Today’s Huffington Post features an article by Elizabeth Marquardt, who blogs regularly at Family Scholars, which is part of the Institute for American Values.
Ms. Marquardt covers an issue familiar to readers of this blog – the growing and alarming phenomenon of elderly homicide/suicides – older men killing their wives and then killing themselves. This article brings in some information I haven’t looked at yet and I’ve added to my “books to order” list as a result.
Below is an excerpt from her article – Elderly Murder-Suicide: Should We Praise Old Men Who Kill Their Wives and Themselves?
A bizarre aspect of these episodes is that reporters, commentators or the killers themselves frequently speak of them as “loving” acts. When a husband (and make no mistake: this is a gendered activity; husbands almost always kill their wives and not the reverse) kills his sick wife and then himself, he is said to act out of compassion or understandable desperation. After their parents’ bodies were found, the shocked Snelling family, looking for meaning in this tragic act, released a statement saying their father acted “out of deep devotion and profound love.”
Please go and read the rest of her article here to let the Huffington Post know you are interested in this topic and what she’s written about it. –Stephen Drake
People read these accounts and say, “how sad”. SAD?! He KILLED her…she is NOT his property to be disposed of because he can’t handle it. There are options and that is what we need to educate spouses and partners about so these homicides (and suicides) do not happen. The aging network is here and we want to help – but you need to call us or call 911. Please.
And why gender bias? Why does the media, much of the judicial system, general public, etc. think it’s OK to “do away” with wives?