I tried. I tried to make it simple. I said, “Given: It is wrong for a man to punch a woman. Period. It’s obvious.” I then went on to say, “If you can understand this fact, then you can understand that I believe that when an ex-wife steals the kids and half the retirement from her retired military ex-husband, it is wrong. Period.”

I didn’t say this to be introducing some new concept. I didn’t say this to emote. I said it to move the conversation forward. My punch-to-stealing kids/money equivocation, so I had intended, was preliminary. I wanted to define terms. It didn’t work.

My only, but lovely, two commentators each offered, if tactfully and empathetically, that they believe there are two sides. There are always two sides.

Well, the place that I was going to go probably just involved me renewing bitter claims that us divorced fellas–robbed daily and without our children–are victims, metaphorical punching bags. But if I step outside myself and view the situation, I would never promote that someone should claim to be a victim, so I will not do so here.

We’re not victims. We’re not. No, we’re not victims; we are the optimists.

We are optimists stuck in the muck of this shitty, shitty world that spends its limitless energy on one goal: “Destroy hope”.

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H-: You don’t have to read these, and I’d ask you not to if reading them means you won’t talk to me. Proceed at your own risk. In the end, please don’t hurt people.