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As a society, we are constantly fighting over the fate of men who hurt women.
"It was a mistake," say the people, regardless of the seriousness of the offense: rape, assault, domestic violence, attempted murder. "That should not determine his future."
Aisha Fraser does not have a future anymore. Complete stop. She left.
At the age of 45, she was reportedly killed by a man who had already been convicted of defeating Fraser in front of their children in 2014. Her husband, Lance Mason, Cuyahoga Defense Judge at the time , had served nine months in prison for criminal assault and domestic violence and was ordered to pay $ 150,000 in damages. "He was struck off and banned from becoming a judge again," reports Cleveland.com.
And then he had a second chance.
Nine months after the start of his two-year term, Mason applied for early release. From Cleveland.com:
Part of his request for early release included a letter to Fraser Mason in which he apologized, asked forgiveness and told him that he deeply regretted what had happened.
Mason wrote that he "had failed as husband, father and man", and promised that once he realized that he was "broken "He became a better father and a better man, according to the letter.
"My responsibility was to love you and protect you," said Mason's letter. "Instead of loving, protecting and caring for you and our daughters, I have provided a terrible example and exposed you to rage and violence."
But that did not stop there.
In 2017, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson hired Mason, who "hit his wife at the time 20 times and stunned his head five times against the dash of his car, breaking his orbital bone. As Director of Minority Business Development. That's true; The mayor has entrusted a man like Mason with responsibility for livelihoods.
And then, Mason would have killed Fraser.
Mason was arrested Saturday for murder after Fraser's discovery at his home, stabbed to death.
And yet, we worry about the future of these men – knowing how often men kill their partners and their ex, how often are these cases.
What about Fraser's future? What about her daughters aged 8 and 11 and their needs? What about Fraser's students, his family, his dreams, his desires and his potential?
From Cleveland.com:
Shaker Heights' superintendent Stephen Wilkins said in a statement that Fraser was a dedicated mother and committed teacher.
"She has touched so many lives of our children and we will miss her tremendously," said Wilkins statement. "His loss is unexpected and the impact of this news on our entire school community is unimaginable and profound."
Women like Fraser are the ones we need to protect – not the men who strive to destroy the lives of the women they should be caring for.
There is a lot to say about rehabilitation in our society. We know that prisons exist much more for capitalist gain and institutional violence than for a greater sense of goodness. We know that we need to improve our methods to create a space for learning and accountability for those who have committed acts of violence. But it is quite another thing to place these people in a place of power.
In the same way that whiteness protects itself, men protect and exalt each other to the detriment of those around them with terrifying constancy. And then these men hurt, an often irreparable harm.
We must stop pretending that we can not prevent these situations.
Time and time again, it becomes obvious that we can not trust men to be the arbiters of their own morals. There must be community societal pressure to do good – if not. Instead, we always do the opposite. We raise these men, restore their power in one way or another and give them more power in the face of their own undeniable and uncontrolled inadequacies.
I'm tired of that we can not show any empathy for the victims of abuse – just a wave of pathos and empty rhetoric as a result of preventable deaths. An endless nightmare of making excuses instead of asking, to allow reprehensible behavior, and then acting shocked when it repeats itself. I'm fed up with the tendency of society to neglect the safety of wounded and endangered women in order to make philosophy on the well-being of men that will go perfectly well.
Who are we worried about? When you protect monsters, you do not have a company. You have a fucking zoo, a cesspool of inhuman actors who support each other in perpetuity. And then, one way or another, we always focus on them, on their potential, on what they could do in the world.
But did not Aisha Fraser deserve a chance to live?
The Shaker Heights Teachers' Association will hold a vigil for Fraser Monday at 5:30 pm EDT. A GoFundMe has also been launched for Fraser's children.
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