Understanding Status Defense Myths

Understanding Status Defense Myths: When Power and Privilege Go Unpunished investigates the role of status in the decision to punish or permit violence in society. Whether sexual, racial, political or financial, powerful factors work to maintain the status quo, heaping retribution on low-status perpetrators and delivering leniency to those with high-status. The model of status defense myths identifies four factors that are used to justify violence or absolve perpetrators of blame: evidence, deviance, danger and social worth. Status defense myths have been studied most often in the context of men’s sexual violence toward women, particularly “victim blaming", hence this is a timely resource. Whether on an elementary school playground, courtroom, or boardroom, status defense myths are used to privilege the rights of some at the expense of others. Understanding how this rhetoric exists and how it works is essential to understanding and combatting injustice. Examines victim blaming in the context of privileging the perpetrator Discusses how we permit and encourage violence and wrongdoing to maintain the status quo Includes real-world examples of status defense myths from news articles and books Provides applied case studies Spans many different arenas: sexism and rape myths, racism, corporations, sports and politics

Taking its cue from Robert A. Segal’s work, Explaining, Interpreting, and Theorizing Religion and Myth: Contributions in Honor of Robert A. Segal offers a set of essays by renowned scholars addressing the persisting question of how to approach religion and myth as academic categories.

Eight outstanding essays, from leading academics, deconstruct perennial problems of rationality, imagination and narrative to trace the influence of myth in our own beliefs, origins, and potential futures. Thinking Through Myths attempts to reconcile the opposed claims of pragmatism and beauty, calling for the acknowledgement of myths in everyday experience.

This book surveys the history of psychoanalytic treatments of myths variously as symptoms of psychopathology, as cultural defense mechanisms, and as metaphoric expressions of ideas that may include therapeutic insights.

This historical study dismantles the myth of Reagan’s hardline victory and sheds light on his true diplomatic success in cooperation with Gorbachev. Did President Reagan’s hawkish policies destroy the Soviet Union and enable the United States to win the Cold War? Many Americans believe this to be the case. In this view?known as “triumphalism”?Reagan’s denunciations of the “evil empire” and his military buildup compelled Moscow to admit defeat. The president’s triumph demonstrates that America’s leaders should stand strong and threaten adversaries into submission. Drawing on both US and Soviet sources, this study demonstrates that triumphalism is based on a series of falsehoods about President Reagan’s intentions, his policies, and the impact his administration had on the Soviet Union. In reality, the president’s initially hardline posture undermined US interests and brought the superpowers to the brink of war. Success only came when Reagan changed his approach to one of cooperation. Together, President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev were able to accomplish what no one at the time thought possible?the peaceful conclusion of the Cold War. The president’s opposition to nuclear weapons, his determined leadership, and his dedication to diplomacy are his most enduring legacies.

Walsh explores the role that myth has played in the interpretation of the Bible. He sees myth as an empowering, structuring story used either for good or ill and either consciously or unconsciously controlling our world views. Walsh looks for both the empowerment and the marginalization effected by myth as he follows the word through its myriad meanings ('Grasping Proteus'), its use in various disciplines ('Procrustean Mythographers'), its distinctive uses in biblical interpretation ('Mything the Bible'), and, finally, the mythic character of interpretation itself ('The Myth of Interpretation'). The concluding chapter, 'Behind the Mythic Curve', muses on the difficulty of knowing the myths by which we live and reflects hopefully on the possibility of play among the myriad myths in a postmodern, pluralist world.

How often is the defense of insanity or temporary insanity for accused criminals valid—or is it ever legitimate? This unique work presents multidisciplinary viewpoints that explain, support, and critique the insanity defense as it stands. What is the role of "the insanity defense" as a legal excuse? How does U.S. law handle criminal trials where the defendant pleads insanity, and how does our legal system's treatment differ from those of other countries or cultures? How are insanity defenses used, and how successful are these defenses for the accused? What are the costs of incarceration versus psychiatric treatment and confinement? This book presents a range of expert viewpoints on the insanity defense, exposing common myths; investigating its effectiveness and place in our legal system through history, case studies, and comparative analysis; and supplying perspectives from the disciplines of psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and neuroscience. The content also addresses the ramifications of declaring citizens insane or incapacitated and examines trials that involved pleas of insanity and temporary insanity.