A Rant...

Day after day, I read many headlines. "Retired Police chief- Murder suicide" or "couple found dead by son- murder suicide" or "Shot Wife then shot self Murder-suicide" or "prosecutor seeks adult charges against 13yr old boy in child rape case" .. All of these acts of violence wether deadly domestic or sexual violence is committed by either Men or Boys! Everyday there's a headline or 10 that I can count on reading that a male in our society has committed another act of violence or abuse, against women and other men as well. What does this say to us as a society? What makes anyone think that we don't need to evaluate or restructure our daily techniques of teaching men & boys how to act, or behave. Who in their right mind can actually say that this isn't a issue that needs immediate attention. Deaths on a daily basis due to hypermasculine violent men. Rapes committed on a daily basis committed by hypermasculine violent men. Men are structured to have violent tendencies, be aggresive and internalize emotions. Otherwise, they're considered not to be "manly" and don't fit the "standard" of manhood qualities. Why is it that men don't realize that we're the ones leading this destructive violent nation and society that keeps reproducing rapist, murderers, & batterers? We've created such a corrupt system for victims that they can't even report without some sort of victim blaming. Either they feel they're the ones at fault, because they should've been more cautious, or shouldn't have worn that outfit, or shouldn't have said that certain thing to "lead him on" or "make him mad".. This is a FREE country, and we have FREEDOM of speach. The way people perceive things is irrelevant to factual meanings and actions taken based upon those perceptions. Male victims can't even come forward, because it's a "sign of weakness" and we will be perceived as less of a man. Just the other day I was doing a Law Enforcement training to some Cadets and one of the said "I can't just take someone pushing on me & pushing on me and provoking me" (speaking about a women).. So I asked him "Then what would you do?".. He couldn't respond... his silence spoke volumes to me. This is a fresh recruit into our Law Enforcement and his mind-set to solving violence, is to continue the violence till it has ceased. That makes me wonder if he'd even arrest a victim, if he was told by the batterer that they "were provoked" .. Why is this the unnoticed plaque? Is it really because it's easier to just ignore? If you saw what I saw everyday, read what I read everyday, then maybe you would understand how prevelant and pervasive this is. That's the majority of the problem- that most people are unaware, and the rest of it is people "just don't care". This is personal to all of us, wether you realize it or just want to ignore the fact. Someone you know and love is and/or has been affected by some form of abuse (verbal,mental,emotional,physical, or sexual)due to a male. They may not have talked about it, or may not feel they can. Us as a society have to come together as one to create awareness, restructuring of social norms, and what defines us as "men" to vastly contribute to reducing violence in our homes, school, streets, and across the world.