{"id":516279,"date":"2023-02-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/?p=516279"},"modified":"2023-02-19T12:00:46","modified_gmt":"2023-02-19T11:00:46","slug":"mathieu-palain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/en\/literature\/mathieu-palain\/","title":{"rendered":"Domestic violence: the little seed in all of us"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00abOur fathers, our brothers, our friends: inside the heads of violent men\u00bb. The title is clear: the authors are also nice guys and loved ones. An added bonus: Mathieu Palain encourages us to ask ourselves which link in the chain of violence we occupy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Stories of domestic violence are becoming increasingly common in the public arena. It's as if the brakes have suddenly been lifted, allowing a whole category of the population to speak out. Many books take the perspective of the victims, the people who receive the blows, who are subjected to the pressure. This story is different. To understand (and not excuse), journalist and writer Mathieu Palain set out to meet those who do the hitting. A difficult task, since very few people are willing to testify in this role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investigator's first port of call will be a domestic violence discussion group. People forced to take part in a course after being convicted. The vast majority see themselves as victims and try to justify their actions. Violence is often seen by its perpetrators as a (legitimate) reaction to an obstacle. Beatings are one option among others, an expression of disagreement, a virile act, even encouraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omerta among the bourgeoisie<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But Mathieu Palain soon realizes that there's a segment of the population missing from these discussion groups: high society, the powerful, the notables. Indeed, having spent four years collecting women's testimonies, he knows full well that violence is not inversely proportional to salary. The stories of Am\u00e9lie, theater director and banker's partner, C\u00e9cile, student and daughter of an abusive cardiologist, an anonymous journalist and wife of a senior civil servant, prove it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violence in these circles, however, is invisibilized, and the young investigator struggles to meet husbands, companions and partners. \u00abI was becoming aware that violent men get away with it when they're powerful. If you're white, well inserted in society, and you enjoy a bit of power - you don't have to have a lot - you can go ahead, nothing will happen to you.\u00bb A departure from the rules Mathieu Palain has set himself: this time, the blows are told by the women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the book doesn't stop there. It also offers some clues to understanding. Why this violence? Where does it come from? It is described, in turn, as a disease, as a small seed, and in all cases, as a vicious circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n