Hopelessness is an Epidemic And the Antidote is HOPE
By Casey Gwinn, Esq.
As the news is filled with stories of Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius shooting and killing his girlfriend on Valentine's Day in South Africa, and his long history of domestic violence and guns, a related epidemic of much greater proportion is playing out across the United States. The emerging epidemic is found at the intersection of Valentine's Day, unabated violence, and hopelessness. Since Valentine's Day 2013, hopelessness is rising in this country but no one is paying attention. There have been fourteen murder-suicides in the United States in the last eight days and there has been no national news coverage. Pistorius has enjoyed hundreds of published news accounts in the United States, but no one is even paying attention to the 13 women and 2 children who have died in eight days of murder-suicides. And this count does not even include the two attempted murder-suicides, the killers themselves, or the other 24 women killed by intimate partners in the last eight days where their killers did not take their own lives after killing their partners. The murder-suicides crisscross the country.
Today, Ellen Pence won her struggle with cancer. She soared above it. She did not let it take her soul, love, joy, beauty, or power. She is now at peace. Her pain is gone. Her happiness is complete and she has finished the race with glory. She was a mentor and friend to me and many others. She taught me over 25 years ago to try to see the world as it should be but to never ignore how it really is. She lived life with so much passion, determination, and humor. She, more than most people I have ever known, changed the world. The world is a different place because Ellen Pence invested her life in helping others. Her work resulted in saving thousands of lives and helped break the cycle of violence for millions of people who never even heard the name “Ellen Pence”. And hundreds of communities, systems, agencies, and people altered the course of their work and lives because of Ellen. I am one of those many
Happy New Year, to all our friends and supporters around the world! We wish you a year blessed with fulfilled expectations, realized dreams, and stunning accomplishments.
As we celebrate Domestic Violence Awareness Month across America, the struggle to reduce and prevent domestic violence and related sexual assault rages. Each week this month approximately 20 women, men, children, and police officers have died in family violence related incidents (an average of four per day). Last week, the Topeka City Council decriminalized domestic violence in an effort to save money. Sadly, many communities are prosecuting less abusers and holding less violent offenders accountable for their violence against women, children, and men even though they don’t get the attention like Topeka. Even with strong support from the Obama Administration, less and less resources are available in local communities even as the amount and type of violence increases. And as I write today, we are in week 12 of a series of domestic violence mass murders or near mass murders that have swept across America. Not including the daily array of murders and murder-suicides, forty-six people have died in nine domestic violence-related murders since July 8, 2011 and there has been no national media or public awareness about this epidemic of deaths.
Rolando had just fled the scene. I watched him speed away, weaving recklessly through heavy commuter traffic on Interstate 5. Cynthia said he was likely headed for Mexico — a mad man, consumed with rage, oblivious to everything around him. She was sitting in the backseat of my car, crying softly. My heart was racing. I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed and I couldn’t believe I was the only person who was willing to stop and help Cynthia. It was 6:51 am. I called 911.
This morning during the final session of the Seminario Centros de Justicia para las Mujeres in Chihuahua, Mexico at the Governor’s Palace, the Mexican National Anthem could be heard echoing through the courtyard of the beautiful Palace. The seventy-five attendees at the seminar immediately stood out of respect and love for their country and their people. And then they began to sing. They all sang…with great affection for Mexico, their homeland. It was a moment that Gael Strack, Enrique Curiel (our SDSU Intern), and I will never forget. Enrique has dual citizenship. Gael’s Latina heritage stirs in her deeply when here in Mexico. And I have grown to love the people of Mexico. They have such a passion for their work and such love for people in need.
