(Republicaninformer.com)- Although we disagree with Keith Olbermann, we respect him. He bagged some excellent-looking chicks back in the day. Good for him. But that’s not why he’s the Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year. Not even close.
We selected to honor Olbermann for speaking his truth after years of suffering in silence and for bringing attention to a very real but largely ignored group of people: battered men.
We frequently judge them quickly. They are stigmatized, and we mock them. That ought to change, and perhaps it will now that a prominent celebrity like Olbermann has revealed himself to be a male survivor of domestic violence.
After witnessing his attractive ex-lover, MSNBC anchor Katy Tur, pressure her husband into getting a vasectomy and use it as a feminist publicity stunt, Olbermann was understandably disgusted. He had to express himself. Olbermann acknowledged on his Countdown podcast that bringing it up was obviously painful for him. He hasn’t spoken of it for 15 years, but “he’s had enough.”
Tur beat Olbermann.
Olbermann testified on the radio that “Tur” had begun punching and slapping him six days after his emergency appendectomy in 2007 because the living room wasn’t clean enough. Olbermann had remained silent. He continued by describing how Tur, his live-in girlfriend from 2006 to 2009, took advantage of his success in the workplace to further her career.
Olbermann described how Tur still used coercion to control him. After moving out, she continued to pay her rent for a year to stay in New York. He secured shows for her. For MSNBC, he revised “almost every single one” of her scripts. He provided scholarly analysis for her book about Donald Trump.
Few would contest that Keith’s bravery at that particular time was comparable to the American boys who stormed the beaches on D-Day. Predators like Tur won’t stop until society begins treating battered men with the respect they deserve. We salute your incredible bravery and willingness to face your abuser’s demons and confront them.
May his story serve as an example to all men who silently toil under the oppression of women and long to be free. Keith Olbermann, thank you for being named the Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.
