The issue of boys failing due to dad-deprivation is largely being ignored, expert says
“In the United States, there have been six mass school shootings that have killed more than 10 people,” says Warren Farrell. “All six have been done by boys who were dad–deprived, from Sandy Hook to the Texas shooting.”
The recent horrific Uvalde, Texas, school shooting has prompted heated debate about gun control, school safety, and mental illness. But few are zeroing in on the importance of a father’s presence, Farrell argues.
In a recent episode of “American Thought Leaders,” host Jan Jekielek discussed these school shootings and the difficulties faced by our boys and young men today, with Warren Farrell, author of “The Boy Crisis: Why Our Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It.”
Jan Jekielek: I’ve been thinking about you in the wake of the recent mass shooting in Uvalde. This young man who did this horrific act was, like many who have done it over the years, dad–deprived and dad–deprived in a very serious way. You’ve been writing about this.
Warren Farrell: In the Buffalo mass shooting, we heard about replacement theory hatred, and then the next time, we hear access to guns, and the next time, it’s access to toxic politics, and poor family values, and violence in the media, and violence in video games, and mental illness. Well, how could you possibly do a mass shooting and not be mentally ill?
But the key thing is that our daughters live in the same families with the same values. They’re exposed to the same replacement theory hatred, toxic politics, guns, video games, and media. They suffer similar mental illnesses, yet our daughters are not doing the killing. Our sons are.
We’re ignoring what I call “the boy crisis.” In the United States, there have been six mass school shootings that have killed more than 10 people. All six have been done by boys who were dad–deprived, from Sandy Hook to the Texas shooting.
By Jan Jekielek and Jeff Minick
