Me Too Campaign

Over the past few days I’ve seen several Facebook posts that included the simple words “Me Too”, either embedded in the post or simply posted as those two words. How sad I thought, but not at all unsurprising. My own personal research shows that it is much more widespread than what we care to imagine. Even one “Me Too” is one too many. Well over half of all women have experienced sexual abuse and exploitation. Rest assured; however, that it happens to men as well.

As I said, some of the posts simply said “Me Too” while others added a few details. I think I saw the greatest pain among those who simply posted those two simple words. They are two words composed of five simple letters. They are insignificant in the eyes of the offender, yet a powerful testimony of devastated lives on one side of the equation and lives gone terribly wrong on the other side. There can be no excuse. Offenders, no matter their biology, economic background, or psychology still have choice.

One person wrote a two-page description of the continuing torment by the offender. I wanted to stand up and cheer when she wrote of stabbing her tormenter in the foot with a pencil. As she began revealing the process of pulling out her pencil and stabbing, I briefly waited to see where she stabbed him and frankly was surprised that it was his foot and not his crotch or heart. I think she showed great restraint. I think I would have gone for the heart after stabbing the guy’s groin a few times.

I studied sex crimes under the guidance of FBI Special Agent Roy Hazelwood (1938-2016). He was a leading pioneer in identifying and labeling various forms of murder and sex crimes. He called it deviant sexual behavior. He had this country boy’s head spinning after the first hour of instruction. After a week of instruction, I walked away fully armed and prepared for conducting sex crime investigations and completely repulsed by what I had learned. There were times I wanted to vomit in his class. I don’t talk much about the years that followed as they led me to investigating such atrocities in my own community and led me through a maze of sleaze and horror from coast to coast. You don’t need to know who or how.

As I left my investigative role and moved into administrative positions I focused my attention on domestic violence. The papers I had written and presented at conferences and interested groups gave me little comfort in realizing that there most likely were victims and offenders sitting side-by-side in those gatherings. Most troubling was the fact that many of those victims of domestic violence could easily say “Me Too” in addition to everything else they had suffered. How, I wondered, could any person violate such a sacred union and trust with such violent, self-serving, demeaning, degrading filthy conduct?

Those years of investigating sex crimes and speaking out against domestic violence in an official capacity are gone. That does not lessen the impact those experiences have had on my life, nor does it mean that I can rest comfortably in the false hope that things are better. They are not. And as I read your “Me Too” a little light came on. So often our past defines our present, and so it has been this week that I have been able to see your beginning from the end. “Me Too” says a lot. I may not know the exact details, but I have a fair idea. Perhaps I should say “unfair” idea.

There is another growing evil out there that is just as sickening as sexual abuse (they are criminal for a reason) and domestic violence. It is just as prevalent now in the United States as it was prior to the American Civil War and we as a nation have turned a blind eye to it. There are no racial or ethnic barriers to this ancient atrocity. Victims come in both genders, of national origins, racial and ethnic origins. It is called slavery. Its victims are scarfed up from our roads and streets along the beautiful country sides and city slums. They arrive daily, generally under cover of darkness, to our shores by the boatload. Some actually arrive to our shores alive. If you breathe at all you have seen them. If you live or work in densely populated areas you have probably seen them on a daily basis. You will find them in the smallest villages and hamlets to the largest metropolitan areas. You may well think that they are sex slaves, and they are, but they are also among the heavy lifters you see working in lawns and gardens and fields, serving in homes and even businesses, and running drugs often concealed within their bodies. They are disposable. Many come under the promise of hope and change but what they find is hell and below. Others are just snatched up and carted off. They are given enough to survive and live under constant threat of not only their death, but the execution of their entire families. To many, death is preferable to the lives they lead. And it is taken.

Too many have said “Me Too” out there. These are the things that tend to keep me awake at night. I so wish I could change the past.

Me Too Campaign

Over the past few days I’ve seen several Facebook posts that included the simple words “Me Too”, either embedded in the post or simply posted as those two words. How sad I thought, but not at all unsurprising. My own personal research shows that it is much more widespread than what we care to imagine. Even one “Me Too” is one too many. Well over half of all women have experienced sexual abuse and exploitation. Rest assured; however, that it happens to men as well.

As I said, some of the posts simply said “Me Too” while others added a few details. I think I saw the greatest pain among those who simply posted those two simple words. They are two words composed of five simple letters. They are insignificant in the eyes of the offender, yet a powerful testimony of devastated lives on one side of the equation and lives gone terribly wrong on the other side. There can be no excuse. Offenders, no matter their biology, economic background, or psychology still have choice.

One person wrote a two-page description of the continuing torment by the offender. I wanted to stand up and cheer when she wrote of stabbing her tormenter in the foot with a pencil. As she began revealing the process of pulling out her pencil and stabbing, I briefly waited to see where she stabbed him and frankly was surprised that it was his foot and not his crotch or heart. I think she showed great restraint. I think I would have gone for the heart after stabbing the guy’s groin a few times.

I studied sex crimes under the guidance of FBI Special Agent Roy Hazelwood (1938-2016). He was a leading pioneer in identifying and labeling various forms of murder and sex crimes. He called it deviant sexual behavior. He had this country boy’s head spinning after the first hour of instruction. After a week of instruction, I walked away fully armed and prepared for conducting sex crime investigations and completely repulsed by what I had learned. There were times I wanted to vomit in his class. I don’t talk much about the years that followed as they led me to investigating such atrocities in my own community and led me through a maze of sleaze and horror from coast to coast. You don’t need to know who or how.

As I left my investigative role and moved into administrative positions I focused my attention on domestic violence. The papers I had written and presented at conferences and interested groups gave me little comfort in realizing that there most likely were victims and offenders sitting side-by-side in those gatherings. Most troubling was the fact that many of those victims of domestic violence could easily say “Me Too” in addition to everything else they had suffered. How, I wondered, could any person violate such a sacred union and trust with such violent, self-serving, demeaning, degrading filthy conduct?

Those years of investigating sex crimes and speaking out against domestic violence in an official capacity are gone. That does not lessen the impact those experiences have had on my life, nor does it mean that I can rest comfortably in the false hope that things are better. They are not. And as I read your “Me Too” a little light came on. So often our past defines our present, and so it has been this week that I have been able to see your beginning from the end. “Me Too” says a lot. I may not know the exact details, but I have a fair idea. Perhaps I should say “unfair” idea.

There is another growing evil out there that is just as sickening as sexual abuse (they are criminal for a reason) and domestic violence. It is just as prevalent now in the United States as it was prior to the American Civil War and we as a nation have turned a blind eye to it. There are no racial or ethnic barriers to this ancient atrocity. Victims come in both genders, of national origins, racial and ethnic origins. It is called slavery. Its victims are scarfed up from our roads and streets along the beautiful country sides and city slums. They arrive daily, generally under cover of darkness, to our shores by the boatload. Some actually arrive to our shores alive. If you breathe at all you have seen them. If you live or work in densely populated areas you have probably seen them on a daily basis. You will find them in the smallest villages and hamlets to the largest metropolitan areas. You may well think that they are sex slaves, and they are, but they are also among the heavy lifters you see working in lawns and gardens and fields, serving in homes and even businesses, and running drugs often concealed within their bodies. They are disposable. Many come under the promise of hope and change but what they find is hell and below. Others are just snatched up and carted off. They are given enough to survive and live under constant threat of not only their death, but the execution of their entire families. To many, death is preferable to the lives they lead. And it is taken.

Too many have said “Me Too” out there. These are the things that tend to keep me awake at night. I so wish I could change the past.

Men and Mass Murders

As your resident Facebook Friends Criminologist, I would like to weigh in (with a little fear and trepidation) on the ongoing debate about guns and violence in America.  Some of you will want to rip me apart for my comments.  Get over it.  I admit up front that I don’t have all the answers, but I know a lot about mass murderers, spree killers, and serial killers.  I’ve spent years studying them.  Just ask my former students.

I want to specifically discuss the profile of the mass murderer and conclude with a suggested possible explanation for the increase of these types of killings that are taking place in America.

I.    Definitions

a.   Mass murder: the killing of two or more people at the same location by the same person or persons acting in concert at approximately the same time and is done in a violent outburst.

b.   Spree killing: the killing of two or more people at the same location by the same person or persons acting in concert within a short period of time, as in several hours or perhaps as much as three or four days, or the killing of two or more people at different locations by the same person or persons acting in concert within a short period of time, as in several hours or perhaps as much as three or four days.  Spree killings are also generally done as a violent outburst.

c.   Serial killing: the killing of multiple individuals, generally of the same background as perceived by the murderer (often prostitutes or homosexuals, but not always), by a single individual and generally over a long period of time, sometimes with as much as years between killing.  Of serial killers, there are four primary types: visionary killers, power and control killers, mission-oriented killers, and hedonistic killers

Another classification of mass murderer(s) could easily include terrorists.  Their motivation is typically political or religious-political in nature and may be state sponsored.

None of the above types of killing should be confused with thrill killing, cult killing, or gang killing.

II.    Profile of Mass Murderers

While a common profile can be identified amongst mass murderers, it is important to note that not all mass murderers will have each of the following characteristics.  So, when I say that “most” mass murderers are (fill in the blank), that is exactly what I mean.  It does not mean “all” mass murderers are (fill in the blank).  However, you can probably rest assured that if you have a mass murderer that the individual will have many of the following characteristics.

Most are:

1.     Male

2.     Single, separated, or divorced

3.     White

4.     In their 30s or 40s

5.     Purchasers of firearms through legal means

6.     Depressed, but not mentally ill nor are they out of touch with reality

7.     Frustrated with their situation and tend to blame others for their situation

8.     Socially isolated, feeling most comfortable in the company of themselves

Additionally, they may target specific people for a specific reason.  Their killing is indiscriminate in that if you happen to be among those specifically targeted the likelihood of you being killed is a good as the targeted people.  Finally, mass murderers seldom live to tell their story.  They either kill themselves or are killed by police.

III.  Tongue-in-Cheek Observation

If the object is to eliminate (or at least reduce) mass murders, instead of taking away everyone’s guns, we should eliminate all single white males between the ages of 30 and 50.

IV.  Possible Explanation for Increased Mass Murder Incidents

You have probably seen various theories for mass murders either here on Facebook or in other places.  I will not review them here.  You can seek them out on your own.  I believe there is an elephant in the room that no one really wants to acknowledge that probably plays a role in the increase number of mass murders.  That elephant in the room is the marginalization of men in society, especially white men.  This marginalization has come in the form of everything from the use of gender-neutral vocabulary to using the term “breaking the glass ceiling” to promotion of women and minorities (especially female minorities) to break that glass ceiling and parallels the civil rights movement and the women’s movement.

While there had been occasional mass murders before the women’s and civil rights movement, they were relatively unheard of.  As the women’s movement has become more militant and aggressive, many men have felt the effects of being pushed aside, ignored, and passed over.  It occurs in business and social settings alike as white males in particular become more and more isolated and excluded from their former gender roles as protector, provider, and authority.  In the move for “equal rights”, white males are feeling that others’ rights are now more equal than their own.  Such alienation of some (please, not all) white males results in their feelings of insecurity and anxiety.  This threat is especially dangerous to white supremacist groups who see minorities not only as inferiors, but now as inferiors who are gaining power.  They now have additional reason to be angry and to kill minorities.

V.    Conclusion

I would love to be able to test my hypothesis.  While I have the available time to do so, I no longer have the resources to do it.

I suppose you could question, even challenge my hypothesis.  Call me a crazy lunatic or accuse me of reaching too far, but before you accuse me of being a sexist, misogynist, racist bigot, please consider that the profile in Section II above is real.

If my hypothesis is correct, then it calls for a serious re-thinking of the role of men in society.  We have certainly made strides in equality, but perhaps it is time to work on recognizing the legitimate role of men, and not as warm touchy-feely beings, but something consistent with their traditional gender role.

Borrowing somewhat from an HBO show, the first thing we need to do in solving a problem is recognizing that we have one.  Well, “Houston (and the rest of America), we have a problem.”  I think we know that.  Now we need to be honest with ourselves and determine what the problem is and why we have it.  The fact is, and many of you will not agree with this – too bad, the fact is, confiscating guns or restricting further gun ownerships is not going to solve the problem but will merely exacerbate it.  If you think there are angry white males out there now, just try and fix it with that kind of solution.

Enough?