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The DesertLight Journal
Volume 1, Number 13
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October 3, 2001
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The bi-weekly e-zine of the International Men's Rights Movement.
For all the news all the time, visit our buds http://www.mensactivism.org in the US
or http://www.angryharry.com in the UK.
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"A woman needs a man like a fish needs the river."
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OCTOBER IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
Activism Project
In PHASE I, the DLJ, in cooperation with several groups and orgs, sent hundreds (maybe even thousands) of letters, e-mails, and faxes to media outlets all over the US and Canada. Steve Van Valkenburg provided the letter, which urged newspapers, TV, and radio stations to provide balanced coverage of the issue and include men. The members/readers of the following sent them out : Abused Guys Yahoo Club, Battered Men's Hotline, ifeminists.com, Mensactivism.org, Men In Crisis Prayer Circle, NCFM, Safe4All, Shatterd Men Yahoo Club, Stop Anti-Male Bias Yahoo Club, and probably many others. Thanks everybody who helped! We'll keep you posted on the results.
In addition, Bill Wood has pledged to send a Public Service Announcement every day in October to his large mailing list, numbering in the thousands.
PHASE IIthe Personal Activism Project. Things one person can do to help:
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If you currently make donations to United Way, Catholic Charities, or any other organization that supports women-only shelters, withdraw your funding and tell them why. NOTE: This is a good strategic time to do this, as agencies are now scrambling for funds lost to 9/11 disaster projects. Encourage friends and co-workers to do the same. There are many fine guy-friendly orgs that will be happy to take your donation.
If you currently make donations to United Way, Catholic Charities, or any other organization that supports women-only shelters, withdraw your funding and tell them why. NOTE: This is a good strategic time to do this, as agencies are now scrambling for funds lost to 9/11 disaster projects. Encourage friends and co-workers to do the same. There are many fine guy-friendly orgs that will be happy to take your donation.·Many states have a "Governors Office on Violence against Women," or some other incarnation in their gov't structure devoted to DV against women only. Check your state's website. If your state has such an office or commission, write or phone your legislators explaining your objections to this sexist, non-productive use of taxpayer dollars. Both male victims and female offenders are ignored in the current system.
Many states have a "Governors Office on Violence against Women," or some other incarnation in their gov't structure devoted to DV against women only. Check your state's website. If your state has such an office or commission, write or phone your legislators explaining your objections to this sexist, non-productive use of taxpayer dollars. Both male victims and female offenders are ignored in the current system.·Write Letters to the Editor of your local paper. Tell your community you are withdrawing your support from charitable agencies that support anti-male services. Tell your community your state (if applicable) supports an office or commission that discriminates against half the population and enables abusers.
Write Letters to the Editor of your local paper. Tell your community you are withdrawing your support from charitable agencies that support anti-male services. Tell your community your state (if applicable) supports an office or commission that discriminates against half the population and enables abusers.·If you see a friend in an abusive situation, suggest they check out any of the above-mentioned websites for info and/or help. All of those sites and more may be found at:
If you see a friend in an abusive situation, suggest they check out any of the above-mentioned websites for info and/or help. All of those sites and more may be found at:http://www.desertlightjournal.homestead.com/Links.html
Be creative! But above all, be safe!
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GUEST EDITORIAL
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The guest editorial for the month of October is "Would You Sign This Contract?" by Karl Glasson, otherwise known as webmaster of http://www.angryharry.com He provides some interesting insight into domestic violence, and why current services are not helping to reduce the problem. The Guest Editorial is found at: http://www.desertlightjournal.homestead.com/guest.html
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ERIN PIZZEY
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Some current thoughts from the founder of the first DV shelter, located in England, in 1971. She has also written groundbreaking works on women and violence, and is the author of many novels.
The billion-dollar domestic violence business, which is international, has been used to fund a political campaign run by the feminist movement. Any attempt at rational argument is really a waste of time until Western governments are forced to concede that they have been supporting a huge injustice for the last thirty years. The feminist movement hi-jacked the domestic violence movement and used the 'shelters' as bunkers to wage war against fathers and the family. Western governments seeing women's votes as crucial to their success acquiesced to such an extent that we have almost lost the concept of a family containing both natural biological parents and their children. The family has been replaced by the concept of a woman and her children as the unit and fathers as expendable.
At the moment we are all fighting on the barroom floor but at some point we have to get to the heads of governments and to tackle the outrageous behaviour in organisations like the U.N. Spewing forth lies and disinformation has always been the first line of defense of any evil movement. The general public absorbs the disinformation and repeats the lies as truths. Before long statements like, 'all women are innocent victims of men's violence,' become commonplace.
We are faced with the last thirty years of a feminist movement that was allowed to prosper at the expense of men and their families. This is largely because men, at their peril ignored the feminist movement. Now sufficient men across the Western world have been affected both financially and emotionally to begin to fight back. The problem is the feminist movement are well dug in on the ground behind the shelters which house them and furnish them with income and in the top echelons of the various governing bodies where they can now affect the judiciary and governments with their lies and calumnies. We will not win the war arguing against their false statistics, we need men to open shelters for other men because until men take responsibility for caring for each other, I don't think much will change.
For more information on Erin Pizzey and her work, see: http://equality.virtualave.net/Reality.htm
The full text of "Prone to Violence" is at: http://www.massey.ac.nz/~kbirks//gender/viol/ptv/ptv.htm
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PAUL CLEMENTS
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Murder In The Family
a report by the U.S. Bureau of Justice
July, 1994
Radical feminists are claiming that men are waging a "Gender War" against women. A report issued in July, 1994 by the U.S. Bureau of Justice (FBI) shows that claim to just another lie, in a long string of lies, used by radical feminists to hoodwink the American public. If there is, in fact, a gender war, men have been "Pearl Harbored".
The radical feminists would have us believe that only men commit domestic violence, and only women are victims. This study, called "MURDER IN THE FAMILY", shows otherwise. In 55% of spousal murders, women are the victims. But the remaining 44% (rounded) are men. More sons are killed than daughters (56%). More fathers (57%) than mothers. More brothers (73%) than sisters. Deaths of other relatives (Uncles, Grandfathers, etc.) total 75% males. When parents murdered their children, it was the mother in 55% of all cases.
Among the victims of parental murder, mothers murdered sons in 64% of cases. Daughters killed fathers in 81% of parent deaths. Sisters murdered brothers in 55% of sibling homicides.
This government study easily exposes the lies of victim feminology. The intelligent question is this: If their cause is so righteous, why do they have to lie about it?
For a more in-depth look at the lies of feminism and the domestic violence industry, read Prof. (DR.) Christina Hoff-Sommers' book, "WHO STOLE FEMINISM?"
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M*A*S*H 4077
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Over 30 years ago I was living in Montreal and while listening to CJAD radio station I heard that a brave female MP stood up in Parliament and she said, "women are being hurt and dying in their homes due to family violence. We as a community need to provide protection for these women, we need women's shelters." A not so brave male MP followed and said, "You must be kidding?" and proceeded to laugh. Well that was then and this is now. Now our community has women's shelters, but the roles have changed. When a man stands up and says that men are being hurt and dying in their homes from family violence the laughing continues.
The truth of the matter is that all research studies into the issues of partner violence, from the U of A, U of C, Statistics Canada and over 100 international sources demonstrate that the violence is mutual. That means the other 50% of the victims of family violence are men. The Alberta government provided, 1988-99, $12 million through Children's Services, to women's shelters while men received nothing. There is not a single bed, in Calgary, available for a father and his child fleeing family violence.
I once attended a woman's sponsored meeting on family violence where the keynote speaker approached me and said "I know men like you, you're trying to close the women's shelters." Before I answered her I thought about it for a fraction of a second and replied, "I guess I am trying to close down women's shelters. Ideally I would love to live in a society that does not require shelters, but realistically we need them. I am working to end violence do you want to see women's shelters closed?" In a conversation that I had with Karen Blasé, the former executive director of the Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter, she said, "I would love to see the day we turn the shelter rooms into condo units." Ideally it would be fantastic if we did not require any type of shelter, and that is the direction of our goal.
I believe that if you are not part of the solution to close the shelters then you are part of the problem. The natural law of events dictates that you achieve what you set your mind to. If you focus on family violence you will achieve family violence, as in the Alberta Office for the Prevention of Family Violence, the mind accepts the term and concept of "family violence".
I have attended "Family violence initiatives" that I questioned why it was not called "Family Non-violence initiatives". Why not change Alberta Office for the Prevention of Family Violence to the Alberta Office of Family Non-violence?
The MASH*4077 project was created in Alberta and is an Alberta product. The concept has been shared with men's support groups in Victoria, Kamloops, Kelowna, Price George and Durham Ontario.
We are networking across Canada and the world to establish the Shelters. This is a unique, innovative and original opportunity for Alberta to take a lead for family non-violence initiatives. The first Calgary MASH unit will be named The Henry Switzer House, a living memorial to a big hearted man and a FoM supporter.
Our initiative will reduce the stress on the women's shelters at a fraction of the cost. We will be able to substantially reduce the associated costs incurred by the provincial government. Women's shelter units will be freed up for only the most serious situations.
Men's support groups across Alberta will like parity and equality to the women's groups and we ask for equal financial support to provide men with services comparable to what is provided by women's shelters. So we are asking for $12 million. That is idealistic but not realistic.
Something more realistic, but certainly idealistic is $3.5 million in the form of grants and loan guarantees for the purchase of a 64 bed hotel. The hotel will be a working hotel which will make it self-sufficient within a reasonable length of time. 70% will be a regular hotel, 20% will be allocated to temporary accommodations at a monthly rate and 10% will be reserved to emergency housing. Those people living in the temporary housing units will be either already employed or will be working and learning a new career in hotel management, maintenance or kitchen staff. Hence to totally self-sustaining shelter turning out employable trained people.
As realistic, but becoming less idealistic is $100,000.00 to cover 6 months of operational costs. Within that time line we will endeavor to secure addition funding for the shelter but will not be in the position to provide a self-sustaining environment.
Totally realistically, we will probably receive a letter from the Alberta government thanking us for our efforts and "good wishes" in pursuing our goals. A "critical mass" of effectuated people is being reached-- fathers, children, grand parents and second wives. Will the Government of Alberta be a leader or a follower. Will the government write the books on family non-violence initiatives or will the government borrow the book?
Realizing the recent world problems and the effect on the province's earning capacity, the absolute bare minimum we seek is a token discretionary financial contribution of $15,000 and a letter of support from the government of Alberta. This way, at least, we will be able to apply to the federal government National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention Funding Program. This program will enable us to bring into the province an additional $50,000 for family non-violence programs. Basically, we ask that you support our application to the federal government and support a committee into the Status of Men.
For more information on the M*A*S*H 4077 project and the Family of Men, go to
http://www.familyofmen.com/
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We leave you with the 'Zonie blessing--"May you always have a full tank of
gas and underwear that doesn't ride up!"
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Trudy W. Schuett
Publisher
http://www.desertlightjournal.homestead.com/
PO Box 1252 Yuma AZ 85366
©2001 TWSchuett
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Commentary and contributed articles are not necessarily the opinion of the DesertLight
Journal. We strive to include all views in the emerging men's rights movement, and
therefore cannot be expected to agree with everything.
