Thanks to Ben Atherton Zeman for passing this along:
Court art removed after complaint
Photo collages on the walls of the Thurston County Family and Juvenile Court
building were taken down Monday after an Olympia resident complained they
discriminated against men.“When you go into that court, you’re in a very vulnerable state,” Jamie Powell
said after he raised the issue Monday at the Thurston County commissioners’
public meeting. “When you go in there and see that kind of thing, how does that make you feel about your chances of being treated fairly?”The five wood-framed collages included photos and writings about domestic
violence and wife abuse, along with a national domestic violence help-line
number at the bottom of each one. They had been on display for four years.Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Wickham said Monday he received the collages from a state official at a domestic violence summit four years ago. Wickham said he put the artwork aside because he did not feel comfortable displaying the pieces.
“I would not have put them up myself for exactly those reasons,” Wickham said, referring to concerns such as Powell’s. “We try very hard not to present the appearance of favoring one side or the other.”
Memo to the judge–are you suggesting there is a pro and con to domestic violence???

