FixedIt: after school jobs are not responsible for murder

Eight years ago, Dane Andre Pilcher broke into Corinne Henderson’s home and stabbed her 21 times in the face and neck. It was reported at the time as “Townsville police say selfie could have led to alleged stabbing murder.”

Last week Paul Thijssen murdered Lilie James with a hammer. The Daily Telegraph says it was their after school sports jobs that “led” to the murder.

The only thing that leads to murder is that the killer makes a choice to murder someone.

Over the years I’ve been doing FixedIt, I’ve seen men’s decisions to murder, rape, and assault women ascribed to selfies, shoes, jobs, bacon, jealousy, infidelity, stress, clothes, sports teams, and depression. None of these things cause murder, rape, or assault.

I’ve almost never seen the (mostly male) editors and sub editors who write headlines recognise that murder is always a choice and the only – THE ONLY – cause is that the (mostly male) murderers chose to commit an loathsome crime.

Erasing responsibility for the choices made by violent men is tacit support for their belief that their feelings have more value than a woman’s life. It is abhorrent, unethical, defective, and disgusting “journalism” and no journalist in Australia can claim they don’t know this by now. So this, too, is a choice.