Justice official gives thanks for bias and bigotry

November 30, 2009

By Carey Roberts

Last week we were jolted with the news that the global warming crisis is a hoax, an ideologically-driven scam based on data that have been routinely doctored, selectively presented, and when necessary, furtively disposed of.

But there's another global disinformation campaign that is still going strong. It's called the Cult of Domestic Violence. This ruse threatens the very foundation of American society: the traditional family.

This past Thursday Catherine Pierce, acting director of the Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women, issued a Thanksgiving message — now that sounds comforting, doesn't it?

Ms. Pierce called for "a national conversation about violence against women and teen dating abuse. The Department of Justice will also dedicate this day to talk about ways to end the violence against women and girls that pervades every community in America."

Those sentences contain two very generous helpings of Ms.-Information.

First, domestic violence does not "pervade" every community in America. In fact, among couples in intact, married relationships, partner violence is essentially non-existent. Yes, intimate partner aggression lurks in some corners, but it is concentrated in low-income, substance-abusing couples not connected by the bonds of marriage.

Second, domestic abuse is not limited to violence against women. There is also a substantial level of female-perpetrated violence against men that goes unreported to the police. All the research shows women are equally likely to aggress, whether it's a slap-the-cad rebuke or a teach-you-a-lesson knee to the groin.

For example, the Centers for Disease Control reports 8.9% of adolescent males are victims of dating violence each year, compared to an almost identical number — 8.8% — of adolescent females.

And let's not purge our memory banks of the tragedy of former NFL star quarterback Steve McNair, shot four times in the chest this past July by his ex-girlfriend as he lay asleep.

So how does Ms. Pierce's one-sided Thanksgiving proclamation embrace mean-spirited bigotry?

Because when gobble-gobble statistics are floated before an unsuspecting public, persons begin to believe the lies. Segments of the population become stereotyped and demonized.

Laws are eventually passed that eliminate persons' fundamental civil liberties — just consider all the states that have passed "mandatory arrest" laws that shred Constitutional guarantees of probable-cause. Once a man is saddled with an arrest record, it becomes a cinch to tar him with the abuser label and take away his children.

Just as the global warming religion has come under scrutiny in recent years, a growing number of persons have begun to question the rigid orthodoxy that envelopes the domestic violence industry.

On October 1, President Obama issued a proclamation that highlighted the plight of both male and female survivors of abuse: "Domestic violence touches the lives of Americans of all ages, leaving a devastating impact on women, men, and children of every background and circumstance."

Three weeks later Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL) declared on the House floor, "When we think of domestic violence, we think of the women as being the victims. But it's also men victimized as well. Male victims are less likely to report the violence, and seek services due to the stigma associated with being a male victim or not being believed."

And on Tuesday December 1, WETV will be airing its latest installment of Secret Lives of Women. The promo reads, "The fact is however, that more than a third of all DA [domestic abuse] cases feature males as victims, and even that number is considered low due to the relatively low reporting of these cases by men who are ashamed and afraid to do so."

Maybe we should all encourage OVW director Catherine Pierce to tune in: Catherine.Pierce@usdoj.gov . The last thing our families need is half-baked holiday greetings foisted upon us by self-serving government bureaucrats.

© Carey Roberts

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/roberts/091130

Carey Roberts

Carey Roberts is an analyst and commentator on political correctness. His best-known work was an exposé on Marxism and radical feminism... (more)

Carey Roberts is an analyst and commentator on political correctness. His best-known work was an exposé on Marxism and radical feminism.

Mr. Roberts' work has been cited on the Rush Limbaugh show. Besides serving as a regular contributor to RenewAmerica.com, he has published in The Washington Times, LewRockwell.com, ifeminists.net, Men's News Daily, eco.freedom.org, The Federal Observer, Opinion Editorials, and The Right Report.

Previously, he served on active duty in the Army, was a professor of psychology, and was a citizen-lobbyist in the US Congress. In his spare time he admires Norman Rockwell paintings, collects antiques, and is an avid soccer fan. He now works as an independent researcher and consultant.