An open letter on Domestic Violence & Immigration:
Please. Do not let Hillary win.
Dear Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence,
My name is Holly T. Ashley. I have been a domestic violence advocate for over 30 years. I have served not only as a court advocate, counselor, and facilities supervisor, but I am also responsible for walking into the Arizona State Governor’s office at a mere 20 years old with a type-writer composed outline of what I saw as a purpose and a plan to bring to light the often dismissed, swept under the rug, or left behind closed doors, issues concerning domestic violence.
And I succeeded.
In addition, I was part of an instrumental group, put together by the Governor at that time, in advocating for one of the first pieces of legislation brought to the Arizona floor and later put into law, making arrest mandatory for DV offenders.
Unfortunately, that would turn out to be my biggest regret.
I told you that, so I can can tell you this…
Many things have changed throughout the course of my 30-year service. Many changes in policy and attitudes towards this epidemic – influenced by the behaviors of our leaders in office – including that of your opponent. Her response (or lack thereof) to the reprehensible behavior of her spouse led me to leave the cause many years ago, out of frustration and anger.
Please do not let Hillary win.
Mr. Trump, I realize that most of America might see your comments towards women as offensive, but I think I recognize your admiration for women. I find it interesting that in the American woman’s plight to be “equal” they are the first to scream, “Offended!” When they are regarded as equals.
I believe, after observing your daughters, and your wife, (even your former wives, for that matter), that you indeed revere women as the intensely strong, smart, beautiful, God given gifts to our world, which they are. Who can work hard, remain feminine, advance in society, politics and the workforce, and do it all while maintaining their home and their families.
During the course of these past years, upon reentry into this field, and in the wake of the liberal tactics of some of the longstanding bureaucrats, in addition to the increase in violence not only that of abuse of women- but violence towards men – by women, I find myself fighting a whole different fight than the one of long ago…
Hillary Clinton has never, will ever, fight this fight.
For Hillary to address domestic violence, she would have to start within her own family, just as for her to address crime, she would have to begin with herself, to address the treatment of our veterans, she would have to begin with begging the widows of Benghazi for forgiveness.
She will not.
Domestic violence is no longer abuse against women, but it has become a national trend of viciousness as a solution for those who feel entitled. We have policies and laws on the books that are being twisted, distorted, perverted, and frankly, abused. As a result, we are seeing an overall increase in violence, but not just men – in women as well– that no one seemingly, wants to address.
Mr. Trump. Mr. Pence. I am a hard-core Christian woman. Molested and abused by my family, gang-raped at age 6 by the neighbor-boy and his friends, date-raped again at 19; By the time I was 30, I had been married and divorced 3 times, was raising 2 kids on my own and making a living as a stripper…
I wasted years blaming my past, my family, and my upbringing for the choices made in my latter days, but the bottom line is that, although as a child I was indeed sinned against, it in no way gave me the right to sin against others – including myself.
Nor did it give me the right to make the crude, insensitive, disrespectful choices as an adult. Neither does it give one, like Jodi Arias, and many other violent women, the consent to justify their carnage as a result of being bitter, hateful, and/or malicious due to past hurts.
Past hurt does not justify any type of abuse or violence towards others. It also does not give one permission to be a victim for the rest of their life either – especially at the expense of others.
Hillary will continue to excuse violent behavior.
In order to resolve this epidemic, we have to first acknowledge that bad behavior is never acceptable, that there are positive and powerful attributes to be discovered when women (and men) realize their own personal responsibilities, self-worth, and that they do indeed have a substantial place in society.
These are the things that our ministry focuses on. We offer services to both offenders and victims. And we have come to realize that not every offender offends. Just as not every victim is a victim. With that being said, we also make sure that those who are indeed criminals, go to jail.
But – funding for Christian ministries like mine are limited. As a matter of fact, they are so limited, that we, as with many other Christian organizations, operate without any type of grants or government assistance that is supposedly, non-discriminatory as well as reserved for domestic violence programs.
Hillary will sustain this trend.
As not only a grass-roots developer of some of the programs that went into the nation’s most formidable organizations, but also as a former violent-crime case analyst and profiler, Christian speaker, and published author, counselor, supervisor – for men, women and youth – which all started with my own personal rise from the ashes… I know a little something about domestic violence.
However, as an outspoken advocate for reversing some of the processes and policies put into place over these past years – that have increased the victim mentality, blamed inanimate objects – such as guns, inadvertently increased the dangers to our police officers, caused mass-mayhem in our judicial system, and ludicrous pressure in our legislature by these modern-day women’s rights bullies – coupled with the increased intimidation to the Christian church by way of litigation against what they deem as “hate speech,” I am standing firm in my faith and my mission for change.
Hillary will have me jailed.
I realize I am climbing an uphill battle and am constantly excluded from participation at mainstream DV conferences, conventions, workshops, and seminars because I speak out about abuses of the law, personal responsibility, and most importantly, Biblical principles that need to be realized in order to turn the tide.
No problem. I wrote a Christ-centered curriculum and started my own training and conference workshops – But, it will be even more difficult to implement, finance, let alone promote, if Hillary wins.
Do not let Hillary win.
Hillary Clinton is a devastation to what women are called to be. She is a proverbial black eye on the face of the domestic violence cause – and with regard to victims, her position is either to permit victims to continue to live life as victims, by allow them to claim ongoing entitlements, in addition to advocating for their lack of constructive lives as benefits – rather than fostering personal responsibility and growth that lead to changed lives, such as rising above circumstances to become a beacon of hope for others.
Yet, on the other side of her mouth – She advocates for women to become “stronger” and through her own example, advocates manipulative, vulgar and abusive tactics in the name of the progressive women’s movement – and she will continue to denigrate women by not holding men accountable for their blatant disrespect and disregard towards women – as demonstrated in her own personal life history.
Please, do not let Hillary win.
I realize that domestic violence is not a political “hot topic” but immigration is – Therefore, you might want to note that if an illegal immigrant is a victim of intimate partner violence, she will get moved to the FRONT of the immigration line, by passing everyone on the path towards naturalization.
Mr. Trump, Mr. Pence, that is also not right.
And yes, I understand the ramifications for some of these women- I personally was held at gun point by a Middle Eastern man seeking “justice” for his family while pursuing his daughter, shelter by shelter, who had left her abusive spouse. Another woman committed suicide because she had lost her family’s respect, due to their cultural beliefs and was too afraid to return to Mexico, let alone, live.
But again, we cannot create policies (especially that are unbeknownst to the American public) that are counter-productive to not only our Nation’s security- but also impede, let alone, trample on, the massive efforts by those who have been pursuing legal naturalization status and jumping through all of the proverbial immigration hoops, as they are required to do.
There is a better way, I promise.
PLEASE. Do not let Hillary win.
Sincerest blessings,
Redemption. Restoration. Recovery. 