Is there a link between 'lone wolf terrorists'and domestic violence?

[Destinysdaughter]

This article suggests there are potentially links between this is kind of perpetrator and men who commit DV and or have hatred towards women.

nymag.com/thecut/2016/07/mass-killers-terrorism-domestic-violence.html

Both the shooter in Orlando and the truck driver in Nice were not especially devout but did have a history of DV.Wondered what pp thought about this?

[Destinysdaughter]

nymag.com/thecut/2016/07/mass-killers-terrorism-domestic-violence.html

[TheNotoriousPMT]

It seems logical to me that if you're violent, you're likely to be violent in more than one aspect of your life.

I read a book about the psychology behind killing others (entitled On Killing, amazingly). Almost as an aside, it mentioned that a domestic violence support group in Belfast in the 80s was almost entirely made up of partners/spouses of men involved in paramilitary groups.

Either you like hurting other people or you don't.

[VestalVirgin]

Either you like hurting other people or you don't.

This.

I don't think it is a coincidence that the Islamist terrorists come from a culture where domestic violence is perfectly legal and accepted.

You don't just wake up some morning and decide to commit mass murder when you have never even hurt a fly beforehand.

[UnikittyInHerBusinessSuit]

I can imagine that the DV victims of Republican paramilitaries in Belfast might band together specifically because it presents unusually difficult problems when you're being abused by someone who holds that position within the community - much like women who are married to/living with abusive police officers. You can't just go to the cops (I know that "just go to the cops" isn't that simple and definitely wasn't in the 1970s/80s but it would be doubly difficult in those circumstances).

But yes, criminals are likely to be criminal in all areas of their lives - teens who abuse animals are a higher risk of criminal violence in the future; and pulling in everyone who had an out of date tax disc on their car was a great way to find people who the police were looking for for other crimes.

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

I was wondering exactly the same thing after hearing it about the Nice perpetrator and remembering hearing similar things about some previous attackers.

It does seem plausible for there to be a link. If nothing else, it shows a lack of value placed on other people's lives and feelings, and maybe an "othering" of other groups of people (or not viewing them as "people" at all?). If you can hate women to the point of violence, you can hate "unbelievers" or other races or whichever other grouping you prefer to set yourself against just as easily I suppose.

[OlennasWimple]

Evil bastards are evil bastards

[HapShawl]

DV is itself a form of terrorism

[OneFlewOverTheDodosNest]

What frustrates me is that it is accepted that someone who abuses animals is likely to be violent in other areas of life, it is a sort of flag for police to be watchful of their behaviour. Yet the same behaviour applied to women in the context of DV is ignored - not seen as a link, rarely commented on in the press. Why is this?

I've seen it again with the man who killed his wife and daughter yesterday - complete denial of the fact that this is a violent man who has murdered his family before killing himself. Instead it's all "he seems like such a nice guy" "so out of character" "poor lamb was struggling with marital breakdown" as if this was an event that happened to the perpetrator as much as to his victims. Why do we continue to protect the reputation of murderers in this way?

[moonstruckl8]

It's only the reputation of white male murderers who are protected that way.

[OneFlewOverTheDodosNest]

Good point moonstruck

[Destinysdaughter]

Another factor that I think is relevant is that a man who is suicidal is also a high risk factor as he's got nothing to lose and is prepared to take others down with him. Raoul Moat was another example of this.

[Owllady]

I was a bit aghast by 'such a nice guy' too, one flew, he'd just killed his wife and daughter outside a swimming baths. Not sure what was nice about that at all

[OlennasWimple]

I think in the immediate aftermath of an horrific event the media people tend to see things in black and white. So perpetrators are either "such a nice person, you'd never have thought it" (usually ex-public school, doctors, straight A students, "devoted mother of two" etc), or "a loner, kept himself to himself"

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

I have just read The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker and it is very, very interesting on the predictability of violent crime - apparently spousal murder is among the easiest to predict.
This sounds like a textbook case. These poor women, when will we start protecting them?

Re the news reports always saying 'he was such a nice guy', de Becker points out that the reporters always talk to neighbours who don't really know anything about the family dynamic, and then present the information as if the view of people who only knew the perpetrator to say hello to occasionally as they put the bins out or whatever is useful information.

There is nothing in the book about terrorism - only domestic violence, celebrity stalking and workplace murders - but I would love to know if de Becker has ever done any work on it.

[JohnJ80]

It is notable that you almost never see women perpetrating acts like this. And it's not just terrorism, but mass violence generally. If I remember ,rightly there's something like a 98% chance of a mass shooting event being committed by a man. You rarely get High School girls gunning down their classmates.

Mass murder followed by suicide is the most extreme statement of power there is. It's almost as if to say: 'if I can't control the world then I'll destroy it along with myself'. Whether that is PRIMARILY driven by misogyny I'm not sure; but it does seem to be peculiarly male. Of course you get women like Meinhoff and Khaled, but they were less nihilistic and more idealistic.

[Destinysdaughter]

There are well defined risk factors when it comes to predicting spousal homicide, there's actually a checklist that agencies use. 75% of these murders are committed once the victim has left the relationship.