When Denise Brown found out that her sister Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered on June 12, 1994, she was devastated and confused.
“I had lost my best friend,” Brown said. “My sister Nicole, who I had been extremely close to my whole life, was dead. I also was the first to say that she wasn’t a battered woman, but I didn’t know everything that she was keeping from me.”
However, Brown decided to take an active role in the prevention of domestic abuse after her sister’s death.
“I looked at her diary and I was shocked at what she’d been hiding,” Brown said. “There was a cycle of violence involved with her relationship that I didn’t know existed – we hadn’t been raised in an environment like that. Unfortunately, it took my sister’s life ending to wake me up to domestic abuse.”
Services Offering Safety (SOS), the local domestic abuse prevention and education group, hosted Brown and Emporia High School Thespians’ production of “dont u luv me?” at the Granada theatre Monday night.
“I thought it was a great presentation and it’s great that (Brown) is spreading the word about domestic abuse,” said Jessica Fleming, freshman criminal justice and sociology major. “I have been in an abusive relationship and this sort of presentation needs to be done more often. I wish it’d been there for me.”
The presentation began with the Emporia High School Thespian’s performance of “dont u luv me?” which portrayed an abusive high school relationship. The play utilized modern text messaging, language and cyber stalking to demonstrate what an abusive high school relationship may look like.
“I thought the play was fantastic,” said Cody Pritchard, junior math secondary education major. “It’s modern and that kind of thing happens every day. The young people watching may not have known what abuse looked like.”
After the play, Brown began her presentation on the necessity of strong community bonds and communication to prevent domestic abuse. Her sister’s story was an example of poor communication about domestic abuse, Brown said.
“It takes a lot of courage for someone to be willing to talk to you about domestic abuse,” Brown said. “If you make the call on their behalf you may be saving their life, and I wish I got to talk to my sister about what was happening to her.”
Brown also praised SOS and its program for being more proactive about domestic abuse than many programs around the nation.
“You guys do some really impressive work in Kansas,” Brown said. “I am really impressed, and I hope that other counties or states will follow your lead.”
Brown also mentioned the transfer of Domestic Abuse Awareness Month from October to May.
Brown concluded her presentation by explaining her view on the necessity of involving every member of society in the process of ending domestic violence. Brown put a particular emphasis on young men and boys.
“I love the ‘Hands Are Not For Hurting’ program that many schools have instituted,” Brown said. “My nephew still remembers learning the program as a child, and he’s a man now.”
A key point of Brown’s lecture was the importance of getting men in positions of power to encourage better legislation for Domestic Abuse victims and abusers.
“I agree with her that that’s the key,” said Joel Wilburn, junior secondary education major. “Men still have a lot of authority in some positions, and they need to help out just as much as women do.”
Brown’s final statements encouraged involvement by all members of a community.
“Get involved before it’s too late,” Brown said. “Get involved before it happens to your family, or get involved before it happens to someone that you love. Let’s not let evil prevail. We must meet the challenge of doing what’s right every day.”
Josh Johnson/The Bulletin
Newscast: Government shutdown may occur if Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on new spending plan.(Broadcast transcript)
NBC Nightly News (Transcript) February 20, 2011 LESTER HOLT, anchor:
In Washington, a government shutdown, the first in 15 years, is a growing possibility tonight if Republicans and Democrats can’t reach common ground on the new spending plan. NBC’s Mike Viqueira is at the White House tonight with more on that. Mike:
MIKE VIQUEIRA, reporting:
Good evening, Lester. Some thought it could never happen again, but with a GOP-controlled House of Representatives facing off against a Democratic president at odds over spending, the government could be headed to a shutdown.
Republican or Democrat, both sides agree on one thing…
Senator DICK DURBIN (Democrat, Illinois): (From “Meet the Press”) The starting point is that we know we need to cut spending, we know we need to live within our means.
VIQUEIRA: But they can’t agree on where to cut or how much. Now, as the odds of a government shutdown grow, each side is already blaming the other. here government shutdown military pay
Senator LINDSEY GRAHAM (Republican, South Carolina): (From “Meet the Press”) The only way we’ll shut the government down is if our Democratic colleagues insist on keeping the federal government large and unsustainable.
VIQUEIRA: The new GOP speaker vows there will be no new money coming from Congress, even to fund the government in the short term, without big cuts.
Representative JOHN BOEHNER (Republican, Speaker of the House): Read my lips: We’re going to cut spending.
VIQUEIRA: Boehner led a wide-open House debate, ending in the wee hours Saturday, resulting in a $61 billion cut to this year’s budget, slashing everything from foreign aid to high-speed rail. But the Senate, led by Democrats, isn’t likely to go along.
Senator CLAIRE McCASKILL (Democrat, Missouri): (From Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday”) Are we going to take a weed whacker to education funds in this country while we let millionaires continue to deduct interest on their second home?
VIQUEIRA: But the clock is ticking. Funding for the government runs out on March 4th. And with the Senate in recess all next week, that leaves only five days to work out a compromise.
Senator CHARLES SCHUMER (Democrat, New York): (From CNN’s “State of the Union”) The way it’s always been done, the way to do this like adults is not to say, `It’s my way or no way’–that’s what Newt Gingrich did with lots of severe consequences–but rather sit down and negotiate. this web site government shutdown military pay
VIQUEIRA: Gingrich, then a brand-new speaker, took most of the blame in 1995 when a similar impasse led to a four-week shutdown of federal courts, museums and national landmarks. Now, with the economy still fragile, President Obama is warning this time could be worse.
President BARACK OBAMA: It would be destabilizing at a time when I think everybody is hopeful that we can start growing this economy quicker.
VIQUEIRA: But with debt and deficits at record levels, this time Republicans think the public is behind them.
Representative PAUL RYAN (Chairman, Budget Committee): (From CBS’ “Face the Nation”) Look, we’re not looking for a government shutdown, but at the same time, we’re also not looking at rubber-stamping these really high elevated spending levels that Congress blew through the joint two years ago.
VIQUEIRA: And, Lester, this could be battle in a yearlong fight over spending. The government is expected to exceed its statutory debt limit of $14.3 trillion. That’s in about two months. And Republicans say they won’t vote to raise it unless there are bigger cuts in spending. Lester:
HOLT: Mike Viqueira, thanks.
For more on this, I want to bring in John Harwood, chief Washington correspondent for CNBC.
John, Republicans say slashing the budget was the mandate that voters gave them in November, and we just heard they’re not going to agree to even a temporary deal without big cuts. So the question to you, is this posturing or are they really prepared to allow a government shutdown?
JOHN HARWOOD reporting:
Well, this group of Republican freshmen does not appear to be the kind that plays the usual game of striking a tough initial posture and then making a big compromise. But Republican leaders know that the likelihood is that they would be blamed if the government shuts down. We’ve seen in polling that the public believes President Obama is trying harder to work with Republicans than Republicans are trying to work with him. That gives him some leverage. The question is whether Republicans will be able to pull those freshmen back from the brink if it comes to that.
HOLT: And, of course, we’re talking about a narrow window, perhaps 12 days here, to get this done. So what are the options to break a stalemate?
HARWOOD: Well, they don’t have time for the Senate to pass their own stopgap funding bill and then make a compromise. You’re going to have to have some sort of an agreement. John Boehner has said he will not do it at current levels. The question is, how big of a cut from current levels will it take to move something through the House? My guess is that, at the end of the day, the House still is going to try to move something that cuts spending, not nearly as much, though, as Republicans have already passed.
HOLT: Very quickly, let me ask you a question on the budget drama in Wisconsin. The governor there wants to limit the bargaining power of public employees. Does this signal the weakening of public employee unions across the country?
HARWOOD: The decline of private sector unions has made public sector unions the most vibrant part of the labor movement and the most vibrant labor union contributor to the Democratic Party, but this is the–potentially a big blow. Budget deficits across the country have put them in a very difficult spot. But one thing we know, Lester, is that nothing in politics moves in a straight line. It will be a blow if they lose this fight in Wisconsin, but there are more chapters to go on this story.
HOLT: John Harwood, good to have you on tonight, thank you.
