Wisconsin’s Our Lives office vandalized
by Fred Kuhr
Patrick Farabaugh, the publisher of Our Lives Magazine, reported that on May 18 the door of its offices in Madison, Wisc., was smashed in with a rock, an act he said was done “out of intimidation and hate.”
“Someone took the time to find our office and throw a rock squarely through the logo on our door,” Farabaugh wrote in a message to readers, noting that he has never published the address to the magazine’s office in the magazine or on its website. Both have always listed the magazine’s downtown post office box.
“This has been very intentional because we are too small a business — a full-time staff of two — to be able to fully feel safe doing work inside a community that’s often targeted with weaponized rhetoric by one the major political parties in this country,” said Farabaugh. He noted, however, that the street address did appear briefly on its Facebook page because the social network required an address for some features.
As a result of the attack, Farabaugh has started conversations with his building’s maintenance staff about installing security cameras and reviewing other security measures.
This is not the first time Our Lives has been the target of vandalism. Usually, however, incidents are limited to damage to downtown sidewalk distribution boxes. He called this latest incident “an escalation.”
“It would take premeditated action to commit this kind of vandalism. Someone had to leave where they were and travel with the intent of causing harm to the magazine,” said Farabaugh. “This … is the first time that targeting involved a form of real violence where we physically work. That had me pretty shaken up.”
Farabaugh went on to thank readers for their continued support for Our Lives.
“Our free publication is 100 percent advertising-funded. One of the best ways you can help us remain sustainable and strong is to be intentional in your support of the advertisers that choose to be publicly visible in our pages,” according to Farabaugh. “… Our strength is in how strong of a network you help us build, together.”
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Volume 20
Issue 3
