It's too bad that we can't get to a good discussion of the issue of
_spousal_ abuse. To just make men out to be the bogeymen here is too
simplistic. Abuse just does not happen in a vacuum. Most often,
it is a bad situation constructed by both participants.
Besides, to merely look at this as a male problem does little to empower
women; rather, it continues to put them in the role of "victim." By
its defintion, "victim" implies powerlessness.
The suggestion that the discussion get dropped may be a good one if
the hyperbole, hysteria and ad hominem attacks fail to cease.