BBC excuses family annihilator with 1st Rule Misogyny

[NitroNine]

Angry responses on Twitter to the headline for the BBC’s reporting of the news a man in Utah has murdered his family (& then committed suicide) after his wife served him with divorce papers.

Specifically, the headline reads: Utah man kills wife after she serves him with divorce papers.

If you are scrolling through the US & Canada page it is appears as Utah man kills wife, children in murder-suicide so there is some hope it will change. (Hence my linking an archived copy above.)

They have, at least, refrained from providing any commentary about what a lovely man the murderer was & how stressed he must have been. Instead they talk about one of the women he murdered: "Tausha was the most kind and generous person and she never ever said anything ill about anyone," Tina Brown, a friend of the family, told KSTU-TV. "She would give the shirt off of her back for anyone and she served people tirelessly."

Obviously it is factually correct that this was the sequence of events in linear time. But there is absolutely a suggestion that Tausha Haight filing for divorce [four days before Christmas] made her husband murder her, her mother, & their children. As well as the angry people - all angry women, in fact, I think - on Twitter, there are a few men chiming in with “it’s not justifiable but…” Apparently unaware (in their first language) of how language works, yes.

VAWG is at such a shocking level in the US that homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant women. This 2007 research is incredibly detailed & demonstrates that while raw numbers may vary, there are clearly identifiable trends. As of 2022 70% of femicides in high-income countries were happening in the US (on a global scale, the U.S. ranks 34th for intentional female homicides); with almost three women killed by an intimate partner every day.

The death of just one person would merit accurate reporting, of course - but when there is a veritable epidemic of VAWG, it is desperately important that lazy tropes not be employed in the reporting of them.

(Rules of Misogyny)

Framing this bullshit as if it's just that 'a wee woman is a bit upset', rather than analysing and highlighting the dynamic and impact of their word choice and subtext is only adding dismissive and patronising shite to the list of their failings.

Thanks for complaining!

And what on Earth is going on with that IPSO site? It says in a 2019 blog entry that they’ll publish the LevelUP guidance on their site “next month.” But it’s not on there.

(Meanwhile of course they link to every dodgy trans lobby group under the sun in their “transgender guidance.”)

Ah, sure they're getting round to it, DarkDay. DV happens so much it's just boring.

Wrong sort of women experience the majority of DV. And of course, if anyone looks too closely at the RIGHT sort of women’s experiences of DV they’re likely to notice a bit of a pattern regarding the perpetrators. Ugh.

Apparently there is now a glowing obituary of the man mentioned in the OP in the local paper.

Despite the horror of what happened, an obituary for Haight, posted on local newspaper The Spectrum, makes no mention of the brutal mass murder that he is accused of carrying out.

Instead, the 42-year-old was remembered as a parent who “cherished” the children he allegedly shot dead.

“Each of these children were truly a cherished miracle to them,” it reads.

“Michael made it a point to spend quality time with each and every one of his children. Michael enjoyed making memories with the family.”

The fawning obituary goes on to describe him as someone who “lived a life of service” and “excelled at everything he did”.

“Michael lived a life of service. Whether it was serving in the church or in the community, he was willing to help with whatever was needed,” it reads.

Unbelieveable

uk.news.yahoo.com/outrage-obituary-utah-father-killed-125040636.html

He was investigated for dv against his daughter, he choked her for being 'mouthy'.

In the obituary, his family replaced his picture with a picture of Jesus!

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/utah-family-murders-child-abuse-b2264216.html

I was just coming to post that link.

How much worse can this get.

So not just the horror of what he did but that so many institutions (men) failed his wife and children. Apart from the person who filed the report to begin with.

Just shameful.

'Thank you for getting in touch again about our article Utah shooting: A man killed his family after wife filed for divorce

IPSO does not regulate the BBC and our journalism must adhere to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines.

I note a number of other media outlets used similar or identical wording in their headlines and while I understanding the point you are making, our article’s headline and opening line is referring to the timeline of events, rather than victim-blaming.

As the article goes on to explain, officials confirmed that Tausha Haight had filed for divorce on 21 December, and so this is a basic detail of the story.

This concludes Stage 1 of our complaints process. That means we can’t correspond with you further here. If you remain unhappy, you can now contact the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU). The ECU is Stage 2 of the BBC’s complaints process. You’ll need to explain why you think there’s a potential breach of standards, or if the issue is significant and should still be investigated. Please do so within 20 working days of this reply.'

I don't understand what the issue is. Is it that they're leading with the perp rather than the victim?

It just doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Headlines should describe what happened in as few words as possible surely. Outlining the reason for the killings isn't justifying them, surely.

The reason the man killed his wife and children is that he is a violent abuser who was about to lose control of his victims.
Its not a neutral account of what happened, its a biased account that is skewed in favour of the murderer.

Your question perfectly illustrates the issue, Voodoo.

'the reason for the killings' is not that this woman divorced her husband. This places responsibility for the violent murders on her.

The responsibility lies solely with the violent man.

He didn't kill his family because they were in the wrong, or did something to provoke him. He killed them because he was a murderous, violent, and I would go so far as to say evil person.

Worse, they were trying to escape him at the time. It's just heartbreaking.

Its interesting how the press have been tiptoeing round the deaths in Epsom, although I can see that until the police actually say the results of their investigation, it could be said that people are jumping to the wrong conclusions. Although Julie Bindel in the Spectator has sort of said it out loud. www.spectator.co.uk/article/emma-pattison-and-the-painful-truth-about-femicide/

But worse is that before the violence happens the police and courts dont listen to the wife / mother about the threat from the husband / father.

The court notes that Ms Kagan had warned the courts about her husband's behaviour while she was trying to win custody over Keira.

The Chief Coroner for Ontario, Dr Dirk Huyer, announced that an inquest will take place to investigate the circumstances surrounding Keira's death and to make recommendations for how to prevent future deaths.

uk.news.yahoo.com/four-old-girl-her-father-171251399.html

too little too late

The wife of the doctor accused of driving his family off a cliff in a Tesla doesn't want him to be prosecuted. A domestic violence expert says this kind of behavior isn't uncommon.

uk.news.yahoo.com/wife-doctor-accused-driving-family-182559948.html

Why are we blaming the Epsom College headteacher for her own murder?

uk.news.yahoo.com/voices-why-blaming-epsom-college-135000366.html