Owner of "Battered Wife" fish & chip shop stands by name
40 replies, posted
THE owner of a Far North Queensland fish and chip shop has hit back at suggestions her business name “The Battered Wife” is promoting domestic violence.
Former police officer Carolyn Kerr opened the shop in Innisfail more than a year ago, but after condemnation from a number of Queensland politicians, Ms Kerr has been forced to defend herself.
The controversial shopfront, which has the words “The only battering anyone need know” written in the corner, divided Australia after a number of domestic violence groups said the name was making light of men hitting women.
Speaking on Today, Ms Kerr said the suggestion her shop name was promoting domestic violence was “ludicrous”.
“There is a lot of beautiful, intelligent women out there in really bad situations and to assume that I was making light of the subject, that I was promoting it … No-one is going to walk past my shop and say, ‘The Battered Wife. Hey, how about we take some advice on this?’,” said Ms Kerr, who is a survivor of domestic violence herself.
“It is just ludicrous. The way it has been misconstrued is quite offensive.
“It is disappointing that the mentality of the people who have thrown this at me is that they condemn the violence. They condemn domestic violence but they are using that same intimidation and abusive tactics … They are no better than anyone else.”
She explained on Today how she came up with the name.
“Originally it was suggested to me as a little bit of a joke. But it seemed, yeah, like an interesting option with a bit of spark, you know,” she said.
“Something that could provoke questions, could provoke curiosity. But also the play on words for the shop itself. Being a fish and chip shop itself.”
https://www.couriermail.com.au/business/small-business/the-battered-wife-fish-and-chip-shop-owner-stands-by-name/news-story/963befadb73c8ec6b05e0a760d1530e8
laugh at the darkness
don't let it own u
Yeah, I'm not surprised the owner is a former police officer. Emergency service humor is dark as fuck.
I've known two paramedics and both have a very dark sense of humour.
I was clicking on this expecting the owner to be a shitbird, but a domestic abuse survivor turning their past suffering into a bit of humour is fine. All the criticism is pretty off-base this time.
I understand that's her coping mechanism, but some people are triggered by jokes about domestic violence which I also completely understand. I person don't ever make jokes about domestic violence, it's too big an issue for too many people.
People are triggered by a lot of fucking things, doesn't mean everyone has to change now does it.
I dig it. Not everyone's going to like it but this doesn't promote domestic violence in any way.
i'd say this raises awareness about domestic violence more tbh
I'm not saying it has to change, I'm just saying I understand why it's controversial.
Props to the owner for sticking to their guns. If I saw that name on the street I'd laugh my ass off.
This, quite frankly I'm sick of having to watch what words and language you use incase you trip on overly sensitive peoples toes, this isn't the society we aimed for and it needs to stop moving in that direction.
If you aren't intentionally causing harm then you have every right to call whatever you want, whatever you want.
I'd even be fine if this woman wasn't a subject of domestic violence, even if it was for a dark comedy motive, they have that right, if people don't like that, don't shop there.
Certainly can't see how it 'promotes' it, as the article claims. Poor taste, arguably. Promotes it? I don't think anyone sees the sign and goes "Oh boy, better go beat my wife now the fish'n'chips stall told me to!". A slight argument could be made for normalisation or making light of it, but that seems like a very weak reason to kick up controversy.
I'm not surprised that the owner is a former police officer, considering that 40% of cops beat their wives
As the National Center for Women and Policing noted in a heavily footnoted information sheet, "Two studies have found that at least 40 percent
of police officer families experience domestic violence, in contrast to
10 percent of families in the general population. A third study of
older and more experienced officers found a rate of 24 percent,
indicating that domestic violence is two to four times more common among
police families than American families in general."
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/09/police-officers-who-hit-their-wives-or-girlfriends/380329/
I don't think it's fair to call victims of abuse overly sensitive when it comes to matters of abuse. Obviously they need coping strategies to interact with the world and get through life, but I also think they need to be sensitive to other victims of abuse.
Sure, but an effective coping strategy is not to have the world around you reorder itself at your feet carefully. That stuff is noticeable. Coping strategies should come from within and friendly sources, as has been done for millennia. I get your point, and reading a sign like this might incite bad memories, but to expect the world to change for you is asking too much.
Freedom of Speech has to come first, if we find that speech in bad taste, we can express that, but as in this case saying they are promoting something they most obviously are not is system rigging to pander to feelings. It's obvious to everyone it would never be promoting domestic violence unless the sign had a picture of a good old fashioned husband to wife smack.
part of the triggered thing is overblown by people who want to use it as an excuse to just be outspoken racists or whatnot. there isn't a clear litmus test for these things but we do need to be respectful of other people at the same time.
I wonder if they offer extra salt...
with things like this i always wonder, who's actually getting upset by this? it seems like everyone that complains about these things is always doing it on the behalf of others.
the complaints you see are always "hey now this is offensive to some people." i hardly ever see people come out and say they were genuinely triggered or upset by things like this, it's always people getting theoretically offended for someone else.
facepunch promotes domestic violence. Ban facepunch.
That's america
The owners a woman, who literally was a victim of domestic abuse.
I agree with what you're saying, and I agree that it's not promoting domestic violence and it's silly to say that. I'm just also saying that we need to be empathetic to others, and not pass off their reactions to reminders of trauma as a fault of their own. Obviously they need help to recover, but we shouldn't ridicule that by telling them they're over sensitive or need to toughen up over something we might otherwise view as silly or too politically correct.
Just to be clear, I'm not saying the name should change, just that we need to view this in the context of others.
Did you even read the article past seeing it involved a police officer?
LMAO, American millenials are so fucking cuddled.
i agree, we should also ban these things:
http://www.paperpixelstudio.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/pps43.jpg
they're not being sensitive enough to people with alcoholism
i personally don't ever make jokes about alcohol, it's too big an issue for too many people
I'd totally eat there. A restaurant with a sense of humor will always get my money.
... Queensland is in Australia, though?
God you dont even try to be a dolt, you're just naturally gifted at it huh?
I'm betting most of the people raising a stink about this, aren't actually survivors. They're busybodies.
Most of the people who raise a stink on social media, aren't directly affected by the policies they're mad at.
Did
Your mum beat you as a child or something? Was she also a cop?
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