What Evil Men Do Can Be Laid At The Feet of Women

You see, Miss DaFonte, when a man can't have the woman that he loves, he gets a bit crazy. - Agent Booth, Bones episode 5.07, Dwarf in the Dirt

Wow. Let's look at that statement again.

You see, Miss DaFonte, when a man can't have the woman that he loves, he gets a bit crazy.

Again, I say "wow". And it is a bad "wow".

The teeniest bit of backstory. Booth, the federal agent who puts forth such words of wisdom about the nature of man and woman, has had a bit of a problem doing things lately. Plumbing problems, being able to tell if a suspect is lying, shooting his gun... The list goes on and on. Booth has also been doing ordinary tasks differently than he used to. Holding his phone to the opposite ear, starting with his left foot when walking up and down stairs instead of his right... Again, the list goes on and on. The reason we're given? His love for the good Dr. Brennan, the eponymous Bones.

You see, Miss DaFonte, when a man can't have the woman that he loves, he gets a bit crazy.

The Miss DaFonte in question continuously slept with one brother for the whole of her relationship with the other brother.

You see, Miss DaFonte, when a man can't have the woman that he loves, he gets a bit crazy.

And so it goes, when one brother kills the other, Nicole DaFonte is to blame:

NICOLE DAFANTE: Derek, why?

DEREK DAFANTE: Come on, Nicky. You know why. You know exactly why.

And Booth is proven correct. He is going a bit crazy because he can't have Bones. Bryce DaFonte (the murdered brother) goes a bit crazy and tries to steal a shit ton of gold coins because he can't have Nicole. And Derek DaFonte, well, he goes a bit crazy and kills Bryce because he can't have Nicole either.

...when a man can't have the woman that he loves, he gets a bit crazy.

And so it goes. On Bones, as per almost every where else, a man can't have the woman he loves, and that gives him the justification for going a bit crazy. The man isn't the problem. Derek can point to Nicole as his reason to murder; Booth can blame Bones for his failure at firearms. And the world keeps turning with this sort of righteous statement thrown out there as fact. As gospel. Never mind that the woman the man can't have is a person in her own right, that she has the right to not be had, that she has the right to not have the man's actions after that fact be recognized as directly relational to the not having of her.

...when a man can't have the woman that he loves, he gets a bit crazy.

This is the sentiment used to justify crimes against women. It is the sentiment of people who believe men are entitled to women, and when they are denied what is rightfully theirs, they can get a bit crazy. This is the rationalization behind stalking, behind verbal assaults on the street, behind domestic violence. This is the rationalization that places the onus on the woman. This is the rationalization that makes women responsible for men's actions. This is the philosophy that places men and men's wants above women and women's wants. This is the philosophy that recognizes men have wants and needs that must be fulfilled, lest he get a bit crazy, and yet seemingly ignores that women may also have wants and needs that must be fulfilled - or if not ignores, then does not grant those wants and needs the same validity. After all, as a woman, not getting the man she wants won't lead her to getting a bit crazy.