On September 10, 2026, Representative Ayanna Pressley sent a letter to the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation demanding a probe into recent hanging deaths of black Americans—characterizing them as "modern-day lynchings.” She was supported by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others.

Rep. Pressley used the language of a modern-day lynching to insist this is a “national crisis” and to create the framework for a probe—with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez further commenting that we “put a stop to this racial terror.”

The evidence does not show, however, that there are lynchings happening in the U.S., let alone anything resembling the era of Jim Crow. The argument asserts a racial grievance where one does not exist—ignoring a different crisis and the sex differences that are real, not imagined.

By pushing a “modern-day lynching” message, Reps. Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez violate what I call the Triage Principle. When a problem produces deaths or other serious harms, it is important to describe those harms in order of size and mechanism—like the graph above. The graph identifies hanging, strangulation, and suffocation recorded as intentional self-harm—a problem in which 78% of the deaths are male. Although the group most impacted is male, that observation does not discount the 22% of those who take their lives this way that are female. That is the measured hanging problem, not the one Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez present.

By promoting a different problem and then placing it in a historical frame that no longer fits, the congresswomen miss the opportunity to triage the real problem. Most of the cases they cited were ruled suicides.

Families who have lost a loved one to suicide often have a hard time accepting a suicide determination. If anything, medical examiners believe suicide is more underreported than overreported. “Coroners‐only states underreported suicides by 17.4% and performed 20.4% fewer autopsies compared to states with county coroners and a state medical examiner.”

One of the hanging cases mentioned by the representatives was treated as a potential intra-racial homicide, but there is no public evidence that the cases cited by Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez were lynchings or that there is a lynch-mob mentality running through the United States.1

Representatives Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez seem more committed to political theater in this instance than to moral duty. A triage committed to that duty would start with already accessible data on suicide by hanging and then with ordinary homicide. Blacks are 52% of homicide victims and 56% of the known homicide offenders—even though they only represent 14% of the population. Homicide is mostly an intra-racial act, so it’s hard to reconcile their “racial terror” frame with the record. When offender race is known, about 85-90 percent of black homicide victims are killed by black offenders.2

The Triage Principle would put male hanging deaths in public view without ignoring those 22% of deaths that are female. It would also separate race from sex instead of collapsing both into one historical slogan. Skip that work, and attention moves from measurable harms to a controlling narrative that forces the DOJ and FBI to spend time and authority on their story instead of the problems the data already name.

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Democratic lawmakers introduced the “No Homeless Detention Centers Act” (H.R. 10231) on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. The bill, sponsored by Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) and other Democrats, would prohibit HUD funds from being used to force people experiencing homelessness into shelters or other facilities.

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The bill suggests that “homeless…

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In states across the U.S., many boys are struggling in the K-12 education system, and much attention is being drawn to the subject. Many of the modern discussions and solutions are presented in Boys, A Rescue Plan.

While boys are certainly faring worse in K-12 education, it’s important to recognize that the majority of boys and girls are failing to …

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For those who care deeply about issues impacting boys and men, it’s often hard to reconcile the politics of gender with morality and ethics. For instance, it would be hard to argue for having a commission on women’s health while not having a commission on men’s health, since health impacts both males and females, but that is exac…

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While Helen is the face that launched a thousand ships, Odysseus is the archetype that launched billions of men across the ages to fulfill destinies that lead them to home and family.

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“The man of twists and turns / driven time and again off course” is an epic hero. Odysseus is a man of wit, cunning, bravery, and devotion so gra…

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Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, announced the “High-T Department of War,” a different look at male health in an age that has seen decreasing testosterone levels. Secretary Hegseth is making a commitment to testing military men thirty-years-of-age and over for testosterone deficiency as part of the “periodic health assessment…

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There are common concerns when it comes to supporting boys at home, in school, and in society at large. Parents, educators, policymakers, and communities with different perspectives share the notion of helping boys thrive—yet they often hold competing visions about how to achieve it.

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Some contemporaries are calling for a new masc…

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On April 2, 2025, seventeen-year-old Austin Metcalf, a white male, was stabbed and killed at a track meet at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas by seventeen-year-old Karmelo Anthony, a black male. On June 9, 2026, Karmelo Anthony, now 19-years-old, was convicted of the murder of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison.

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There are a …

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“Family life was and always will be the foundation of any civilization. Destroy the family and you destroy the country” (Erin Pizzey).

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Boys have been placed in the middle of a political tug-of-war. From the left and the right, competing visions to the boy problem are seeping into the political landscape.

The challenges boys and families face is not new. Since at least the 1990s, different writers, researchers, and citizen scientists have noted the need to help b…

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It was meant as an opportunity to poke the bear with humor, where the President makes fun of the media and policymakers as part of a good natured black-tie evening that celebrates the first amendment, awards journalists, and offers scholarships in journalism. The White House Correspondence Dinner is hosted by the White House…

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Just over two weeks ago, the New York Times published a guest essay by Joanne Lipman, “I’ve Covered Women in the Workplace for 15 Years. Something Alarming Is Happening.”

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Covering employment and workplace issues for men and women is important at a time when Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is being undone—as Lipman essentially suggests. Lipman argues …

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In an attempt to move his agenda forward, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has put together a “New York City Preliminary Racial Equity Plan” that aims to address “affordability” and his belief that there are “systemic” forces acting against particularly peoples.

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This recent plan comes as New Yorkers of all persuasions continue to flee the state and a…

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A friend of mine in his eighties once talked to me about supporting a woman’s right to abortion back in the seventies. Fairly recently, his stance has somewhat softened because he never imagined, decades later, that the movement would lead to nearly a million abortions a year.

That’s when I said, the number of abortions since 1980 near…

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The push for more male teachers is certainly a worthy endeavor. Some believe that more male teachers will improve student outcomes for our nation’s sons who have fallen steadily behind their female counterparts in every racial demographic and often across racial groups in K-12 and college education, Boys, A Rescue Plan.

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“Seventy-seven percent of public…

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Several years ago, a friend of mine shared a minor incident that occurred at her local public school when her son was in the third grade. While standing in line, a boy (Johnny) pulled on her son’s backpack from behind, pushed him forward, and pulled on the backpack again—moving him like a human yoyo. After doing this several times over a few days, her…

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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in Minnesota have garnered national attention, particularly with the various protests (some peaceful and some violent), assaults on law enforcement, and the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Although there are varying opinions when it comes to these matters, it’s important to understand that the…

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As two bills attempt to move through the legislature in Washington, it is important to offer up strong testimony about House Bill 2401 or at least ensure that House Bill 2461 receives a hearing (HB 2461 and HB 2401).

It’s critical to understand that House Bill 2401 is unprepared to address biologi…

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The U.S. Supreme Court heard two arguments last week regarding Title IX and equal protections that differentiate male and female sports, West Virginia v. B. P. J. and Little v. Hecox. Little refers to Governor Bradley Little of Idaho, who, like West Virginia wants to protect women’s sports under the biological marker of male and female and the statues …

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Wishing all those who follow InHisWords a joyous New Year and a year of peace and happiness.

We also hope you will join us for the free and most exciting conference of the year on January 24 and 25.

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