When I heard that the motivation for fugitive Steve Stephens’ murder spree was inspired because his girlfriend left him, I nor anyone in my “womanist” circle was really surprised. Spend any time on You Tube and you’ll see hoards of psychopaths blaming black women for every ill in the black community–from the out-of-wedlock rate, gang violence, low test scores, rape, domestic violence, graffiti, trash in the street, and might as well throw in moon spots, global warming, and the crisis in North Korea. According to them, we are the source of EVERYTHING wrong with the world, so it’s no shock that Steve Stephens killed an elderly father of nine and forced him to say his girlfriend’s name before he blasts him in the head live on Facebook.

Apparently, we black women inspire the hounds of hell to infiltrate the bodies and minds of psychopathic black men and cause them to unleash utter havoc on communities. The very “men” who claim to be “strong” say black women won’t let them lead, while simultaneously beating, raping, and killing us at higher rates that any other group in America. If we’re in charge like they say, how come we can’t prevent these evils being turned on us? How come we can’t prevent “men” like Steve Stephens from imposing a gruesome death in revenge for his broken heart?

So…Joy Lane is the cause of him gambling and losing everything? His mother didn’t care about his suicide claims, and that’s unfortunate. But neither of these women are to blame for this madman claiming the life of an innocent in such a graphic and cruel way. Listen to him talk. It’s all about “I, Me, I, Me, I, Me.” True narcissist. Notice the person glaringly missing from blame? His father. Where was he? Funny how fathers can leave for the shittiest reasons and the parent left to do all the heavy lifting is solely blamed for a life gone wrong. I think it’s time to break out this article again: Black Women, Stop Giving Birth to Men Who Hate You.

What is often kept silent but is widely known is that there is a deep undercurrent of seething hatred of black women by some black men, and the rage seems to be almost to white hot and rabid for even them to truly understand. That hatred is expressed in the music, movies, relationship and family dynamics all over the black community. We’re so used to the hate we’ve become inured–numb to all of it. Like a child who no longer flinches from repeatedly having violent hands raised at him, we simply slump our shoulders and sigh. CNN host Don Lemon interviewed Steve Stephens frat brothers, and while they expressed sympathy for the family and concern for the mental health of their frat brother, not one of them mentioned he was wrong for blaming his ex-girlfriend and mother for his failings and bloodthirst. They also haven’t spoken up on behalf of Joy Lane in ANY subsequent interviews. That speaks volumes.

We are going to have to take it upon ourselves in order to overcome this toxic misogyny. Men like Stephens are too far gone to appeal reason to. We cannot change the behavior of individuals who have deep hatred for us, but we CAN change HOW we react to those behaviors. If you haven’t yet gotten on board to contribute or volunteer for this anti-defamation project we’re organizing, the time is now. Click here. To volunteer, email me [email protected].