Friday, February 04, 2011
Morning read: Domestic violence myths
Christina Hoff Summers demolishes some of the leading myths about domestic violence, including at least one anti-male falsehood still promoted by Eric Holder's "Justice" Department.
"The facts are clear," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "Intimate partner homicide is the leading cause of death for African-American women ages 15 to 45."
That's a horrifying statistic, and it would be a shocking reflection of the state of the black family, and American society generally, if it were true. But it isn't true.
My questions: Why does the attorney general of the United States say such things and continue to do so long after critics point out the error, and why is the press so unwilling to call him on it?
Release the hounds.
15 Comments:
By 
, at
Fri Feb 04, 11:23:00 AM:
Lazy mind. Theirs the same.
M.E.
By , at
Fri Feb 04, 11:31:00 AM:
Maybe because everybody in the Obama administration are lying pieces of shit? Could that be it?
By 
D.E. Cloutier, at
Fri Feb 04, 12:02:00 PM:
"Never let truth stand in the way of a good story," some big-city newspapermen used to tell cub reporters during the days of Hildy Johnson in the 1928 Broadway hit "Front Page."
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
By , at
Fri Feb 04, 02:00:00 PM:
Since we are on the subject of the Administration lying, here is the lie de jour from gateway pundit:
http://gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2011/02/sad-obama-lies-to-national-prayer-breakfast-about-his-fathers-muslim-faith/
In a nutshell, 0bama says his father was a 'non-believer".
By , at
Fri Feb 04, 05:22:00 PM:
Actually, AG Holder is particailly correct, and the journalist you linked to is partically wrong (and gets an F for failing to "demolish" as advertised or at the very least for neglecting to drill down on the CDC data she linked). Demerits for trusting but not verifying what you post.
The CDC site shows that the leading cause of death for african american women between ages 15-24 is homicide (after unintentional accidents).
Twenty-one percent of african merican women dying as a result of homicide is no myth.
By PD Quig, at
Fri Feb 04, 05:57:00 PM:
So, Holder is right: the leading cause of death IS homocide--except that the leading cause of death is actually accidents?
Generally speaking, being in second place is not the same as being in first place--which would mean that homocide is NOT the leading cause. Or do accidents not count because they are 'unintentional'? And doesn't that beg the question as to just how many causes of death beyond suicide and homocide are intentional?
Demerits for adducing proof for your argument that proves the other guy was right.
By John Cunningham, at
Fri Feb 04, 10:56:00 PM:
The Commie press will never call their leader, Comrade Urkel, on any of his falsehoods. the so-called "press" is actually a propaganda arm of the DNC.
By @nooil4pacifists, at
Sat Feb 05, 12:05:00 AM:
Anony:
1) That's not the age group Holder cited.
2) The CDC data do show all homicides (not just those by lovers) as the fifth leading cause of death among African-American women 15-45 years old.
By , at
Sat Feb 05, 01:30:00 AM:
How about asking this question: Why is this "big scandal" re: an erroneous domestic violence statistic posted on a website (apparently for "over a year") suddenly the topic du jour? Because the deadline for organizations to apply for federal funding of domestic violence assistance (like legal aids) is coming up in the next few weeks - and then funding decisions will need to be made. You all may want to discredit Holder because of problems you have with his politics, but the people with skin in this game are actual real-life women who seriously need help extricating themselves from dangerous situations. Close the "abortion loophole," throw the battered women to the wolves. What could go wrong?
By , at
Sat Feb 05, 06:20:00 AM:
Anonymous @Sat Feb 05, 01:30:00 AM
You all may want to discredit Holder because of problems you have with his politics, but the people with skin in this game are actual real-life women who seriously need help extricating themselves from dangerous situations. Close the "abortion loophole," throw the battered women to the wolves. What could go wrong?
No, we wish to discredit Holder because he is an ignorant, lying so-and-so.
Or is your position that a lie in a good cause is all to the good?
By , at
Sat Feb 05, 11:39:00 AM:
@BT: Thanks for asking. No; I'd be very surprised if Eric Holder maintains his own website. I think people who sit around stirring the pot to the detriment of people with real problems are wasting everyone's time and money: Resources that could potentially be used to some positive end. It's a shame.
By Dawnfire82, at
Sat Feb 05, 11:50:00 AM:
"wasting everyone's time and money"
Wow. I didn't know that making blog posts and comments was so *valuable.*
But I do see how when someone in a position of power and authority is misrepresenting statistics in the hopes of influencing policy, and thereby misappropriating greater resources for a lesser problem, would be a waste of time and money.
By SR, at
Sat Feb 05, 01:10:00 PM:
It would be interesting to see if any of the aforementioned "programs" clamoring for citizens'
hard earned dollars ever made a dent in the real statistics over the years. I would wager that after accidents, domestic violence has always been the second leading cause of death in the target population, and will continue to be so.
By , at
Sun Feb 06, 04:37:00 PM:
Here is a link to the outcomes reporting from these programs:
http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/vawamei/formlav.htm
By , at
Sun Feb 06, 09:46:00 PM:
The stat looks like an oft-cited but outdated stat, from around 10 years ago. See, e.g.,
http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume72002/No1Jan2002/AfricanAmericanWomenPartnerViolence.aspx#Office
I guess, to SR's point, these services HAVE put a dent in these statistics, if this is no longer the case.
