Glue revenge caper is one sticky wicket

Jim Stingl | In My Opinion | JSOnline

There's no way that what happens in Stockbridge stays in Stockbridge, especially when it's this krazy.

Four women's revenge against a three-timing man in the Wisconsin village is international news.

History will record that the biggest thing to ever happen in this community of 649 people is that a man had his penis Krazy Glued to his stomach by the women, including his wife, who ambushed him at a local motel July 30.

He's going to be OK, though for a while he may have to pee while standing on his head.

This story is making men grimace and women cheer. A New York Daily News online poll found 57% of readers voting for "Good for them; that husband got what he deserved," while just 23% thought the lesson he was taught was worse than the cheating.

I'm left wondering if women in Calumet County routinely carry Krazy Glue in their purses in case love turns sour, or if this was premeditated. Maybe they were sniffing the stuff first.

The four women face criminal charges. I found it surprising that holding this dude against his will is a felony, but connecting his junk to his stomach is a misdemeanor.

From the complaint filed in court we hear that Therese Ziemann, 48, met Donessa T. Davis Sr., on Craigslist and fell in love. But she learned he had a wife, Tracy Hood-Davis, 30, and at least one other girlfriend, Wendy Sewell, 43.

This is what's known as a love quadrangle. See, geometry class does apply to real life.

According to the complaint, Ziemann lured Davis to the Lakeview Motel with the promise of a massage. She tied up his arms and legs on the bed and blindfolded him. The trap was set. "He's tied up," she texted to Hood-Davis, Sewell and Ziemann's sister Michelle Belliveau, 43, who joined them.

The women were now his judge, jury and adhesioner. They scolded Davis for deceiving them, and they slapped him around. Then Ziemann decided it was time to stick 'im up with the glue. Summer lovin' happened so fast.

The women fled, leaving Davis to chew his way to freedom. His status as victim didn't last long; Davis was charged Thursday with child abuse and also with theft and harassment. The latter charges came after he allegedly threatened his wife after breaking into her Fond du Lac house last week. The couple have been living apart lately, the complaint says.

It might seem that Ziemann was expressing righteous anger by declaring an epoxy on her married lover's house. But The Associated Press wrote that when a reporter called Ziemann's residence for a comment, her husband answered the phone.

Sewell said she was ashamed and embarrassed about what happened. She went on national television to express this shame.

Someday, after the skin grows back, Davis might chuckle about all this, but it would have been very painful to have a belly laugh right after it happened. Still, though, it could be worse. Lorena Bobbitt would say, "You call that a punishment?"

By the way, there's no truth to the rumor that President Obama has invited the whole bunch to the White House for beer and conversation.

When I thought of Krazy Glue, I always pictured the construction worker in the TV commercial, hanging from his hard hat glued to a girder.

Unfortunately, a new image now pops to mind.

Pimp problem not new to Milwaukee

Eugene Kane | In My Opinion |Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online

As shocking as it may seem to some, Milwaukee is no stranger to what is known as pimping.

Due to its close proximity to Chicago - the city known as the undisputed pimping capital of the Midwest - Milwaukee has earned a reputation in some circles as a place where a number of nationally known pimps first got their starts.

(No, I don't think that's something the local tourist board should start promoting.)

The latest is Derrick Avery, a 42-year-old Milwaukee native, who was arrested in Las Vegas last week and charged with running a prostitution ring for more than a decade that often used young females as young as 14 years old. Avery was known by the street name of "Pimp Snooky" and apparently built a network of sex-for-sale entrepreneurs who traveled across the country, including Milwaukee, Chicago and Las Vegas.

Avery was featured on a 1999 HBO documentary called "Pimps Up, Ho's Down," which captured him doing his dirty business for the cameras. (Another alleged Milwaukee pimp, Ken Ivy, a.k.a. "Pimpin' Ken," was also featured in the film.)

In the documentary, Avery explained his philosophy of pimping, which basically came down to finding weak-minded young women and girls to exploit. Avery and other pimps described it as a form of mind control; according to some experts, it's no surprise many of the girls came from dysfunctional homes with no positive male role models.

That might be one reason so many of them end up calling their pimps "Daddy."

Avery's arrest was just the latest case involving a Milwaukeean busted on accusations of this kind of sex trafficking. In February, a federal grand jury indicted a Milwaukee father and son team charged with running a sex ring featuring young women. Several high-profile drug dealers were also involved in prostitution activities on the side.

This is a city where, legend has it, a Players' Ball featuring pimps from all over the region was held years ago at a respectable downtown hotel. According to the story, nobody realized what kind of affair had been booked until after all the flashy black guys in jewelry and fur coats started showing up with women in short, tight skirts on their arms.

I have known about several black-owned nightclubs over the years with reputations for being havens for local pimps. I have also interviewed youth counselors and social workers who believe what many of the young girls seduced into a life of prostitution have in common is a crippling lack of self-esteem easily manipulated by smooth-talking older men.

The glorification of pimps in hip-hop culture has also contributed to the problem. Back in 1969, a Chicago pimp named Iceberg Slim published a popular autobiographical novel called "Pimp: The Story of My Life," that defined the genre for a generation. Slim's real name was Robert Beck; he was born in Chicago but spent significant parts of his childhood in Milwaukee.

I remember reading "Pimp" as a teenager; back then, it was considered one of those "dirty books" you had to hide from parents.

I don't believe Milwaukee's in danger of becoming a pimp capital, but recent cases speak to the larger danger facing many young women and girls in the community. They need to be on guard against slick father figures out there who want to make you sell not just your body but your soul.

What kind of daddy would make you to do that?