Mike Stark was assaulted at the Omni in Charlottesville for asking the question. But I kind of thought that it was just an extension of the stories that George Allen spit in the direction of women and speculation on his arrest record. Then, I saw a post by Waldo Jaquith http://waldo.jaquith...
Charlottesville Democrat Harry Tenney relates a story of Sen. Allen punching his wife in the early 80s, apparently jealous over money she was earning as a model. Harry is a well-respected man GÇö donGÇÖt doubt for a minute that he believes this is true.
I'm not saying that my story is Allen's first wife's story, but it seems all too familiar to me.
I can't say I didn't know my first husband wouldn't be abusive. I was just a dumb kid and made a lousy choice. Things didn't start getting really bad until I began taking college courses. I was 28 years old and the mother of three. I wanted a brighter future for us. But that was threatening to my husband. I can't tell you how many times the car keys were hidden so I couldn't go to class, my assignments were torn up, or I'd be threatened late at night so I would cry for hours and be too embarassed to show up for class with swollen eyes. He always checked the odometer on the car to make sure I hadn't taken any detours. He controlled everything and he was angry that I was doing something for myself. I was threatening his world. In his eyes, it was my own fault because I wasn't following the rules.
After a while, he found religion as a way of making himself feel better about what he was doing, but it didn't stop his behavior. It just gave him a more favorable standing in the community. He was such a nice guy to everyone. Nobody would have believed what was going on in our house.
The last straw was when he followed me around the house in a rage, spitting on me and begging me to slap him because he had the idea that if I hit him first, he could beat the hell out of me and claim self-defense. A 200+ pound man defending himself against a 125 pound woman.
Like I said, I don't know that this is what happened to George Allen's first wife, but to me, it all adds up. Sidarth's video of George Allen showed an angry man lashing out. Jennifer Allen's book described a sadistic bully. The spitting episodes suggest contempt for women.
The spitting is the small part. That kind of behavior is about dominance, terror and total control. If that's what happened to Allen's first wife, I'm glad she had the courage and strength to break free. I'm glad I did, too.
Nobody should live like that.
I'm not making any allegations. I have no first hand knowledge of any instances of abuse. I've never met George Allen. But I'm sad to say I know his personality very well.