It will be interesting to watch how quickly people will start talking about "one bad apple" with regards to this guy being in the military.  I mean, he IS a bad apple in that most military men don't go around raping and killing women.  (Well, at least not at home.  Who knows how many of them do it on missions?  It's no secret that women become the spoils of war everywhere war is fought.) 

What they won't say in the media is that domestic abuse and violence against women is on a continuum. On the one extreme end, you've got the "rape and kill women and bury them in the backyard" type of guy, like the murderer in this case.  And then way on the other end, you've got the guy who has sexist attitudes, tells sexist jokes, thinks women should be excluded from "male" roles, does the put-down artist routine with women in his life, and goes between feeling disdain for women (who don't conform to their idea of what women should be like) and feeling protective of women (in a patronizing way, as long as they're docile enough).  And you've got everything in between - and the low end of the spectrum contains the attitudes necessary to feed the high end.

What they also won't say in the media is that the military is a breeding ground for everything from that "mild" end of the continuum, where it's mostly attitude and sexism, to the "extreme" end, where women are considered "spoils of war", especially when they are dehumanized as "the enemy".  Does everyone in the military think like that?  Of course not.  I mean, hell, there's a culture of alcoholism in the military too (at least there used to be), and at one time, if you didn't go drinking with the boys at the mess, you didn't get promoted - but that doesn't mean all military men are drunks.  There are a lot of fine, upstanding men in the military.  But there is (or at least was) definitely a culture that encourages drinking, and there is definitely a culture of misogyny.

Domestic violence rates in the military are way higher than among civilians.  Same with cops, actually.  And at the root of domestic violence is the belief that women are inferior to men, that they deserve to be treated with contempt and disdain. And that's the kind of culture that is drummed into men in the military.  Don't be a pussy!  Take it like a man!  Men are superior, weakness is girly.  And when you see weakness, strike hard.  Hit where it hurts.  Violence is good, killing is good, as long as the person is different from you and you are told that the person is bad.  And guess what?  Being a woman is bad.  Because it's feminine and girly to be a woman.  No one likes a girly-man. No one likes a wimp, a pussy.

And who the hell let women into the military, anyhow?  They should be home barefoot and pregnant where they belong, not carrying guns with the real men.  Sexual assault of women in the military by their comrades is endemic.  (Let's not forget that one of the women the base commander is accused of killing was a corporal.)  Wife battering by soldiers on leave is endemic in the US, and I doubt it's all that different here.

But of course, no one can say that it's the military that normalizes violence and machismo and turns men into killing machines who are taught disdain for women and feminine qualities.  Because that wouldn't be "supporting our troops".

I'm not surprised that it was a military guy who is suspected of doing this.  I didn't think it would be the base commander, because I didn't think someone in such a visible position of trust would be stupid enough to think he could get away with it.  Although perhaps it might contribute to a feeling of invincibility, who knows?  But when you are taught to believe that might is right, womanhood is weakness, and weakness is despicable...then it's not surprising when the worst happens.  It's tragic and horrible, but not surprising.

You have to admire the guys who withstand that conditioning and don't hurt the women in their lives.  I sure do.