Men use rejection as excuse for violence against women

By Stephanie Woodward |Staff Writer|

Violence against women is a prominent issue in our society.

An explanation for this problem is the idea of patriarchy.

I have noticed a trend in a number of incidents that involve men who claim they were motivated to violent action by rejection from women.

In a case earlier this year, Elliot Rodgers became violent after numerous women rejected his advances.

Rodgers recorded numerous videos and posted them on YouTube expressing his outrage with women and their constant rejection.

He felt that women’s lack of interest are what led to his lack of a love life.

Rodgers vowed to eliminate the women he could not win over, and the men who had better luck with women than he did.

“All those beautiful girls I desired so much in my life, but can never have, because they despise and loathe me, I will destroy,” said Rodgers in his 140 page manifesto.

He followed through on his words when he killed six people in Isla Vista, California near the University of California, Santa Barbara campus on May 23, 2014.

According to The Daily Telegraph, a similar incident happened on Oct. 24, 2014 when Jaylen Fryberg, a student at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, opened fire on fellow students.

The shooting happened the day after Fryberg had a dispute with his girlfriend on Facebook.

His cousin Heaven Arbuckle believes the shooting was a direct consequence over the argument Fryberg had with his girlfriend.

“He was heartbroken and didn’t know what to do,” said Arbuckle.

It seems to be a common trend for men to become violent after feeling rejected or dismissed by women.
I believe many men feel entitled to women, due to their perceived superiority in our society.

Some men believe they are dominant and should be able to have any woman they want simply because they are men.

The problems of female inferiority is something that is also seen by students on our campus.

The Women’s Resource Center (WRC) recently hosted Smashing the Patriarchy with Pizza as an attempt to address the patriarchal issues we are surrounded by.

The event coordinator, Kaoma Garcia said that in the last few years, there has been a man who frequented events hosted by the WRC.

Many women felt uncomfortable while he was around because he stared and entered into their personal space.

“After he confronted one individual and got in her face he was asked to not return to any events,” said Garcia.

This is evidence that there is no exception to male superiority.

The WRC is located on the second floor of the Santos Manuel Student Union, strives to be a safe place for women.

“Many women feel intimidated after being assaulted and we want them to feel safe and comfortable; that’s our goal here,” added Garcia.

Many women visit the WRC frequently because it is a place on our campus where they feel comfortable enough to be themselves.

Women are subjected to various sorts of violence by men whether it is physical, sexual, or verbal. It is important that we are aware so we can fight against these issues.