use two of the comments you have made to highlight a myth that exists in society regarding abuse - the myth that abuse is mutual and deserved.

And since October is National Bullying Prevention Month and National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and this year is the 20th anniversary of National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE, it seemed like a perfect time to speak up.

According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, "abuse is about an imbalance of power and control." It is a situation, described in the Hotline blog post The Myth of Mutual Abuse where individuals "rarely take responsibility for their actions and that blame shifting is a common tactic."

This tactic is used to manipulate a target of abuse into believing their actions are the reason for the abuse. This simply isn't the truth.

That's exactly what happened on Sept. 26, at the very first debate, when you defended your past use of denigrating and demeaning comments about Rosie O'Donnell, and said that, "She deserves it."

No, Donald. She doesn't "deserve it."

No one deserves to be on the receiving end of words that are abusive: "insulting, demeaning or shaming ... with put-downs" - including the scornful words, "nasty woman," that you used on Oct. 19 during the final debate with Hillary.

And so, it's an absolute myth, Donald, that abuse is mutual and deserved.

The indisputable truth is that every human being on earth deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. No one deserves to be abused. Not verbally. Not physically. Not in any way. Not ever.

Cathy Risberg

Palatine