Men Can Be Whiny Crybabies, Too!
Radio host Glenn Sacks proves that the men's movement Cassandras can be just as irritating as the women's movement Cassandras. Do men really need protecting from those meanie women? Are they really a downtrodden class? Or are they just as good as an excuse as any to give a guy a soapbox? And, finally: Can't we all stop whining and get along?
Your comments on Glenn Sacks' campaign against the "Boys are Stupid" campaign are cute but miss their mark. You ask, "Do men really need protecting from those meanie women?" Nice rhetorical move! What man wants to say, "please protect me from those meanie women"? But the "Boys are Stupid" campaign is aimed not at men but at boys--10, 11, 12 year old boys. It encourages girls to think that they are superior to boys. At a time when boys are struggling in schools (by practically any measure you choose to use), it reinforces the message that boys can't measure up.
It is not whining when man (and many women, I might add) stand up to protect their sons and other boys from these negative messages. If you want to wear a t-shirt that says, "Men are Stupid--Throw Rocks at Them," I won't protest. I don't need protection from you. But leave my sons out of this.
You need to rethink this.
Don Hubin
Don Hubin at April 12, 2004 11:47 AM
You're a responsible adult, so you can talk about men all you want -- how stupid they are, what pigs they are, in your view -- but the fact remains that those t-shirts are directed at little boys, not men, and little boys don't deserve to be the objects of such invective. "Boys lie -- poke them in the eye", with a picture of a little boy next to his own bloody eyeball? "Girls kick balls", with a picture of a little girl kicking a little boy in the balls? You approve of this? What the hell's the matter with you?
Sexist feminist slogans coupled with graphic depictions of anti-male violence should be directed at misogynistic men (if anybody), not little boys. Dragging innocent children into the fray is incredibly thoughtless and utterly irresponsible, and you should kick yourself in the ass for not realizing this yourself.
porfle at October 30, 2004 1:32 PM