Favoritism is giving a pass to wife-beaters and diminishing the gravity of domestic violence according to one male therapist who says while people are angry at Mel Gibson they are ignoring Charlie Sheen who has been charged with allegedly putting a knife to his wife’s throat.
“We give free-passes to people we like and we react harsher to racist remarks than we do to actual violence against women – although both are seriously wrong” says Patrick Wanis PhD – Human Behavior & Relationship Expert.
“The media and public have been quite vocal in expressing opinions and judgments about Mel Gibson and his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva; some calling Mel Gibson a racist violent monster while others call Oksana a gold digger” says Dr. Wanis. “But with so many recordings and media coverage, Mel Gibson has become a joke – a kind of drunken modern-day Archie Bunker – and now the attention has turned off domestic violence. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger compared Mel Gibson to the Gulf of Mexico oil leak saying Gibson could not be contained.”
“While no charges have yet been filed against Mel Gibson, there has been no public outcry over Charlie Sheen, star of “Two and a Half Men” on CBS, who is charged with felony menacing, criminal mischief and assault against his wife, Brooke Mueller Sheen. His attorneys are trying to work out details of an agreement that calls for Sheen to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault in exchange for prosecutors dropping more serious charges. The agreement calls for Sheen to serve 30 days in jail.
“Why have the media and public not been screaming over Charlie Sheen who has been charged for allegedly putting a knife to his wife’s throat? Why have there not been the same calls for the boycotting of Charlie Sheen’s movies and TV shows as there have been for Mel Gibson’s movies?
“We are showing favoritism towards Charlie Sheen. We watch Charlie Sheen on his weekly TV show and for almost 7 years, and we welcome his TV character and welcome him in life as a bad boy but we refuse to see him as a man who has abused a woman. The reality of his abuse, of his violence against a woman, is ignored because people generally seem to like him, to find him affable, viewing him as basically just a boy who is slightly wild and has not yet grown up. If we had heard the conversation between Charlie and his wife, would we still be giving him the free=pass?
“People quickly condemned Chris Brown for assaulting Rihanna but was that because we saw the photo of her bruised face or because Chris Brown is black and so our bias and prejudice spiked our anger and condemnation?
“The most significant and critical point is that the incidents of Mel Gibson and Charlie Sheen have, instead of highlighting the issue of domestic violence, only served to diminish and undermine our attention to the gravity of domestic violence which affects not only women but also children. Each year, 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner and; half of those perpetrators abuse children in the household.
“We need to be careful that our biases and prejudices – our favoritism – do not result in a free-pass to people who abuse women or engage in domestic violence” says Dr. Wanis.
Listen to the interview Patrick Wanis PhD gave to Russ Morley morning host of news talk 850 WFTL radio: https://www.patrick-wanis.com/is-racism-more-important-than-violence-against-women-2-audio/
Originally from Australia, Patrick Wanis PhD, is a Celebrity Life-Coach, Author, Expert in Human Behavior and Relationships and a Clinical Hypnotherapist with a PhD in Health Psychology. Wanis has appeared on FOX News, MSNBC, Extra, the Montel Williams Show, Mike and Juliet, Cosmo, Rolling Stone, InTouch Weekly, Dating on Demand, E! TV, Vh1, Date.com, Matchmaker.com, etc. Wanis is the first person ever to do Clinical Hypnotherapy on national television. WGN Chicago and Syndicated TV show, “The Daily Buzz” anointed him “The Woman Expert” and FOX News pronounced him “A voice for women.” Over five million people have read Wanis’ books in English and Spanish. www.patrickwanis.com
Anointed “The Woman Expert” by WGN Chicago, Patrick Wanis PhD is a renowned Celebrity Life Coach, Human Behavior & Relationship Expert who developed SRTT therapy (Subconscious Rapid Transformation Technique) and is teaching it to other practitioners. Wanis’ clientele ranges from celebrities and CEOs to housewives and teenagers. CNN, BBC, FOX News, MSNBC & major news outlets worldwide consult Wanis for his expert insights and analysis on sexuality, human behavior and women’s issues. Wanis is the first person ever to do hypnotherapy on national TV – on the Montel Williams show.