The fourteenth-century French knight Geoffrey de La Tour Landry experienced personally horrendous violence against men. Surviving records indicate that he was at the siege of Aguillon in 1346, fought on the losing side in the Battle of Auray in 1364, engaged in the siege at Cherbourg in 1378, and served in war in Brittany in 1380 and 1383.[1] Within this time of the Hundred Years’ War, noblemen such as Geoffrey had an average lifespan nearly ten years less than noblewomen. Women throughout history have played an important role in inciting men to violence against men. In a loving book of teachings for his daughters, Geoffrey used biblical stories to instruct his daughters to act with concern for violence against men.
The biblical story of the massacre at Shechem shows the deep roots of contempt for men’s lives. In that story, the young woman Dinah went, apparently by herself, to visit with the women of the tribe of Shechem.[2] Today, that’s like a scantily dressed woman walking alone through a high-crime area at midnight on a Friday night. All well-educated persons know that every woman has the right to do that. But few consider that such action tends to increase the job hazards of police officers, who are predominately men. Men suffer fourteen times more occupational fatalities than women do. Men suffer four times more deaths from violence than women do.
The biblical story of the massacre at Shechem shows the deep roots of contempt for men’s lives. In that story, the young woman Dinah went, apparently by herself, to visit with the women of the tribe of Shechem.[2] Today, that’s like a scantily dressed woman walking alone through a high-crime area at midnight on a Friday night. All well-educated persons know that every woman has the right to do that. But few consider that such action tends to increase the job hazards of police officers, who are predominately men. Men suffer fourteen times more occupational fatalities than women do. Men suffer four times more deaths from violence than women do.
