Editor,
The only thing more tone deaf than Tim Campbell’s oddly cavalier cartoon referring to murder by domestic abuse as “permanently sheltering in place” was the fact that it shared a spread with Butch Vannatta’s letter to the editor calling a previous cartoon “in poor taste” for criticizing police. Vannatta concedes that “there are police who are ‘bad’, but that percentage I am sure is less than any other profession.”
Here’s a police percentage that’s higher than any other profession: Families of law enforcement are two to four times more likely to experience domestic violence, as opposed to 10 percent of the general population. This has been reported on by the BBC, The Hill and the Atlantic, among other sources.
Campbell should know it’s standard practice to include resources when addressing domestic violence: The National Domestic Violence Hotline is open 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233, Indy’s Julian Center can be reached 24/7 at 317-920-9320 and anyone can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
And everyone should research what to do when they witness or suspect domestic violence. Even before the quarantine, Marion County’s domestic violence rates were eight times the national average, according to WRTV Indy. We are all responsible for protecting each other. As one common protest chant goes: Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe.
Reid Libby, Carmel
