DADI.org

This was brought home strongly by an encounter with a young female clerk at a local video rental store. At the time I was renting the widely acclaimed "Saving Private Ryan." We initially agreed that this was an awesome movie, but our respective perceptions ended there. She intoned "Why would anyone want to be a soldier?", to which I replied that if those men had not seen it as their patriotic duty, Americans might now be speaking in German or Japanese, and we might be sieg-heiling a dictator. Her reply, laced with a tone of thinly veiled disgust, was "Whatever. I guess everyone is entitled to an opinion." End of conversation.

I was unwilling to challenge what was to me was this teenager's shocking irreverence for the heroism of brave men, which has been so easily disposed just fifty years later. Similarly, words such as honor, duty, heroism, and valor have been swept away by the politically correct age of the 90's as anachronistic propaganda of the evil patriarchy. Maybe you've noticed.

But why should I be shocked? Today's cultural perception of masculinity is that of being potential, if not actual, pederasts, batterers, rapists and murderers. The junk science and outright lies of the anti-patriarchal radicals have taken hold. So great is our acculturation, that this young woman has most likely completed several years of "higher education" without ever having learned the lessons of an earlier America, its wars, and its male heroes. One could hardly imagine that the "brutal" acts of those early, loyal warriors could be construed as contributing to their Self-Esteem; at least not in contemporary parlance.

Perhaps however, we are on the verge of a new, revisited awareness of the reality of violence, abuse, and its perpetrators. In recent years, we have begun to see clarifications and legitimate scientific studies that appear to be re-examining contemporary misculturation.

In a 1997 Sunday edition (April 20th), the Detroit News ran a three-part article revealing that males are, in fact, victims of domestic violence at a rate approaching that of females. They reported that male spouses are the victims of spousal homicide in 45% of domestic cases; and (males) are the victims in 32% of aggravated-assault cases. Those figures were obtained from the Michigan State police. The Detroit News also made it clear that there are NO shelters for male victims, and that male victims tend not to report - and are not believed when they do. These articles also make it clear that women's groups deny this abuse against males because they don't want to share their federal/state funding.

Despite the admirable efforts of the Detroit News to expose this equity in violence, and inequity in resources, this information has been available from other sources for at least ten years:

The 13th World Congress on Sociology (1992 U.S. incidents) reported the following statistics:

Severe Assault:
• Husband on Wife - 2.0%
• Wife on Husband - 4.6%
  
  

Minor Assault:
• Husband on Wife - 9.9%
• Wife on Husband - 9.5%
  
  

Severe Violence:
• Wife Victim - 3.0%
• Husband Victim - 4.4%
  
  

Overall Violence:
• Wife Victim - 11.3%
• Husband Victim - 12.1%
  
  

Cathy Young - Detroit News 5-6-97
"Are the shelters biased against men? With a few exceptions, they are. The proposal by Michigan state Rep. David Jaye, R-Washington Township, to withdraw state funding from programs that engage in such discrimination is a long overdue idea. While he is at it, Rep. Jay might also want to take a look at the treatment of men by police and the courts... For years, battered women's advocates have passionately - and rightly - argued that, no matter what the provocation, 'there is no excuse for domestic violence.' But maybe that's only for men - while for women, any excuse will do."

Sheila R. McCann - The Salt Lake Tribune 4-12-97
"Four men claim the state's process for offering protective orders to victims of domestic violence is being abused 'by thousands of women to violate the civil rights of men'. ... attorneys Alan Barber and Danny Quintana charge: 'A majority of protective-order requests which are filed against men are false and are known by the party making the allegations to be false.' ... Recent sharp increases in demand for protection orders reflects abuse of the law, not increased need or awareness of family violence, Barber argues. The easy-to-obtain orders are being improperly used to resolve property disputes and child-custody fights, and judges are not acting to stop the abuse, he said."

So even though legislators have discriminated against males as a class by earmarking legislated funding For Women Only, presuming that males are always the perpetrators - never the victim, there are a growing number of both male and female voices out there that are questioning this area of Urban Legend. Throughout the DA*DI pages, you will find a growing number of just such articles.

At DA*DI, we deplore Domestic Violence in any form, wielded by either sex, marrried or cohabiting. But let's get our facts straight, and then change the name of the Violence Against Women Act to the Act Against Domestic Violence - with equal funding, penalties, and protection, regardless of gender.

In addition to the arguments presented above, let me familiarize you with some chilling facts that have evolved along with the demonization of men and marriage:

The Heritage Foundation report "The Child Abuse Crisis: The Disintegration of Marriage, Family, and the American Community," May 15, 1997 notes that: "[due to] ... the disintegration of family and community ... America's infants and young chilren, about 2,000 of whom -- 6 per day -- die each year," in the following manner:

Total Children Killed Per Year     2,000
Killed by Mothers                          1,100
Killed by Stepfathers                         250
Killed by Live-In Boyfriends            513
Killed by Biological Fathers            137

Not only are children safest with their biological Father, but other data clearly indicates that married women are safest - contrary to the distorted images of battering Fathers/Spouses. The reason for this unequivocal fact has been that the role of Father and husband has traditionally been provider and protector in the family. But those that would destroy the contitutional individuality of America must first destroy the family, and bring "groups" under the protective auspices of the Federal Government.

Nothing could be more dangerous for the future of America. Before the 60's advent of early socialism in the U.S., - the Great Society Programs - The Black Family was far stronger. In 1960, for example, three-quarters of black babies were born to married couples, and eight out of 10 black wives married for life. Today, 70 percent of African-American kids are born out of wedlock, and more than half of black marriages end in divorce.

What intervened? The Federal Government and the welfare provisions that evicted Fathers from the homes of black welfare mothers. And now, VAWA, CSRA, and DHHS are making the same contribution to white families.

Here are some related outcomes:

Table 2.2

Various Percentages* of U.S. Children Living Apart From Biological Fathers, Single Parent Families, Divorce, and Male criminalization.

                                                     1960 1970  1980 1990
% Children living apart from biological father  17.5   22.4  32.2  36.3
% Single Parent Families                           9.1   13.0  20.7  26.7
Divorced males per 100,000 married women  27.4   33.3  76.2 112.5
Male prisoners per 100,000 males                230    191   274   574
*Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstracts of the U.S.

As men and families are demonized by the radical gender feminists - such as they are in that stellar example of feminist fiction, HR 182 (VAWA): "Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to child custody, child abuse, and victims of domestic and family violence." - the criminalization of men, the disintegration of the family, and the growth of socialism in America will continue to prosper.

Gerald Rowles, Ph.D.
President
DA*DI

Back to the Gender Wars page