Here are some excerpts from an insensitive and poorly researched article by Deborah Tetley at The National Post (Canada):
“This is hard for us because Derek will be missed, but we feel so much grief for all those families, too,” said Fay, 20.
“So, tonight we are trying to enjoy and remember Derek for the guy he was and not how he went, because we don’t know that guy.”
“He could finish your basement, then tune your car up and act as your hunting tour guide,” said Fay. “He knew how to do everything and would do anything he could for anyone at any time. A shirt-off-his-back kind of guy. That’s why none of this makes sense to us.”
Here are excerpts from another insensitive and poorly researched article by Nadia Moharib at The Calgary Sun.
“Friends say he was a popular young man, the type who wouldn’t even pick a fight.”
“Everybody is making him out to be a villain,” said a close friend who didn’t want to be named out of respect to Jensen’s family.
“And he’s not.”
Below is a blogger’s empassioned, succinct and accurate response to journalistic pieces (such as those by Nadia Moharib and Deborah Tetley) that are an embarrassment to the profession. What is most frustrating about the two examples given above, is the fact that they are not only written by public educators, but by women.
“When women are murdered, the most likely perpetrator is her intimate partner. In all cases of domestic violence, women are the victims 85% of the time, and women who are killed by their spouses are most often murdered after separation. It is absolutely ridiculous to read an article about Derek Jensen being a great guy who “shockingly” murdered three people and then committed suicide. This was not a random attack, it was not a mental breakdown, it was a case of spousal violence. Jensen murdered his girlfriend and shot the three others who were with her. The article’s mention of Jensen’s “broken heart” is laughably irrelevant, and does not even come close to justifying his violent murder of his ex-girlfriend. Additionally, it was not a “mix of booze and rage or something” that caused Jensen commit these murders, as his close friend speculated. Call it what it was: domestic violence. Ignorantly disregarding this fact does absolutely nothing to help the thousands of Canadian women who are abused or killed by their intimate partner every year.”
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My thoughts on media representation of violence against women.
I guess the fact that Derek Jensen shot at four people including himself and killed three (including himself) is a minor detail to the teams at The National Post. What is this perverted obsession that media outlets have with representing CLEAR cases of stalking, partner violence and eventual murder as something random that just “makes no sense”? Are the writers of such articles ignorant? Dishonest? Stupid? All of the above? What about the editors that permit such yellow journalism to be published? What happened to their sense of duty towards the public? To educate? To present facts? Particularly on matters that affect their daughters, mothers, sisters, wives, friends and girlfriends? If you read the details of Tabitha Stepple’s relationship with Derek Jensen, it becomes patently obvious (to someone who has made an effort to educate his/herself on the most pervasive kind of abuse in the entire world) that what Derek Jensen did, DID follow a pattern. It makes absolute sense that his behaviour went from controlling, abusive and threatening, to physically violent and murderous. If you don’t wish to take my word for it, watch this video (and the remaining two parts). It will only take up 15 minutes of your time in total.
All the research is available yet so many individuals and media outlets are either ignorant to or deliberately misrepresenting violence against women as some “random” “inexplicable” act. Quite frankly, I can’t say which is worse. Why is this happening? I think we all know why. As my husband describes it, it’s the elephant in the room.
There’s Lundy Bancroft’s book “Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men”, there’s Sut Jhally’s documentary “Dreamworlds 3″, there’s Jackson Katz’s book “The Macho Paradox” , there are his videos/documentaries such as “Tough Guise”. These resources are all designed for public education. What more information do people want? Everything is a click away. How lazy and irresponsible can the media industry get? Why the hell aren’t editors at The National Post and the authors of articles that are so devoid of ethics, asking themselves “WOULD I WRITE SUCH A GLOWING REPORT ABOUT THE MURDERER OF MY CHILD?” Somehow, I don’t think they would.
This is not a call to start a media lynching of men who were a product of a society we all contribute to. This is a call for journalists, editors and media outlets of all kinds to do everything in their power to understand intimate partner violence since they are contributing to the education of the masses.
Tabitha Stepple. SOURCE: Yahoo News
This post is dedicated to Tabitha Stepple. A young woman who – regardless of what the ill-informed might think or say – was blameless in her demise and the demise of her friends. This was NOT a case of “temporary insanity” or a “crime of passion”. If we as a society were not so hell-bent on blaming women for all of the world’s woes (including their own murder), if we were not so pig-headed and in denial about what the realities of intimate violence actually are, perhaps Tabitha and many others would be alive today.
Tabitha was a victim of not only an abusive and violent young man, but a society and culture that normalises behaviours like jealousy as expressions of “love”…and murder as an acceptable outcome of “heartbreak”. Society does this through negative and inaccurate depictions of masculinity and relationships not only in movies, music videos, video games and patriarchal interpretations of religious teachings, but through irresponsible journalism. Journalism that instead of explaining the causes and solutions of violence against women, seeks to paint murderers of women as some inexplicable anomaly, a bleeding lamb that must have been wronged by women or society and is therefore justified in murdering a woman. Shame on Nadia Moharib, shame on Deborah Tetley. Shame on every journalist and media outlet that reinforces the idea that heartbreak is an acceptable reason to kill a woman. IT IS NOT. As public educators, you have a duty to know what you are talking about it before you type or publish a single word. It seems that journalists and editors will not understand the gravity of their irresponsibility unless they are unfortunate enough to be touched by the brutal violence and misery of intimate partner violence that Tabitha’s family and friends have had to endure. I would never wish that upon my worst enemy.
It is time for the widespread ignorance and denial on the subject of intimate violence to be formally addressed and it’s time for us to educate ourselves on the most pervasive form of abuse and violence of our times. No-one else is going to do it for us.
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Further information: For those who would like an example of responsible journalism on the subject of intimate partner abuse and violence, here is an excellent example, by Joanne Richard at the Winnepeg Sun.
“Rethinking Charm” by Lundy Bancroft. Bancroft comments on Facebook “Charming people tend to be instantly appealing, but as often as not, they are trouble. Here’s why.”
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Thank you for giving Tabitha’s voice back. Moreover, thank you for informing those so ignorant to the facts of Domestic Violence.
You are very welcome JS. Media ignorance on the subject of violence against women is lethal since the media are a central source of “education” for the masses.
Also, as a Canadian woman, I’m ashamed of Tetley’s article. Trust me, she’ll be hearing from me about it. I agree, the media are a central source of education for the masses. Shame on you, Tetley!
The National Post links are broken.
I can’t help but wonder what if any role Jensen’s Mormon upbringing had to do with his sense of ownership of Tabitha.
It’s interesting you mention that tildeb, as I’ve just come across another case that happened very recently (again irresponsibly represented with virtually no reference to the victim or her family), in Canada, where the murderer was a “devout Pentecostal who read the Bible from cover to cover more than once”. See:http://www.theaq.net/2012/former-stu-student-involved-in-murder-suicide/-11210
As someone from the community this event happened in I feel that the fact that two articles out of hundreds were about who Derek used to be was a good thing. Yes it was a very tragic event, and was abuse, does not take away from the fact that Derek is still someones friend, and child. He still deserves respect, although this was a very senseless tragic event that could’ve been prevented.
Instead of talking about irresponsible journalism perhaps you should educate your self on teen violence, and why it happens. Look at school shootings, perhaps the one in Taber in 99. Teens are under a ridiculous amount of stress now a days and it is more common for them to snap.
If you feel so strongly about this event, instead of just talking about this “poor” journalism you can help educate others on teen violence, and the fact that it is preventable.
Laren, thank you for your comment and I’m sorry that this happened on your community’s doorstep.
It is a misjudgement to say that two out of hundreds of articles were about Derek. On the whole, violence against women is nearly always presented as something else in the media. Another recent example –> http://www.theaq.net/2012/former-stu-student-involved-in-murder-suicide/-11210
You might want to scroll to my comment at the bottom of the article.
Are you aware that:
“Three-quarters (76%) of all homicide-suicides in Canada between 1961 and 2003 involved family members. Over half of these cases were committed by male spouses or ex-spouses and 97% of victims were female spouses.” SOURCE –> http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-224-x/85-224-x2005000-eng.pdf
The words “female spouse” are interchangeable with “ex spouse”, “common law partner” or “girlfriend”.
I’m not sure that you’ve read my entire blog post since you seem to think that I don’t recognise that Derek was someone’s kin, despite me clearly stating //This is not a call to start a media lynching of men who were a product of a society we all contribute to.//
What I find problematic with the media portrayals of violence against women is how they completely detract from informing us about the realities of WHY deaths such as those in Tabitha’s case happen. Media reports seem to like to pretend that violence against women is something “random”, cannot be predicted…That when men do what Derek did, that it is just “senseless violence”….something that cannot be understood. This is completely inaccurate, Derek showed all signs of being an abusive partner and followed a pattern of behaviour that has been documented over and over again. What he did in the end was just step 10. Why did nobody intervene from steps 1 to 9?
The media often paints the perpetrator as a wonderful chap not realising that this is the hallmark of an abuser. They also have a tendency to focus on male victims more than female victims, yet when a woman commits a homicide, all the attention is on her (and quite rightly).
Pick up any book on domestic violence and it will tell you that in the majority of cases, abusers maintain an excellent public image. They only unleash their violence and misogyny when alone with their victim…though they do slip up sometimes in public. In Derek’s case this was when he actually pushed Tabitha off a bar stool according to the reports of people who had been around Tabitha on the day of her murder.
Calling violence against women “teen violence” is misleading. It suggests that violence is a phenomenon that can be attributed to the age of the perpetrator…as opposed to the sex of the perpetrator. We live in societies where we divide behaviour into masculine and feminine traits. We valourise those traits considered masculine (e.g. violence, anger, toughness, macho behaviour, risk taking) and we despise those traits considered feminine (e.g. conscientiousness, compassion, nurturing, kindness). This is the culture that is responsible for the killing of Tabitha and her friends.
In one of thousands of studies that prove this, a 2003 study ascertained that teenage males were responsible for 86% of all homicides as compared to 14% of teenage females. Doesn’t that send alarm bells ringing that this is not an issue where males and females should be lumped together under one heading of “teens”? As though teenage women go round killing people at the same rate as teenage men? They do not.
There is not a single peer reviewed, academic journal article that supports your claim //Teens are under a ridiculous amount of stress now a days and it is more common for them to snap.//
As for educating others, that’s precisely what I have done by writing this blog post.
I appreciate your comments and the fact that this is an issue close to your heart, but frankly, unless you are actively challenging the misrepresentation of violence against women in the media through campaigning, speaking about it, writing about it…If you are saying that Derek deserves respect and have nothing to say about Tabitha, saying that this is an issue of teen violence not gender and violence against women… then you are directly contributing to the culture that normalises what Derek did.
//then you are directly contributing to the culture that normalises what Derek did//
Well said.
LP, I am a friend of Tabitha’s, and it is my DUTY as her friend and someone who loves her to get myself out there to speak about DV against women.In fact, I have a meeting with the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters this week to discuss this very subject. If we aren’t trying to get ourselves out there to change this, we only contribute to the problem.
This has NOTHING to do with ‘snapping’- As Tabi’s friend, I can assure you- it was not a random act. He drove 80 minutes with 3 guns in his car, he definitely didn’t snap. You don’t have all of the facts, and this is what is so inherently dangerous – we read articles such as Ms. Tetley’s and get a skewed version of the truth. I for one applaud The Opinionista – she is the FIRST blogger/writer to get the facts STRAIGHT and write about this for what it is – DOMESTIC VIOLENCE plain and simple. Furthermore, are you suggesting that pressures of society today causes men to murder their girlfriends? I think not. Over 22 years ago I was a victim of DV myself. This has nothing to do with 2012, but rather, the way our young men view women and how fathers are (not) modeling proper treatment of women in the eyes of their sons. Has DV become more frequent b/c of the media? (videos, games, magazines, etc.) Perhaps. I am not an expert on the subject. However, I could go on and on about the ways in which Tabitha has NOT had a voice thanks to the media and other social networking sites. Yet, I truly thank The Opinionista for giving Tabi’s voice back. I know if Tabi were here she would be saying the same thing.
PLEASE watch this tonight on TV (If you’re in Canada) or online tomorrow morning (or anytime thereafter). As Lloyd Robertson says: Derek became unhinged and unraveled over the course of the year he dated Tabitha.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/
FINALLY- Tabitha’s true story will be told. You’ll see how Derek threatened her through his text messages. This was NOT a case of a young man ‘snapping’ as so many have previously thought, and as Canadian journalists have reported.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=865705&playlistId=1.1157930&binId=1.810401&playlistPageNum=1