Does Our Society Tend to Overlook Violence Against Women?

I just read this article analyzing the recent Mel Gibson hoopla and how the media (and our society as whole) has reacted to it.  It’s a great opinion piece, and you should read it, but I’ll go ahead and summarize.  If you’ve been paying any attention to the coverage on this whole situation, then you may have picked up on them emphasizing Mr. Gibson’s racist remarks.  Many say that he was let go by his agency because of the racism.  From the article:  “The claim is that Gibson screamed at his then-girlfriend that the way she dressed meant that she deserved to be raped by a pack of ‘n—-rs.’ The so-called ‘n-word’ is so totemically powerful that no one will even print it, and its use has finally placed Gibson beyond the pale:  his own agents issued a statement saying that no one in Hollywood would touch him with a 10-foot pole. Because of his racial attitudes.  But what about the (alleged) threats and assaults against his then girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, who claims that he broke two of her teeth, and attacked her while she was holding their baby? Those are mentioned in passing as ‘misogyny’ or ‘domestic abuse.’  Objectionable, maybe, but not enough to end a Hollywood player’s career.”

It’s undeniable how true this is; Charlie Sheen has come under fire numerous times for his abusive treatment of his girlfriends and spouses.  Does it keep him from having the most-watched sitcom on television right now?  No.  Roman Polanski had a gaggle of celebrities come out to support him after his recent arrest, and that included a number of female celebs.  Clearly raping a young girl is wrong, but if it’s an “artist” doing it, well, that might be excusable.