Abusers Selective

The article about the boy being routinely beaten for many years by his older brother (“Recounting Abuse at Hands of a Sibling,” May 23) points out once again that abusers, whether men abusing their wives, anyone abusing children, etc., can easily control what they do. They never do it in front of others, which is why it’s so hard to prove. If they couldn’t help themselves, it would be seen by others.

It’s the same excuse men use for rape. Of course they can control drives, otherwise women wouldn’t be able to be in the same room with men, much less walk down the street. The carrying-out of such acts is all very selective.

Very much like regimes who torture people, it’s always done in private, because they know it’s wrong and they don’t want anyone else to see what they are doing.

MARY HART

Los Angeles