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Yesica S. Mena

Instructor Kat King

English 1A

September 9, 2018

Summary and Response #2: “The Longest War”

In “The Longest War”, the author Rebecca Solnit states that even though we see cases

happening every day and everywhere, the problem of violence against women is an issue broadly

overlooked, and that society in general does not face the problem and its roots. Solnit claims that

to start talking about the changes we must make, we necessarily have to talk about the idea that

society imposes on masculinity. Solnit states “Violence doesn’t have a race, a class, a religion, or

a nationality, but it does have a gender” (1). The author sustains her statements by listing several

cases of violence against women of all types and at all levels but with one common denominator:

The perpetrator is always a man. She recounts all the excuses that are used to justify all those

acts of violence, that in many cases results in death, and the excuses range from the most

common as mental problems to social resentments; however, do not contemplate that both sexes

are exposed to the same problematic, but is the man who mostly exercises violence. Solnit

explains that many men are violent because they feel entitled to make decisions over others’

lives. She argues that cases like that of a woman who was stabbed by a man when rejected by her

are due to the fact that the man, in his authoritarianism, feels he has the right to decide if she

lives or dies. The author states that this is a phenomenon present at all levels and in all fields like

the case of a famous singer whose husband declares, “Yeah I hit her, but I didn’t hit her more

than the average guy beats his wife” (4). Solnit presents the double standard that is observed in
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society because in many occasions the victim is instructed how to avoid or survive the abuse, but

the perpetrator is not instructed how not to be violent. The author expresses that many times men

feel threatened by the woman who asserts her rights or competes with them, and that this often

triggers threats or violent reactions such as the assassination attempt of the current Pakistani

activist Malala Yousafzai. Solnit describes how harassment, violence and the desire to dominate

women is not only seen on a daily basis or in cyberspace, but also escalated and entrenched in

the government, which, instead of protecting women’s rights is finding new ways to submit them

to the decisions of men. As an example, the author points out the efforts of some government

representatives to obstruct access to birth control or abortion, even if the pregnancy is a result of

a rape, in order to exercise as much control as possible over the right of women to make their

own decisions. Solnit adds that many women are also protagonists of violent acts, but the

statistics show that men are by far who perpetrates the majority of these violent acts. The author

concludes by reflecting on how the idea of what it is to be a man is transmitted to the children.

Solnit ends by saying that our society, in contrast with other, is failing to recognize that the

problem of violence against women is a matter of violation of human rights.

Solnit’s article does support and go further on the argument exposed on the essay “Bros

Before Hos: The Guy Code” by Michael Kimmel. The author presents an argument that agrees

with one of the cultures supporting the “Guy Code” presented by Kimmel, the culture of

entitlement. Solnit describes how a man unleashes his violence when he feels that his authority is

challenged and he wants to decide about the life of the woman as if she were his property.

Likewise, Kimmel explains that the culture of feeling entitled in the masculine world makes man

feel superior, and therefore he shows possessive behaviors. In both cases, the authors say that

man loses empathy with the suffering of his victim and violence is the result of wanting to
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impose his will. Solnit also expands upon the culture of protection exposed in Kimmel's article

when it refers to the positions of some sectors of government that protect the rights of aggressors

over the rights of their victims. In "Bros Before Hos", the author refers to the protection

displayed by the circle close to the abuser, but Solnit extends this phenomenon to government

representatives who guarantee paternal rights to rapists over the children resulting from their

crimes.