📅 Thought for today:

‘Men are intimidated. Intimidated, threatened by funny women. Do you know what women are intimidated by? The fact that men can kill us with their hands.’

— Aisling Bea

#thoughtfortoday #AshlingMurphy #intimidated #threatened #men #attitudes #shewasgoingforarun

Words from Irish comedian Aisling Bea from a few years ago.

A friend in Cork sent pictures of the vigil attended by more than 5,000 people in Cork City yesterday for the murdered young woman, and runner, Ashling Murphy. There were vigils across Ireland, in London and many other places.

A man arrested in connection with the murder has been eliminated from enquiries and released – and has gone into hiding because he is now being threatened.

These are the bare facts. What bothers me is that nothing seems to be changing for the better. Men are killing women. Women who are doing the everyday things men take for granted.

It is not possible as a man to understand what it is like to live with that sense of threat and danger. It is all too easy for men to dismiss it or believe that it is just “a limited number of damaged men.”

It isn’t. It is a systemic, societal problem about casual attitudes that are toxic.

There are many factors in this, but I will single out the public figures, leaders and “stars”, whose behaviour, language, and attitudes have provided encouragement to laugh at a very serious issue as if it is not important. “Locker room banter”, as one of those people said.

I am asking myself today, “What can I do to make a positive change happen?”

 

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