The country was shocked by a despicable act of violence last weekend in Isla Vista, California, when a young man killed six people and injured 13 others before dying himself from a gunshot wound. He left behind a 141-page document that discussed his hatred of women and professed intention to kill based on that hate.
While women nationwide are not any less safe in the aftermath of the tragedy, the misogynistic motivations behind it, blatantly put on display by the young man, have had the effect of making women feel less safe, by heightening an underlying sense of vulnerability to violence and reflexive need for constant vigilance.
On Saturday’s Melissa Harris-Perry, the host will discuss the psychological impact of that fear of violence against women with Reality Bites Back author and media critic Jennifer Pozner and Vanderbilt psychiatry professor Jonathan Metzl. The panel will also look at the #YesAllWomen hashtag and how women have been using it to share common experiences of misogyny and violence. Plus, if the problem compelling acts of violence is misogyny, how can it be systematically addressed to improve the safety of women?
Saturday marks five years since Dr. George Tiller was murdered in his church by an anti-abortion extremist. Dr. Tiller was targeted for being one of few physicians in the country to provide termination services for women in the final trimester of pregnancy. His clinic closed only days after his murder – but last year, one of his former employees reopened the clinic to ensure women in the area had access to health care services, including abortion. Tune in for a clip from the new msnbc.com mini-documentary about the Wichita, Kansas clinic, one year after reopening. Plus, Melissa and her panel will look at new legislation passed this week that could close dozens of clinics across the South.
Plus, MHP will dive into the “food fight” taking place over the White House’s new rules to make school meals healthier. This week House Republicans pushed forward a bill that would allow schools to opt out of the 2012 guidelines. And First Lady Michelle Obama, who has made healthy eating part of her Let’s Move! Campaign, wrote a New York Times op-ed pushing back against those actions. Tune in for a discussion of food policy, the First Lady, and what white potatoes have to do with it. The answer is: quite a bit.
And Harris-Perry will offer a tribute to her teacher and mentor Dr. Maya Angelou, who passed away on Wednesday.
Be sure to read what we’ve linked above and watch Melissa Harris-Perry Saturday at 10a.m. EST on msnbc! Also, don’t forget to join us on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #nerdland.