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some scattered and angry thoughts on the PA gym shooting
In case you hadn't heard, George Sodini shot up a women's fitness class at a Pennsylvania gym; and three women are dead and ten more injured. Because he was frustrated and bitter over his inability to find a girlfriend/get laid. Obviously, he was a very disturbed man, and there are tons of romantically unlucky men (and women) who don't take it out on random members of their gender of choice. Nonetheless, ther are some important issues that this crime brings up.
While Sodini's actions were extreme, the misogynistic sentiments he expressed in his writings truly aren't that extreme. The view of women not as humans and individuals but as a monolithic group of things to be gained is nothing new. The sense of entitlement to the attentions and sexual favors of attractive women is all too familiar. The resultant hostility when women didn't comply with his desires and expectations is also all too familiar. This kind of shit happens at a low level every damn day. When a man in a car at a stoplight yells "hey baby, nice ass" at a woman on the sidewalk, and if she doesn't smile or acknowledge him or act flattered, he quickly switches to calling her a ugly whore/nasty bitch/etc. When I wouldn't let a strange man at a college party walk me home and his response was to suggest that I was overly paranoid. But I'm willing to bet that there will be very little larger discussion of these things, that Sodini's words will be mostly dismissed as merely the rantings of a disturbed individual, and that there will be unsavory suggestions that if women had just been nicer to Sodini, none of this would have happened. Actually, it looks like I'd win a bet on that last point.
And let me address that last point a little. Because it's a disturbing one. Think about it - it's the idea that I, as a woman, should endeavor to be nice to and react favorably to any and all men who seek my attention, because otherwise they might hurt me. I find that terrifying.
While Sodini's actions were extreme, the misogynistic sentiments he expressed in his writings truly aren't that extreme. The view of women not as humans and individuals but as a monolithic group of things to be gained is nothing new. The sense of entitlement to the attentions and sexual favors of attractive women is all too familiar. The resultant hostility when women didn't comply with his desires and expectations is also all too familiar. This kind of shit happens at a low level every damn day. When a man in a car at a stoplight yells "hey baby, nice ass" at a woman on the sidewalk, and if she doesn't smile or acknowledge him or act flattered, he quickly switches to calling her a ugly whore/nasty bitch/etc. When I wouldn't let a strange man at a college party walk me home and his response was to suggest that I was overly paranoid. But I'm willing to bet that there will be very little larger discussion of these things, that Sodini's words will be mostly dismissed as merely the rantings of a disturbed individual, and that there will be unsavory suggestions that if women had just been nicer to Sodini, none of this would have happened. Actually, it looks like I'd win a bet on that last point.
And let me address that last point a little. Because it's a disturbing one. Think about it - it's the idea that I, as a woman, should endeavor to be nice to and react favorably to any and all men who seek my attention, because otherwise they might hurt me. I find that terrifying.
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Incidentally, all my emails to your address have been bouncing-- if you still want to get together tomorrow night, the plan is Mr. Crepe at 7 PM. Hope to see you there!
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