Masculinity, Violence, and Bandaid Solutions

[redqueen]

We’re all familiar with the pattern now: a solitary young white man goes on a shooting rampage. People die. The media describes him as “crazy,” “disturbed,” “troubled,” “insane.” Everyone collectively bemoans the failings of our mental healthcare system, presuming that its failure is relevant here. People with mental illnesses cringe at the reminder of what our society thinks of them. A few people advocate stricter restrictions on guns. The victims are buried and memorialized, the killer’s parents shunned or comforted, and the killer gradually forgotten.

And it happens over. And over. And over. Again.

Whatever depth there is in this analysis is limited to the parts of the internet where I live. You won’t see the anchors and talk show hosts on CNN or MSNBC or, obviously, Fox News, wondering what it is about white men that produces so relatively many mass shooters–relative to other gender/racial groups and relative to other countries. They will talk about one of two things, mostly depending on their party affiliation: gun control or mental healthcare.

And it’s so difficult to ask them to talk about something else because we should be talking about gun control and mental healthcare. More and better gun control and more and better mental healthcare would vastly improve quality of life in the United States, and maybe in the right combination, could even prevent many of these shootings.

But wouldn’t it be better to fight the ideas and beliefs that lead to violence?

...

http://freethoughtblogs.com/brutereason/2014/05/24/masculinity-violence-and-bandaid-solutions/

[YoungDemCA]

1. From the article: What we will not hear from the mainstream media

You will not hear that, while 2 percent of violent acts can be attributed to people with mental illnesses, people with mental illnesses are four times more likely to be the victims of violent crime than people without mental illnesses. You will not hear about the ways in which people with mental illnesses are discriminated against for many reasons, one of which is that they’re believed to be inherently violent, partially because of how the media focuses on mental illness in the wake of every single mass shooting. You will not hear that Black people who commit violent acts are never presumed to be mentally ill; they’re just presumed to be Black. You will not hear about how it’s only “terrorism” if a brown person does it; the fact that it’s politically motivated and intended to terrorize a particular group of people is not, apparently, enough. You will hear a lot about “not all men,” but you will not hear that misandry irritates and misogyny kills.

You will not hear that boys and men are taught to believe that they are entitled to women’s bodies in uncountable ways, every day, in every setting, by their parents and by the media and by everyone else. You will not hear again about the boy who stabbed a girl to death for refusing to go to prom with him, or about this entire list of women being hurt or killed for ignoring or rebuffing men’s sexual interests, or the constant daily acts of violence to which women are subjected for exercising their right to autonomy.

And before you call Rodger “crazy”: it is not actually “crazy” to believe stuff that’s been shoved down your throat from birth.

[redqueen]

3. That last part - that's the part nobody wants to address.

It kills me that so many women are dying, and nobody even notices unless - like this time - it's a bunch at once.

3 women per day on average. Just here in the US... and people just go on like it's normal. Well, I guess it is normal.

But WTF... no attention to it at all. Just a fact of life. And people will blame the woman for being with the wrong guy.

Almost no effort at all to change it. Most people just accept it. All these dead women...

[kcr]

4. It's a shame it can't even be discussed here on DU

Just witness any thread about objectification. See what happens when anyone tries to discuss how this is taught because, Consenting Adults! Shut up, prudes! Everyone's getting paid good money, what's the problem? It's not all men, not even only men, but it doesn't matter. When you can't even discuss issues on a place like DU, that's sad.

[betsuni]

8. Also, "You're just jealous!"

[DonCoquixote]

2. too real

"People with mental illnesses cringe at the reminder of what our society thinks of them"

Especially people who only hear Asberger's disease in the news reports.

[Tansy_Gold]

5. Another issue that's rarely discussed is the role of "evil"

I think I've even seen it here on DU more than once: "Some people are just evil."

And at that point I usually take a deep breath and walk away, because there is no way to debate that point. And it is rarely debated at all.

I could be completely wrong, and I won't take up a whole lot of time on this, but it seems to me that the real danger lies in trying to assign just one cause rather than looking at how all of these factors come together.

"Evil" is the convenient explanation, because it means there's nothing anyone can do about it. We just have to accept it, "it's god's will," what have you. It also means "we" don't have to take any responsibility or any blame. Case closed. Not our fault. He was just evil.

If we reject that explanation -- and I personally do reject it -- then the three other causes (mental illness, availability of/access to guns, culture of masculinity/violence issues) have to be looked at from the same perspective:

1. Can we do anything about it.
2. Do we just have to accept it.
3. Are "we" in any way responsible.

AND analyzed as to how they all work together to produce this horrible scenario.

We have many mentally ill people who do not commit heinous crimes, so mental illness alone is not the cause.

We also have a lot of people who have guns who do not commit heinous crimes, so guns alone are not the cause.

And we have many men (and women) who have been raised in a culture (and perhaps "cult" is almost the better word) of white male privilege AND misogyny who still do not go on to commit heinous crimes.

Unfortunately, fixing ALL of the above is a monumental task, some might even say impossible. There's no clear movement to rein in the gun culture, not even here on DU. Violence in popular culture is still defended. Funding for mental health care -- which is often a life-long treatment rather than a 14-day Rx of antibiotics -- is damned hard to find. And even here on DU the defense (denial) of male privilege remains strong.

It's easy to blame one of the three causes and ignore the others, but I think the debate has to be framed around all three. And that's going to make it more than three times more difficult.

[nomorenomore08]

6. No easy solutions, unfortunately, it would seem. But we need to keep talking about it and not

let others shut us up just because they're uncomfortable with the discussion.

Glad to be the 5th rec.

[greatlaurel]

7. This is a very well written analysis.

Thank you for posting it and the link.

[DeSwiss]

9. Gun control- yes.

- The mental healthcare system with their pills and potions, ehhhh.... not so much.

I worked in that system many years ago, and I know what they do to people. I'm not saying that there isn't such a thing as mental illness, but I am saying we can't cure it they way we're trying to with the mental health system in its current form. The same applies to the overall healthcare system. What little good they may be, is far over-shadowed by the terror they imposed and permanent damage they do. IMO.

On Being Sane in Insane Places....