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 Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 9:45 pm Post subject: yet largely absent |
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The massacre profoundly shocked Canadians. Government and criminal justice officials feared that extensive public discussion about the massacre would cause pain to the families and lead to antifeminist violence.[3] As a result, a public inquiry was not held,[33] and Marc Lépine's suicide letter was not officially released. In addition, though an extensive police investigation into Marc Lépine and the killings took place,[34] the resulting report was not made public, though a copy was used by the coroner as a source in her investigation.[1][35] The media, academics, women's organizations, and family members of the victims protested the lack of a public inquiry and paucity of information released.[3][9][36]
circular monument in a park made of multiple grey stones. The large central stone contains a bilingual inscription in memory of women killed by men's violence. Many much smaller irregularly shaped stone shafts are carved with women's names
Memorial in Minto Park, Ottawa
The gender of Marc Lépine's victims as well as his oral statements during the massacre and suicide note quickly led to the event being seen as an antifeminist attack and as an example of the wider issue of violence against women.[37][38] Feminist scholars consider Lépine's actions to spring from a widespread societal misogyny, including toleration of violence against women.[4][39][40] Scholars have categorized it as a "pseudo-community" type of "pseudo-commando" murder-suicide, in which the perpetrator targets a specific group, often in a public place, and intends to die in "a blaze of glory".[41] Criminologists regard the massacre as an example of a hate or bias crime against women, as the victims were selected solely because of their membership of the category of women, and those targeted were interchangeable with others from the same group.[42][43][44] Lépine's mother later wondered if the attack was not directed at her, as some would have considered her a feminist since she was a single, working mother.[27] Others, including television journalist Barbara Frum, pleaded that the massacre not be seen as an antifeminist attack or violence against women, and questioned why people insisted on "diminishing" the tragedy by "suggesting that it was an act against just one group?"[8][45]
As predicted by Marc Lépine in his suicide letter,[24] some saw the event as the isolated act of a madman.[3][8] A psychiatrist interviewed Lépine's family and friends and examined his writings as part of the police investigation. He noted that Marc Lépine defined suicide as his primary motivation, and that he chose a specific suicide method: killing one’s self after killing others (multiple homicide/suicide strategy) is considered a sign of a serious personality disorder.[1] Other psychiatrists emphasized the traumatic events of his childhood, suggesting that the blows he had received may have caused brain damage, or that Lépine was psychotic, having lost touch with reality as he tried to erase the memories of a brutal (yet largely absent) father while unconsciously identifying with a violent masculinity that dominated women.[46][47] A different theory was that Lépine's childhood experiences of abuse led him to feel victimized as he faced losses and rejections in his later life.[47] His mother wondered if Lépine might have suffered from attachment disorder, due to the abuse and sense of abandonment he had experienced in his childhood.[48]
Others expressed a broader analysis, framing Lépine's actions as the result of societal changes that had led to increased poverty, powerlessness, individual isolation,[10] and polarization between men and women.[49] Noting Lépine's interest in violent action films, some suggested that violence in the media and in society may have influenced his actions.[9] Following the shootings at Dawson College on September 13, 2006, Globe and Mail columnist Jan Wong controversially suggested that Marc Lépine may have felt alienated from Quebec society as he was the child of an immigrant.[11]photovoltaic solar systems
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