The Grand Rapids murders and what it can teach us about male violence against women
It has been several days since the murder of seven Grand Rapids residents and the community has had time to mourn publicly – at a candlelight vigil, in churches over the weekend and through social media.
Every day more information is reveal about the circumstances and the history of the man who killed 7 people and then took his own life. As the news coverage unfolds it is important for all of us to think about certain dynamics that not only are relevant to this case, but are central to the issue of violence in this culture. We need to look at this issue through a gender lens and ask ourselves what significance gender played in the recent killings.
What seems obvious in many ways has not been stated yet in the news coverage we have looked at. The killer was male. This may not seem like much of a revelation, but it does tell us a great deal about violence and how gendered violence has become so normal in our culture that we don’t even think about it.
A man kills 7 people, 6 of which are females. Two of the females killed were girls and one was his wife. News coverage has revealed that Rodrick Dantzler had a history of assault, property damage and domestic violence. That Dantzler had a history of domestic violence was the focus of a July 8 story on MLive, which included comments form local domestic violence prevention specialists who noted that one in four women is affected by domestic violence. In fact, according to local data for Kent County in 2009, there were over 1,000 reported cases of domestic violence – reported. There are roughly three times as many incidents of domestic violence, but the majority is never reported.
Across the country the data is even more alarming. According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, which publishes an annual snapshot report of an average day in the US, reports that 70,648 cases of domestic abuses happens every day. In Michigan the number is 2,737 per day. When looking at the number of female domestic partners that are murdered by men the number is 3 every day in the US.
Looking at Rodrick Dantzler’s history of domestic violence is certainly important, but the coverage to date has really avoided discussing the fact that a man killed 6 women and one man. The gender of the perpetrator seems to be irrelevant so far in the coverage, even though what is consistent with these murders and murders across the country is that men perpetrate most of them. So why is there limited news coverage about this fact and why are we not having a community conversation about why men commit so many acts of violence? Do you think that if a woman who was victimizing her male partner, who then killed him and several other men and boys, that people would not be talking about the gender of the perpetrator?
These are questions that many feminists have been asking for decades as well as pro-feminist male writers and activists like Jackson Katz. For the past ten years Katz has been making it a point to expose the flaws in our news coverage and public discourse whenever men rape or commit murder, particularly gun murder. Katz explores this issue in his documentary Tough Guise as well as his more recent book The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help.
Again, the community has responded with lots of sympathy and public displays of morning. However, if we are to avoid similar incidents in the future it is critical that we honestly confront the cultural norms about masculinity and work to end male violence against women. This is a teachable moment. Let us hope the Grand Rapids community will learn a lesson.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 
In parts of our culture, at an early age males are taught to, “be a man”, solve your problem by intimidation. “My dad and lick your dad.” The child’s maleness is gauged by the way he can intimidate his peers. This ultimately manifests itself in crimes against women. There is also a view that mental illness is a weakness.or that a mentally ill person, or a person who sees a councilor or therapist, is inherently weak and inferior. “People who are normal can solve their own problems.” Governor Snyder and the current legislature illustrate this view with their eagerness to cut education and human services. I am not saying that mental health services will solve all problems but they will go a long way toward preventing this kind of horror from happening, especially at a time, like the present, when people are under great stress.
I think a lot of this has to do with race as well–in a culture that promotes the idea that black men are rapists and hyper aggressive, it’s easy reporting to focus on the “criminal” aspects of the situation, rather than the societal values that promote gendered violence.
I agree that race certainly plays a role in this, as was evident with all the racist comments on GR-based news blogs. Thanks for your comments and if you have more to say about this issue we welcome it.
Your questions and ideals are interesting, but, just like all other reports on Domestic Abuse i see your information is slightly flawed. Accoring to one of the most recent studies done by the Violence Agaisnt Women Act, which showed that approximately 1.5 million females are victims of dometic violence, the servey also showed that nearly 835,000 men (40%) are also victims of Female Violence against men. Other studies, such as the one done by steinmetz in 1977 and reinvestigated again in 1985 and 1992 by the Family Research Laboratory found that, “Woman not only use violence at rates similar to men but also use the act of violence first in most arguments.” Keep in mind i am not for men abusing woman but so too am i not for woman abusing men. It happens. My cousin, Jeffrey Dryden of Grand Rapids was abused and Murdered by his Girlfriend over her cell phone on July 18 2010. He had never put a hand on her, yet she stabbed him in cold blood. Prior criminal records showed that his killer had assaulted him before with a knife on two prior incidents. If you really think Domestic abuse is based on Gender, your highly mistaken. You can read more about Jeffs death and find out the truth hidden beyond truth by buying the book; The Murder of Jeffrey Dryden: The Grim Truth Surrounding Male Domestic Abuse. Domesitc abuse is not MALE only… it runs both ways.
Mr. Veenstra, first off lets be clear that I never stated in the article that women never abuse violence in domestic situations. Second, I am sorry for you person family tragedy and the death of your cousin. However, this issue is not just about personal experiences. I saw my father beat my mother on numerous occasions, but that did not lead me to the conclusion that all men and all fathers were abusive.
The fact is that the majority of domestic violence is committed by men against women and children in the US. In terms of the article I wrote last summer the point I was making is that when men kill women, a reality that happens on a regular basis in this country, we rarely talk about how normal it is for men to commit acts of violence. This is also the case of male violence against other men and children. In fact, most physical violence is committed by men and it is an issue that we need to come to terms with. No where to I argue that this is a genetic thing, rather this is due to how boys and men are socialized about what it means to be a man and how men are socialized to view women, often as objects to be controlled.
Based on the kind of books you sell at your website, with images of nearly naked or completely naked women and titles like “Chained to the Floor,” it appears rather telling about the kinds of views you have about women, which gives me no reason to shy away from my original thesis. In fact, I would argue that the kind of material you sell contributes to the normalizing of male violence against women.
Sad, as if you were to know anything about our works, 97% of Lord Koga’s works are purchased by WOMEN…