Good morning, all. Gidget Commando here, pitching an inning or two for the Red Queen while she’s on her journey. Please forgive my relative lack of formatting–it’s my first experience with Blogger, so I’m still terrified of mishandling things like, oh, hot links and such.

If you’ve seen or heard the news this morning, you know that police have arrested their “person of interest” in the slaying of Yale grad student Annie Le. The cops and prosecutors aren’t talking squat about motive yet. But why do I get the scary feeling that this was another case of a guy who wouldn’t take NO for an answer? Please, Flying Spaghetti Monster, I hope I’m wrong. I hope the guy had a pre-existing mental health condition, or a flashback, or ate bad shrooms and got violent. But anyone who’s had the feminist “click” is probably feeling what I’m feeling today: unease, and anger that yet one more female life is gone because some guy thought his wants were more important than her full agency and free will.

However, I did glimpse a glimmer of hope this morning…in, of all places, the mainstream corporate media. Good Morning America had the chairman of The Forensics Panel, Dr. Michael Welner, on to discuss the case. (If you go to http://abcnews.go.com/gma and scroll down to Yale Murder: Crime of Passion?, you’ll find the segment.) When host Chris Cuomo asked Dr. Welner if the murder were a ‘crime of passion,’ I nearly threw a shoe at the TV. Thankfully, Dr. Welner shot down that ‘crime of passion’ crap immediately. His was the first voice of reason I’ve heard talking about these kind of crimes since Gavin de Becker in The Gift of Fear (a book I recommend strongly). Give Dr. Welner some love and watch the clip.

I’m preparing to help a dear friend face down a jilted suitor who doesn’t want to take her multiple NOs for answers. He’s escalating. She’s just issued him a firmer NO. For her safety, and mine, I hope he gets it and isn’t inspired by what just happened at Yale. But if she has to face him, I’m going with her. Wish us safety and a good outcome.