A Closer Look at White Male Privilege Although White males made up 69.2% of those arrested in 2011 for urban violence, Black men still account for the majority of the prison population, more than six times as likely to be incarcerated than White men. Black men are also subjected, according to Lawrence Grossman, former President of CBS News and PBS, to media stereotyping where TV newscasts “disproportionately show African Americans under arrest, living in slums, on welfare, and in need of help from the community.” However, men of color do not represent the majority of school shooters or mass murderers. Of 62 mass shootings in public places during the past 30 years, 44 were done by white males, according to a tally by Mother Jones magazine. Only one assailant was a woman. These factors rarely draw much comment or exploration in media accounts in the wake of these crimes. More often, the discussion focuses on mental health, family relations, gun control or such alleged cultural influences as violent video games, TV programs or movies. “If a woman were the shooter, you can bet there would be all sorts of commentary about shifting cultural notions of femininity and how they might have contributed to her act,” wrote Jackson Katz, a filmmaker and writer, in the Huffington Post. “ . . . The key difference is that because men represent the dominant gender, their gender is rendered invisible in the discourse about violence.” In fact, women infrequently commit homicides and only then under specific circumstances. Women tend to kill people they know — boyfriends, spouses, their children; “stranger” killings by women are almost unheard of, says Randolph Roth, a history and sociology professor at Ohio State University. “When women kill, it’s personal,” he says. “They kill because they hate you.” Men, on the other hand, kill for a variety of reasons and sometimes for no apparent reason. “Men carry this kind of anger,” Roth says. “It’s there.” President Obama expresses frustration on school shootings "My biggest frustration so far is the fact that this society has not been willing to take some basic steps to keep guns out of the hands of people who can do just unbelievable damage," Obama said. "No developed nation on earth would put up with mass shootings that happen now once a week and disappear from the news within a day, Obama said - no nation except America". Read more: http://www.kptv.com/story/25745176/president-obama-expresses-frustration-after-school-shooting#ixzz3OlpeSzf5 In my own words: There are many warnings signs made by the shooter about what he is about to do, he will either verbally say something in the notion of, "I am going to make the evenings news tomorrow", or "have you ever wondered what it feels like to take a life". In the recent story's of school shootings the shooter made these kinds of remarks to his peers or something similar. They were ignored. Why did no one come forward? What were they afraid of? There was a story I came across on exactly what I speak of in this paragraph. This is what it said: "First, the signal is noisy. Michael Carneal was always saying goofy things. He explained to his would-be friends that they would see who "lived or died on Monday." Mitchell Johnson, who, together with Andrew Golden, killed four kids and a teacher in an Arkansas middle school, told his friends that he would be "running from the cops." They recognized in hindsight that he was telegraphing his intentions. But at the time, most didn't know what to make of these comments. A few students took Michael Carneal's warnings so seriously that they didn't go to school that fateful Monday. But none of the dozens of kids in either school who heard veiled threats reported them to adults". If you know someone who needs help coping with school shooting, and violence contact the association below: The National Association of School Psychologists - Resources to cope with violence Resources on talking to children about violence, tips for parents, teachers, and school administrators, dealing with a death in a school and more. The Association has listed some of these key resources on their home page for quick access. Resources http://www.politicalresearch.org/2014/06/19/mass-shooters-have-a-gender-and-a-race/# http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kimmel/the-unbearable-whiteness-_2_b_2350931.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/2012/12/20/d006040c-4aea-11e2-b709-667035ff9029_story.html http://www.kptv.com/story/25745176/president-obama-expresses-frustration-after-school-shooting Recent studies reveal that most school shooters are White males, with 97 percent being male and 79 percent White. Over the last three decades, 90 percent of high school or elementary school shootings were the result of White, often upper-middle class, perpetrators. These shootings are a direct reflection of White male privilege and the consequences that occur when groups like the NRA control influential conservative leaders. There is a pattern in these school shootings that has been coined as “suicide-by-mass-murder".
1 Comment
cal
5/25/2020 05:20:16 am
This article is very misleading. The notion that mass shooters are disproportionally white is demonstrably false. In a mother jones database of mass shooting events where 4 or more people were killed spanning from 1982-2012, 70% of the perpetrators of these shootings were white. With 73.9% of the United States population identifying as white as of 2012, this actually means whites were UNDER represented. The fact that you have cited some niche feminist website as your source is typical the kind of bullshit i'm used to seeing every time I click on one of these "white males are all evil" articles. The other thing this article points out is that the vast majority of mass shooters are male, which is undeniably true. However, you then go say that mass shootings are somehow a reflection of white male privilege, which is honestly baffling to me. How can you honestly sit on your high horse and say these miserable, depraved, suicidal loners are representative of whatever fantasied version of white privilege you seem to be talking referencing. If you think these people feel privileged with the mental illness, solitude, and rejection life has gifted them, you would be mind-bogglingly wrong. You make me feel sick, calling these people who led profoundly sad lives "privileged" simply because of their skin color. Also, what do you expect us to do with this "revelation" that shooters are commonly white males. Honestly, what do you expect people to do with this information. This article is incredibly unhelpful and offers no practical solutions to the problem of mass shootings. It would have been for the best if it was chucked in a dumpster-fire the moment you wrote the first sentence. Oh, and by the way, you remember that idea that if more mass shooters were female femininity would somehow be attacked by the media? Complete and utter horse shit. When has the media EVER demonized femininity? Where do you get these absurd ideas? Stop crying "oppression" every time you discuss literally any issue. Leave a Reply. |