In the Boston Globe article on 05/08/03 "New state panel to work toward abuse prevention" by Raphael Lewis, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is quoted as saying, "Humor is often where attitudes that are inappropriate thrive and live, and we want to stamp out those attitudes." I think that he is right and those attitudes do need to be corrected.
I also agree with the comments of Boston Globe editor Martin Baron. Baron states that Bob Ryan, a Boston Globe sports columnist, comments concerning "smacking Joumana Kidd" are a clear and egregious violation of the standards of the Boston Globe in respect to violence against women. Joumana Kidd is the wife of New Jersey Nets basketball star Jason Kidd.
I believe Baron is correct and Ryan’s comments should have created the media firestorm they did. Ryan also appears on nationally televised ESPN shows and the incident made national headlines. Ryan has been suspended for 30 days without pay by the Boston Globe. And I do not have a problem with that.
However, a few months ago in a cartoon "For Better or for Worse” that appeared in the Boston Globe and elsewhere nationally, the cartoon clearly depicts two college age women beating a man after they discovered he was dating both of them at the same time. Would the Boston Globe or any other newspapers have printed a cartoon that depicts two college age men beating a woman who two timed them? If not, all of us must ask, why not?
The Boston Globe website also carries advertisements from Dunkin Donuts. A recent add by Dunkin Donuts depicts a women who entices a man out to her car with a Dunkin Donut product. She kicks the man in the rear end so hard a shoe falls off the man as he is violently forced into the car. She then slams the rear door and drives off with him. The ad depicts the man as so moronic that he appears happy with the kidnapping as long as he gets to eat a Dunkin Donut product. They arrive at the location of her desire and she forcefully grabs him by the arm and drags him out of the car and toward the building. Would the Boston Globe or others, comment if the genders were reversed? If they would, all of us must ask, why the double standard?
This begs the question, if Governor Romney is correct about inappropriate attitudes, why is women's violence against men not a clear and egregious violation of the standards of the Boston Globe, Dunkin Donut and in fact the rest of society? If Governor Romney is correct why is it that the Boston Globe and the national media continue to print and present violence against men as being humorous?
Why the double standard? And worse still why the inability of any public policy maker, anywhere, at any time to even broach the issue of women's violence against men? National Institute of Justice data document quite clearly that women account for 17% of the violent crime in this nation. During 1970 to 1998 FBI data document that violent crime by men increased by 88% while violent crime by women increased by 255%. Is there any reason anyone should believe that women will not and can not be violent in familiar encounters?
Is this not a serous dilemma for all of us that both our daughters and sons will continue to view the media’s depiction of violence against men as being humorous, while violence against women is depicted as wrong behavior? Why or how is it not possible that a single national public policy maker has yet to connect these duplicitous gender dots?
Violence is wrong behavior regardless of the gender of the offender or victim. Why is violence against men condoned by the electronic and print media and violence against women condemned? Why the continued silence on this issue from each and every public policy maker nationwide? Is there not a single public policy maker in this nation that is willing to speak out for our sons as they have for our daughters?
