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Domestic abuse: Mayor Rob Ford; Malice at the Palace; the ‘Suicide Letter’; the Panama Canal

⇒ What You Were Talking About This Week: Domestic Abuse

Other than talking about hit podcast Serial, “America’s Dad” Bill Cosby came under fire as multiple women stepped forward accusing him of sexual assault. The allegations led both NBC and Netflix to cancel or postpone planned projects involving Cosby—and even TV Land dropped old episodes of “The Cosby Show” from its schedule.

Headlines about sexual and domestic abuse don’t stop there, unfortunately. A special report from The New York Times this week detailed the close relationships between N.F.L. teams and local law enforcement and the impact such relationships can have on domestic abuse cases. This report is the latest in a string of stories documenting abuse since the summer when a video leaked showing former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knock his then-fiancé unconscious in an elevator.

Such behavior is not limited to the N.F.L. From football players at Florida State to, well, more football players, it’s clear that there is a significant problem on college campuses across the country.

These high-profile cases all shed light on a global problem. The U.S. Agency for International Development predicts that one in three women worldwide have experienced some form of gender-based violence—with rates of abuse reaching 70 percent in some low-resource countries. Though a divisive political figure, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton summed it up best in 2009 when she said: “It is time for all of us to assume our responsibility to go beyond condemning this behavior, to taking concrete steps to end it, to make it socially unacceptable, to recognize it is not cultural; it is criminal.” Let’s consider those marching orders.

⇒ Last Year: Notorious Rob Ford Stripped of Powers

One year ago the scandal-plagued mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, knocked over a councilwoman and “heckled” members of the public present for a city council debate. The council ultimately voted to strip Ford of the majority of his governing powers and 60 percent of his budget.

Ford’s troubles began in May 2013 when rumors swirled of a video showing the mayor smoking crack cocaine. As the scandal unfolded, three staffers from Ford’s office resigned, while Mayor Ford saw a surge in popularity with nearly half of Torontoians (you read that right) approving of his job performance. Just over one month later, in November 2013, Ford admitted to “have smoked some crack cocaine” and on a separate occasion to being “hammered” in public. There were many other salacious incidents—but it wasn’t until June 30, 2014 that Ford acknowledged his substance abuse problem. Since then, Ford was diagnosed with a rare cancer that caused him to withdraw from the mayoral race.

Suffice to say, there will always be political scandals and the media will always be there to fill us in on the exorbitant details, no matter how tragic.

⇒ 10 Years Ago: Ron Artest Suspended for Season

In November 2004, Indiana Pacers Forward Ron Artest launched into the stands and threw punches at several Detroit Pistons fans that led to a full-scale brawl between fans and players. In the aftermath of what became known as “Malice at the Palace,” the N.B.A. suspended Artest for the remainder of the season. For more details on the events of November 19, read Jonathan Abrams’ oral history for Grantland.

Speaking on the 10th anniversary, Tim Donaghy, who officiated the game that night, described the situation as a “huge black eye for the N.B.A.” In an interview with USA Today, Donaghy notes how the fight became a turning point in the league—particularly for how officials should react when such outbursts occur.

Most players don’t want to talk about the event except, arguably, the one who started it all. Ron Artest, now known as Metta World Peace (I’m serious), has a forthcoming book aptly titled “The Untold Story of the Malice at the Palace.” Said Metta World Peace in a recent New York Post interview about the incident, “Actually, it feels like it never happened, only the footage keeps me affiliated.”

⇒ 50 Years Ago: Hoover Describes MLK Jr. as “Notorious Liar”           

On November 18, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. received an anonymous letter purporting intimate knowledge of his sex life and “low grade, abnormal personal behavior” in an attempt to discredit the civil rights leader. This followed a press conference wherein J. Edgar Hoover described Dr. King as the “most notorious liar.” Though unsigned, Dr. King rightly believed the letter came from the F.B.I. under the direction of Hoover and the intent was for Dr. King to commit suicide.

For decades, only redacted versions of the “suicide letter” existed in the public domain. Then Yale historian Beverly Gage found an “uncensored version” in the National Archives when researching Hoover. Gage’s essay in The New York Times details the mounting tension between Hoover and Dr. King in the early 1960s and draws attention to the intelligence apparatus employed by the F.B.I. and the Justice Department—they planted wiretaps in Dr. King’s home and office—that goes hand-in-hand with N.S.A. surveillance today. A Special Committee on Assassinations in Congress later found that the F.B.I. “grossly abused and exceeded its legal authority” with its surveillance of Dr. King.

Gage rightly points out the difference between 1964 and 2014: today we have a “less reserved mass media” that goes berserk at the whiff of scandal, particularly for revered and/or politically active figures (see Rob Ford section above).

⇒ 100 Years Ago: U.S. Declares Panama Canal Zone Neutral          

Since the 1850s, the U.S. sought a canal that would allow for the easy shipment of goods between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It wasn’t until 1903 that it began construction of the Panama Canal in accordance with the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty.

The canal was completed on August 15, 1914 amid a headline from the Evening Herald that read “Panama Canal Now Open to the Commerce of the World.” In November 1914, President Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the Panama Canal Zone neutral though the canal would remain a source of tension between the two nations for decades and prompt endless negotiations and treaties. One such round of renegotiations opened a divisive debate within Congress. In an effort to communicate the arguments on both sides of the aisle to the American public, then Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd and Minority Leader Howard Baker agreed to allow for a live radio broadcast of debate. The debate over the Panama Canal became the first Senate debate to be broadcasted live out of the Senate chamber. Pretty cool when you consider just how small the Panama Canal is (its locks are 110 feet wide). In fact, it’s so small that many of today’s cargo vessels are too big to traverse the 48 miles.