As male chimpanzees mature(so primatologists tell us) they leave the troop to form restless violent gangs who roam the forest meting out violence to all other chimps they find, especially female ones. Does that sound familiar from a street near you? But recently there has been a troubling new development. The young gangs have formed on line instead of the streets. Still meting out the same old coercion, misogyny and sadism. Rachel Hall of the Guardian has a chilling story [1] which you really ought to read in full. And it’s not just gangs: individuals are at it too. Our second story comes from the North East of England where a tragic young mother called Ashleigh Inskip ” took her own life after her abusive ex-partner bombarded her with messages urging her to kill herself – including while she was sectioned in a psychiatric hospital,” according to Channel 4 News. [2] in an excellent report by either Amelia Jenne or Jamie Roberton, we’re not sure which)
A mighty headache for Jess Phillips, Britain’s still new-to-the job Minister responsible for trying to deal with this avalanche of woman-hating violence. Jess has been a redoubtable campaigner on the issue for decades, making her one of the finest parliamentarians we know. This report details her interview by Jackie Long, She’s still the same old feisty, fighting Jess. But now burdened by the crushing responsibilities of Government. Added to by the fact that the Ministry of Defence is looking to strip every penny it can from other departments. And rightly so too- a Russian Government will not display the same tender sensibilities as a democratic one. And there’s the rub. Every one of us has our pet projects: reducing violence against women, saving the countryside, better science education, more wifi on buses….all of them no doubt worthy and necessary causes. But as the United States retreats and Putin advances, we may have to choose priorities very precisely indeed.
(Foreign readers: of you click on the interview, you might think Ms Phillips sounds a bit funny. Don’t worry, this is because she comes from the Midlands. It’s the same way the Peaky Blinders and William Shakespeare would have sounded).
[3]https://www.channel4.com/news/safeguarding-minister-aghast-at-domestic-abuse-report
#male violence #misogyny #jess phillips #com gangs #youth #chimpanzee behaviour #shakespeare #peaky blinders
Learning, Science and Society 