Income, class level no barriers to abusers

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Most people don't believe that family violence is a problem in trendy upper middle class suburbs. Most believe family violence is a by-product of poverty and/or certain races. Most people are quite ignorant about family violence.

Family violence isn't really about family at all. It is often about white middle-class professional men abusing their wives and terrorizing their children.

He never hit me, never laid a hand on me, never even tried; never had to, not until the end. Like many traditional white middle class males, he was proud of bringing home the bacon. He was proud of his 3,600-square-foot home with a clear title. He was proud of his swimming pool, his hot-tub, his steam room and his gourmet kitchen.

I personally found a 3,600 sq. ft. a bit much to vacuum. But I would become immensely grateful for the 10-foot-kitchen island topped with Corion. The kitchen island is how I got away from him when he tried to rape me one time at the end.

During our marriage, he controlled me, emotionally and financially. His reason was he was a lawyer and knew more about money. I bought the bullshit! He won all arguments because he used his secret weapon - bullying the kids.

When I finally stopped feeling responsible for his actions, I could see how mean he was to the kids. I remember clearly my own rage and how it built. It roared from deep within me. My rage turned my voice into a stranger. The stranger told him she didn't care about the charge accounts, just pay the bills. The stranger ignored all his requests. She did what she wanted. Of course, the tension built.

At the end, the night he tried to rape me, the stranger took after him with an iron...a hot iron for cotton shirts...and she ran around and around the kitchen island. The next day I made my plans to leave and now I'm getting to know and love the stranger.