In response to my statement “male violence is the worst problem in the world,” a woman emailed me and wrote: "I do not believe that male violence is the cause of the world's problems but a symptom of a very sick system that produces violent men and submissive women. If you say that violent men are the problem, then what is the solution short of suppressing or eliminating them?"
So I wrote:
Violent men created the "very sick system that produces violent men and submissive women," which is patriarchy. Thus, I stand by my statement that male violence is the worst problem in the world. Further, I trace the source of all the isms and oppressions. These include racism, sexism and colonization, both external and internal. Internal colonization is seeing one’s self through the eyes of the oppressor.
Male violence is also the source of genocide, war, homophobia, nationalism, cruelty to animals, slavery, economic oppression, prostitution and all sexual slavery, child abuse and the systematic murder of the Living World.
How can we solve the problem of male violence, the worst problem in the world? Where do we begin? Men control all the power institutions. These include the military, education, technology, law, the economy, media and male-god religions (spiritual back up for their earthly atrocities).
I can’t solve the problem of male violence single handedly. However, what I can do is name male violence as the worst problem in the world. This is because naming an oppression and the oppresors is the first step toward ending it. I will not be discouraged, deflected or distracted. I hold all men responsible for ending male violence. This includes non-violent men because all men profit from a world in which male violence exists, especially male violence against women.
As more and more women and men take up the cry and shout from the rooftops that male violence is the worst problem in the world, more and more people can offer their solutions. We can learn from each other and create the synergy necessary to end this horror. Hopefully hundreds of millions of women and men will soon be joining this discussion.
Questions to Ask Ourselves
Is naming male violence as the worst problem in the world a serious threat to patriarchy, the social structure of violent male power? I believe it is. The linguistic contortions, generalizations, obfuscations and denials are incredibly numerous and varied. Their endless repetition reveals that male violence must never be named as the worst problem in the world. This would threaten the power of violent men.
These evasions include: "Not all men are violent," “It’s capitalism,” "Women are violent too," "It’s racism,” “It’s colonization," “It’s genocide,” "Women collude with men against women," "Women profit from male violence," "It’s gun violence," "Men also suffer under patriarchy," "Violent society creates violent men," "What about Margaret Thatcher?" "Women also oppress women," "I love the men in my life who are not violent," etc.
What is the source of our resistance to naming male violence? Is it original thoughts from our own minds or, has this resistance been internalized by us after being inflicted from the patriarchy to protect itself? Have we been mentally colonized to avoid naming male violence so we won’t wake up and end its 6,000 years of carnage?
In the article "What is it About Men That They're Committing These Horrible Massacres?" by Meghan Murphy, she writes,
“‘But what about the men?’” It’s a question that’s been avoided by the mainstream within the context of mass shootings. The recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut sparked thousands of conversations across the continent about gun laws, mental illness, and violence. And sadly, we’ve been here before."
She adds, "In the midst of all this horror, we are, understandably, up in arms, demanding change, grieving all the while. But within all this righteous anger, we are very carefully tiptoeing around the common denominator. In 31 of the school shootings that have taken place since 1999, the murderers were all men."
Why do we flinch away from speaking the truth? Are we afraid that naming male violence will make men kill us? They already are. Are we afraid the men in our lives will stop loving us? If they love us, they will understand. Are we afraid that we won’t know how to build a new world based on kindness and respect? Are we afraid of the responsibility for creating such a world?
Violent men are already killing the Living World and humanity! So, what do we have to lose by naming male violence as the worst problem in the world and addressing it?
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