MLC or not - know your rights, protect yourself

[FloydMan]

Well, I am a man and have been bullied and abused (on all fronts) for a long long time and took me a long time to admit that openly for fear of the stigma. Either way, I stood up for myself legally and personally and slowly am being liberated. You see most commonly men fear admitting they are bullied, abused and controlled so they give up easily...ie custody, financials etc. Sadly, it is most common that the man takes their own life when there is these breakdowns because of shame, being bullied and being made to feel inadequate and a failure. I learned all of this, and more from 2 IC's (both female, very experienced psychologists) and was coached not to fear the stigma and sterotypes but rather that females and males can both be bullies as much as the other. They also explained that the days of the 'non-involved' father are long gone but men still wither in litigation, however the courts are slowly evolving and recognizing that women and men equally share the responsibilty of raising the children, have equal rights to financials and lifestyle and men and women can equally be wronged. I stood up for myself and exW looked foolish in first round of court and I got the custody the way it should be...equitably. Just being bullied about the $ now, so that battle is ongoing. GM should be and is applauded for her standing up to the bully and for her rights as a 'Person', not because of gender. Each case has its own merits, situations and nuances.
Mediation is best, but when there is a bully that litigates to put fear in the other party ( I agree, they smell fear ) there is no choice unfortunately than to stand up for yourself and protect one's dignity. The negative 'sense of entitlement' runs on both sides. Her L has had a tough time with my exW in trying to get her to think rationally and close this up because her mindset is still sense of entitlement and has stalled the process.
So, GM you keep pushing for what your rights are and fight the bully and be proud of who you are. He is a jerk, but so is my exW. You're awesome.