You worry about terrorists… I’ll worry about men. You talk about the deaths caused by terrorists, yet you fail to mention the consistent killing of women by men, especially men they know. You mention terrorism, yet fail to mention the women terrorized because of toxic masculinity and frail egos. Politicians drone on and on about Radical Islamic terrorism in their speeches and want you to believe deaths are occurring from terrorism, and want you to be afraid. They talk about it so much it would lead you to believe there is a steady stream of murders by terrorists or refugees. However, the statistics would tell you otherwise. This 2013 data by BusinessInsider.com tells us the lifetime odds you will be killed in an accident is 1 in 31. The lifetime odds you will be killed by a foreign-born terrorist (all forms) is 1 in 45, 808, by a refugee terrorists is 1 in 46,192, 893, OR by illegal immigrant terrorists is 1 in 138, 324, 873. But, the lifetime odds you will be killed by murder is 1 in 249. Within the When Men Murder Women An Analysis of 2013 Homicide Data it was shown:
- For homicides in which the victim to offender relationship could be identified, 94 percent of female victims (1,438 out of 1,530) were murdered by a male they knew.
- Fifteen times as many females were murdered by a male they knew (1,438 victims) than were killed by male strangers (92 victims).
- For victims who knew their offenders, 62 percent (895) of female homicide victims were wives or intimate acquaintances of their killers.
- There were 280 women shot and killed by either their husband or intimate acquaintance during the course of an argument.
Why would I be afraid of men you ask, instead of terrorists, keeping refugees out of the country, or people in a hijab, burka, or turban? Because men are deadlier. Within the last month, Peter Selis opened fire on a pool party because he was distraught over a girlfriend breaking up with him, Steve Stephens shot and killed Robert Goodwin on Facebook Live due to a fight with his girlfriend, Cedric Anderson opened fire on a classroom killing his estranged wife and a student Again…. They all killed as a result of anger over a breakup or a fight with their significant other.
Toxic masculinity rears its ugly head again. As Margaret Atwood stated, “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” We worry about saying no, worry about breaking off a relationship, worry about just wanting to be friends, worry about trying to leave an uncomfortable situation. We worry about potential negative confrontations with men and how bad can they possibly go. Tara Culp-Ressler explains toxic masculinity in her article, The Role of Toxic Masculinity in Mass Shootings, “Employing harassment, violence, and coercion against women has long been considered a normal way for men to behave in romantic relationships, as deeply ingrained gender norms teach men that they’re entitled to women’s bodies. This toxic approach to masculinity has been directly linked to the sense of entitlement that drives many mass shooters to commit their crimes.” We are not allowed to say no, and if we do say no we run the risk of hurting frail male egos, which can result in death.
Culp-Ressler also wonders as do I, “while national politicians are quick to pinpoint shooters’ crimes on their immigration status or religious affiliation, the harmful effect of toxic masculinity doesn’t receive the same high-profile attention.” Until there is a shift in the mentality to treating domestic violence and the murder of women the same as Radical Islamic terrorism we will not see change occurring. The importance must be put on it.
I am not sure about if you are a betting person, but I would much rather be in the vicinity of a refugee terrorist (1 in 46,192, 893) than a man.
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