Category Archives: men and women

Avert your eyes…

…seriously, this is not safe for work, small children, special snowflakes, or house pets. If I had to see this, well, I sure as hell am not going to be the only one* who suffers.

* * * * * * * * * *      * * * * * * * * * *     * * * * * * * * * *

If you can’t read it, it says, “Periods are not just for women. Hashtag: Bleeding while trans”.

It’s okay. I’ll wait until you stop gagging.

This represents the epitome of what is wrong with celebrating a mental disorder. Yes, I will say that again:

Transexualism, or transgenderism, characterized by the belief that a person born biologically male, or biologically female, believes that he is a member of the opposite sex. One suffering from this belief, also known as gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder, will often undergo extreme measures to portray himself  externally in order to match these conflicted identities. These measures include but are not limited to cross-dressing, hormone therapy, and genital mutilation.

That is the basest summary. Now I’ll get into the technical:

A Biological Glossary¹, because, Facts and Science. 
We all love Bill Nye, because of Science!

Sex
1.  : either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures
2. :  the sum of the structural, functional, and behavioral characteristics of organisms that are involved in reproduction marked by the union of gametes and that distinguish males and females
3. a : sexually motivated phenomena or behavior
b : sexual intercourse
4. genetalia

Gender
1.  a : a subclass within a grammatical class (such as noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb) of a language that is partly   arbitrary but also partly based on distinguishable characteristics (such as shape, social rank, manner of existence, or sex) and that determines agreement with and selection of other words or grammatical forms
b : membership of a word or a grammatical form in such a subclass
c : an inflectional form (see inflection 3a) showing membership in such a subclass
2. a : sex the feminine gender
b : the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex

trans-
(prefix) 1. a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin ( transcend; transfix); on this model, used with the meanings “across,” “beyond,” “through,” “changing thoroughly,” “transverse,” in combination with elements of any origin:

Here’s the basic, science-based, hard cold truth:
“Gender” is a language construct. In many romance languages, certain nouns are considered either masculine or feminine. The word “cat”, in Spanish, for example, is a masculine noun. One will always refer to “the cat” as “el gato”, regardless if the cat is male or female. Likewise, in French, “the chair” is translated as “la chaise”. Like Spanish, “la” denotes a feminine noun. In English, common nouns (person, place, thing) are neutral.

When it comes to humans, we are born² either male or female. We have a distinguishable and often visible sex: either a penis and testes or labia and vagina. Male babies carry the XY gene, females, XX. When puberty occurs, males will develop a deeper voice, more muscle mass, thicker and more widespread body hair, and the testes will drop further into the scrotum to facilitate the production of sperm. Females will develop breasts capable of creating milk and begin a roughly monthly menstrual cycle.

The menstrual cycle³, of course, brings me to the whole point of this. Every 28 days or so, the uterus, the only reproductive organ capable of protecting a developing baby, lines itself with nutrients and blood. If conception does not occur, the uterus empties itself of this material and begins the process anew. For anywhere between 2 and 7 days, give or take, blood and tissue exits the body via the vagina.

As ONLY females of our species have a uterus and a menstrual cycle, allow me to make it very, very clear that periods ARE just for women. There is no possible way that a biological male is ever going to ovulate, create sperm-friendly cervical fluid, conceive, and bear a child. He will never have breasts that produce milk and nourish that child. This is something exclusive to biological females.

One of the biggest problems I have is the statement, “I feel like a woman.” No person born male can ever truly understand what it is to be a woman. The closest true statement would be “I feel what I imagine being a woman feels like.” As a male, he will never experience the visceral things a female body does, will never see the world colored by the experiences of being a woman, because no matter what he does to his body, he will never be a woman. Likewise, a biological female can never truly understand what it is to be a man. We share the human experience, but it will always be through the lens of our own lives. I can imagine the discomfort of standing in front of a class with an unexpected erection because I have had to walk down the hallway with bloodstained clothes because my period started unexpectedly. I can’t tell you what the sensation in the testes during an erection feels like, nor can a man understand the unique and painful sensation of passing a large blood clot through the vagina. We cannot understand because it is outside our realm of experience. It is impossible.

So to the woman in the picture above suffering from gender identity disorder:
I’m sorry society has failed you. I’m sorry that we, as a culture, have allowed this notion of “sexual freedom” to get so far out of hand that it prevents you from getting the help you so desperately need. I can’t imagine what it is like to feel like you were born “wrong” or “broken”. You are not. You are a woman, a fellow human being, worthy of respect. I am only one small drop of water in an ocean of those who think your suffering is something that should be continued and not abated. I wish there was something that could be done that didn’t force you to poison and mutilate your beautiful body. For it IS beautiful, just as it was the day you were born and your family marveled over your adorable ears and counted each of your perfect fingers and toes. I’m sorry we are so far gone that we cannot help you. We can’t even help ourselves.

Footnotes:

*I really, really hope she cleaned up that bench. Blood-bourn pathogens, anyone?

¹ “Gender.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 14 July 2017.
“Sex.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 14 July 2017.
“Trans-.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 14 July 2017.

²Intersex abnormalities, such as hermaphrodism, only account for 0.008% of live births, or roughly 8 per 100,000 live births. (http://www.leonardsax.com/how-common-is-intersex-a-response-to-anne-fausto-sterling/)

³http://uk.clearblue.com/menstrual-cycles-and-ovulation

 

 

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Snowflake Identification 101

A few weeks ago, a friend who describes himself as being fully in the Bernie encampment made the following statement, and I can’t say it any better than he himself could.

For exhibit A, I present the exact conversation as it took place on social media: Names and faces have been blocked to protect privacy. We shall call my snowflake opponent…The Bumble.q1 response1

 

 

response2

My opponent in Blue, myself in Red. I highlighted the parts of his statement in blue that I thought were critical.

 

So here I was, watching an adult male (from here known as “The Bumble”)  asking a group of other adults their feelings on the first month of Trump’s administration. Do they feel that he is doing a good job thus far? Are we faring well as a country? What do you like and what don’t you? Is he effective?

In my response, in red, I gave my own, personal answer, and the reasons why I think Trump and his staff are completely able and effective for the rigors of the next four years, despite all the loudmouths in liberal government and the media. As you can see from the screenshots, my differing opinion was quickly shot down with “Your information is wrong on so many levels and points. I’m sorry you feel this way.” I gave him plenty of opportunity to refute with his own opinions and information, but he ignored the opportunity for an open discussion and instead took his toys to another playground, a typical play of snowflakes leftists.

The Bumble had no problem telling me I was wrong, but he could not defend himself against what I said, so he just unfriended me. Now he won’t see my abhorrent opinions encroaching on his newsfeed. He needn’t worry that I might jump out of the bushes wearing a ballgown in red, white, and blue trying to cram a “Make America Great Again” hat on his head.

One of the prime ways to identify a special snowflake: If they can’t get you to agree with them, they will do their best to humiliate you and shut you down. Commonly, this will be accompanied by accusations of racism, misogyny, classism, homophobia, xenophobia, and islamophobia, and, God forbid, being an old, white dude. At least our founding fathers get to be dead white dudes and don’t have to listen to this nonsense.

Vocal conservatives: keep your eyes peeled as to who might be unfriending you throughout the year. Might save you on stamps come Christmas.

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Filed under culture, current events, election 2016, men and women, politics, shared commentary

An Addendum on Yesterday’s Crazy

As of this writing, the #BoycottTarget petition has gathered 975,444 signatures.

Quite the statement.

Really want to make your voice heard? Make sure to start shopping at their competitors. Start with “Mom and Pop” businesses. Support your local shops. If you need to go big,: Hobby Lobby. WalMart. Aldi. Academy Sports. Cabela’s. Toy’s “R” Us. Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Dick’s Sporting Goods. Publix. Trader Joe’s. All businesses that have a reputation for being “family friendly”.

We cannot count on the “powers that be” to advocate for our safety. We need to do it ourselves. Put pressure on places like Target* by shopping elsewhere. Don’t enroll in universities before checking their policies thoroughly. Do your research. It’s election season. You have to be ready to back yourself up practically every time you post an unfavorable opinion (read: not something the MSM or the liberal left would agree with) on Facebook.

Gandhi-great-quote

*Target started jumping the shark a few years ago, after there was a massive leftist outcry following a donation by the company to a politician who did not support gay marriage. They’ve been “atoning” for this mistake ever since, with massively public displays of affection for the LBGTABCQMXYZ crowd, eliminating gender-specific sections in their children’s clothing and toy departments, and demanding that guns not be carried on their premises, despite a very legal right to do so by those holding concealed carry permits. (Massachusetts has an open carry law, though most people don’t take advantage of it because of the Chicken Little effect it would cause; would they prefer that right be exercised?) Anyway, Target is not the only company pushing this dangerous gender-neutral nonsense. Starbucks and Barnes and Noble have also joined up to shoot themselves in the foot. As of midnight on Friday morning (when I’m updating this, because my stupid radiatiors sound like they’re possessed) the #BoycottTarget petition has reached 1,002,916 signatures.

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This Post Brought To You By an Unbelievable Level of Stupid, Courtesy of the Liberal Left

Otherwise entitled: Society has lost its collective mind and I just can’t right now.

  1. Seattle, WA: A man undresses in a women’s restroom, citing a new rule in the city that allows people to choose a bathroom based on gender “identity”
  2. Prince William County, VA: A man dressed as a woman was arrested after police say he was caught peeping/filming into restroom stalls three times in the past year.
  3. Palmdale, CA: A 33 y/o Palmdale man who allegedly dressed as a woman while secretly videotaping females using a department store bathroom was charged with six counts of unlawful use of a concealed camera for the purposes of sexual gratification.
  4. Ontario, Canada: A biological man claiming to be transgender so as to gain access to women at two Toronto shelters was jailed “indefinitely” after being declared by a judge a “dangerous offender”. The man assaulted and raped multiple women, including a Deaf woman.
  5. Toronto, Canada: The University of Toronto recently changed its transgender restroom policy after multiple peeping incidents.
  6. Smyrna, TN: William David was arrested in Wisconsin but was extradited to TN to face felony charges relating to filming women inside Smyrna restrooms, including aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.
  7. Orange, CA: A 24 y/o man was arrested after a hidden cell phone was recording video inside a unisex, single-stall restroom at Chapman University.
  8. Pitman, NJ: A teacher, school bus driver, and high school student were among 16 people facing child pornography charges in New Jersey. Thomas Guzzi Jr., 36, of Pitman, is also charged with 3rd degree invasion of privacy for allegedly hiding a tablet computer in a bathroom stall to record video of others using the toilet.
  9. Logan County, OK: 43 y/o James Curt Rose sits behind bars for videotaping a 13y/o in the showers at a YMCA
  10. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa police arrest a man connected with the videotaping of a women who was showering in a residence hall.
  11. Quarryville, PA: 19y/o James Thomas Shoemaker was arrested and faces child porn charges for hiding in a woman’s restroom and taking pictures of young girls on his cell phone.
  12. Montgomery County, PA: A man was arrested at a Target Store after a female patron caught him attempting to spy on her while she was in the dressing room.
  13. Athens, GA: A man was seen on security cameras in a local Target sneaking into a women’s restroom and using his cell phone to take pictures of the ladies in there. He was detained by store security until police arrived.
  14. Brentwood, MO: 26y/o Matthew Foestrel is accused of holding a camera under a Target dressing room door while a female patron was trying on bathing suits. He was convicted of “knowingly and intentionally” filming an 11 y/o girl in a dressing room while partially nude. Foestrel was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.
  15. Petersburg, FL: To demonstrate the absurdity of the Target policy, a man, dressed as a man, acting as a man, records a conversation between himself and the store manager in which the man asks if it’s okay that he uses the women’s room because he “feels uncomfortable” in the men’s room. The manager assures him that it is, and he will deal with any complaints from women already using the facilities. The man leaves, as he was only proving a point.
    no_trouble

There are more, of course, but I’m sick of looking at double screens to get the details. I think you begin to get the gist: the idea of allowing one to use whichever restroom or fitting room, or any other place people of a single sex usually gather while in a state of dishabille, they “feel” best suits their “identity” at the moment, is a truly terrible idea.

Now, allow me to clarify one thing. I am not talking about the roughly 700,000 people (out of 323,439,000) in the nation that are transgender. (Although it is biologically and scientifically impossible to turn a man into a woman, or vice versa, that is a post for a different day.) No, I’m taking about the 808,675 (and growing) registered sex offenders in this country and her territories. Now, that’s about 0.25% of the population. Transgenders make up even less than that, even less than the usually reported 0.30%- it’s more like 0.22%. Ergo:

Sex offender population > transgender population

So I’m sorry, but my safety and security as a woman, and the safety and security of other women and girls trumps your “comfort”. Sure, there are plenty of perverts and deviants who would assault women before policies like this, but now we’ve just opened Pandora’s Box and made it extremely easy for them to do so, because now no one will initially question their presence in what should be a ladies-only area. But think about it. I stop at one of these quietly gender-neutral friendly stores after work (because it sure won’t be a vocal one like Target. #BoycottTarget) to pick up a few things. I was in a rush to get out of the building and have to use the restroom. Like most store restrooms, this one is tucked in an out-of-the-way place, away from most of the other patrons. I’m carrying my purse and I’m wearing high heels- not conducive to running. Inside the ladies’ room in a man, dressed as woman, and he’s not there to pee and leave. I’m 5’1 and barely over 100lbs. What are the odds that your average male is not going to have a super difficult time overpowering me?

Ladies, before you get all gung-ho about equal-rights rah-rah-rah, think about how often you already have your guard up, walking alone on the street, in a bar, etc. How often are you made to feel uncomfortable by something uncouth a man does, or says. How frequently do we already go to the restroom in “packs”? It’s not because we need someone to help us wipe our butts. It’s protection for ourselves and each other. Why on God’s green earth would you support something to further endanger yourself?

 

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April 27, 2016 · 21:33

Teacup Children and the Socially Impaired

Since the mid 1980s, a trend has been developing that has me severely worried for my generation. Lately, that trend is coming to a head and I’m afraid that we as Millennials are not going to be able to handle the inevitable.

I couldn’t put my finger on the cause. It could have been one thing, or several. It could have started way back in 1974 when Timothy O’Bryan’s father slipped a cyanide-laced Pixie Stix into his Halloween bag, killing the child and frightening parents into thinking there were child-hating maniacs handing out candy for decades. (How many of you weren’t allowed to eat your candy until your parents checked it first?) Maybe it was when Mary Kellerman, aged 12, became the first victim of the Chicago Tylenol murders. Perhaps it was the Satanic daycare sex-abuse hysteria of the 1980s and 90s. Whatever it was, it led to the rise of “helicopter” parenting, the practice in which parents hover over their children to ensure the child never fails, is never allowed to fall, never allowed to take risks or experience pain.

These are the parents who won’t let their child ride a bike without knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, and a helmet.

They are the parents who made sure the monkey bars and the swings were removed from the playgrounds to reduce fall and choke hazards, and there isn’t dirt or grass under what remains, but several inches of recycled shredded rubber or mulch.

If their school system still uses traditional grades, and Johnny gets a poor grade on a test, Mom and Dad will be in the next day to negotiate a better one, or finding out why the teacher didn’t teach better.  Often, Mom or Dad will just do Johnny’s work to make sure it’s done right.

Afraid to let them out of their sights, parents schedule as many after-school activities as possible. From t-ball to soccer to dance, everyone gets a trophy just for existing. There is no concept of “winning” or “losing” and thus no chance to fail in a fairly safe environment. Where there is no chance to fail, there is no room to grow. No internal motivation is developed. Children learn to depend solely on external motivators, a trait which will not serve them well in the “real” world. One would think it ludacris for a parent to accompany her grown child to a job interview or complain to the dean of students about a test grade, but it happens.

An argument between friends or classmates is immediately sorted out by teachers or parents. Children don’t learn crucial social skills, and often any conflict is immediately labeled “bullying”. What children DO learn is to quickly manipulate the system to their advantage, crying “wolf” (or “bully”) to gain attention from adults.

This lack of social skills leads me to my other big worry: the millennial generation today doesn’t have any. For that, I can go back to 1992 and IBM. Most 20-somethings today could barely remember their home phone number then and were too busy memorizing their colors, numbers, and ABCs, but that was the year IBM introduced the first smartphone, nicknamed “Simon”. Since then, we’ve all gone downhill, and it’s been well-observed that most people under the age of 35 are lacking the basic skill to carry on a conversation. It’s difficult to sit through a dinner with someone who is constantly checking their phone for email, texts, Facebook, etc. Eye contact is impossible – many can’t maintain it. When our eyes are glued to a screen all day, we forget what real interpersonal contact is like.

I firmly believe this is what has given rise to the #YesEveryWoman and #ThatsWhatHeSaid, as well as videos in which people with hidden cameras walk around for hours and record the reactions and statements of others. As human beings, we have lost the ability to interact properly with each other. We have become so used to hiding behind a screen that we have become incapable of just being.

The world of social media means never hearing emotion. You read what is written without hearing the reflection or intent. How many conversations have spiraled out of control because something was misinterpreted? Have we become completely desensitized to others’ emotions and feelings? Has that lack of seeing and hearing someone’s reaction allowed for the rise of disrespect, whether real or imagined, between the sexes?

Not too long ago, what is now considered “catcalling” was thought of as a man getting his act together, taking the plunge, and saying hello to a lady. Sadly, today’s society is severely lacking in ladies and gentlemen equally, but unless your friends had sisters, sometimes randomly addressing an attractive stranger was the only way to meet someone. Often one ended up saying something incredibly stupid as he stumbled over himself in his nervousness, hoping that in the approximate 12 second window that he had to make a good impression that she would either be willing to continue the conversation or let him down gently.

To the men out there, you kinda stink at this these days. Women, you’re pretty bad at it yourself.

Men: The way to get a lady’s attention is NOT to make any blatant sexual comment. Just, no. Don’t even go there. Do not touch or follow a woman without her permission – that’s illegal. Say hello, or something funny, or compliment her.

Women: If a man, stranger or acquaintance, says hello or compliments you, it is polite to respond “hello” or “thank you”. If you don’t wish to converse, that’s all you need to say. “F*** you” is not appropriate. If you think you’re in danger, or if you’ve been grabbed or touched in any way, scream and call the police.

Everyone should have a few fall-back subjects to talk about that don’t involve television shows and Buzzfeed lists. Read a book or two. Have informed opinions on national politics and stay current with current events. Find a hobby. Start challenging yourself to put the phone away one day a week (or if that’s too much, one day a month) and dedicate that day to one of those things.

It’s time to put on our big kid underpants and learn to be big kids, without holding Mom and Dad’s hand or the equivalent – the smart phone. Let’s learn to be people, not robots.

free range

I highly recommend the article The Overprotected Kid for more on helicopter parenting, bubble wrapped kids, and how one community is trying to give kids a new chance at childhood.

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Words Have Meanings

This may come as a surprise to some, but words have meanings. Some words have very broad definitions and can be used in any number of circumstances. In my neck of the woods, the word “wicked” is such a one. “Wicked” may be used as an adjective to mean “evil” (The Wicked Witch of the West tried to hurt Dorothy and her friends.); it can be used as an interjection (“Kids, we’re going to the new water park today.”  “Wicked!”); and in true Bostonian fashion (which is really a general Massachusetts thing), a modifying adverb or compound adjective (“wicked awesome”, “wickedly brutal”, etc.) Wicked is neither good nor bad in this last case; it just demonstrates something is “more”. Sort of like “good, better, best”. After “best”, there is “wicked”.

Where am I going with this? One of the most popular phrases today is “war on women”, as it relates to pretty much anything the Democrat party says blocks “free” contraception and abortion-on-demand. A quick Google search for the term brings back 363,000,000 hits. Allow me to paint another picture of the “war one women”, with some help from our good friends over at Merriam-Webster:

war:
a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations (2) :  a period of such armed conflict (3) :  state of war

Hmm. I like to think that of all things, my dictionary at least won’t lie to me. While tensions in the hallowed halls of the Capitol building can get pretty hostile, I don’t think any real brawls have broken out since  1858* or so. As arguing over who should pay for a woman’s birth control is really more of a philosophical difference than an issue akin to those that caused the American Revolution, the War Between the States, WWI, WWII, etc., I’m going to go ahead and say that the current “War on Women” is more hyperbole than anything else.

If we’d like to discuss a real war on women, let us turn our heads to Iraq right now, where a full-blown genocide is taking place. Oh yes, genocide. Everyone is probably tired of that word, since we heard it bandied about so much in conjunction with Rwanda (and no one seemed very interested then) and if we throw Iraq into the mix, people will just be even more disinterested. After all, haven’t we dealt enough with Bush and his mess**?

However, if even MSNBC is calling the ISIS and Sunni violence against Iraqi Christians a genocide, then there is a problem. MSNBC is among the least watched and trusted of all the mainstream news sources and definitely left-leaning, so if they are even jumping on the “Baghdad, we have a problem” wagon, I’ll go ahead and say there’s a problem.

Would you like to know what a real war on women looks like?

It’s watching your child get beheaded, and his head stuck on a pike in a park because his parents are Christians.

It’s being forced to give birth with your legs shackled to the stone floor of your jail cell while your toddler looked on because you would not renounce Jesus and convert to Islam.

It’s watching your husband hanged because he would not give up his Christian faith.

It’s being gang-raped, beaten, and left to starve for no other reason than the fact you are a woman.

It’s having to be covered from head-to-toe, because you are a woman.

It’s not having any control in whom you marry, because you are a woman. The men in your life – your father, brothers, and husband – make all your decisions, because some other man once decreed that women are only half as smart as men.***

It’s submitting to domestic violence, because your religion says that wife-beating is okay, even necessary.

It’s giving yourself or your daughter to a pedophile, because your prophet took a child-bride.

It’s not being allowed an education, or risking your life for one, because your are a woman.

It’s having your clitoris and labia cut off and the wound sewn shut, allowing only a tiny hole for menstrual blood and urine, for no reason other than to control your sexual behavior.

That is a war on women.

Let’s remember the true meaning of war and what our sisters and brothers on the other side of the world are going through right now. The next time you hear someone mention that idiotic phrase, be sure to tell them what a war on women really looks like.

 

*1858: the caning of Charles Sumner. There have been a few fistfights in state legislatures and maybe one or two in Congress, but none as epic as this one.
** I need a sarcasm font.
***http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/women_top_ten.htm

 

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Obama’s Motorcade Trumps Woman in Labor

America, we have hit a new low. According to the LA Times, a woman in labor was prevented from crossing a street in order to get to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center because President Obama’s motorcade would be passing through.

His Imperialness was on his way to another fundraiser with the Hollywood Elite.

Let that sink in a moment. A young woman in black yoga pants and a white tank top sitting on a backless bench at what could be a bus stop. One arm wrapped protectively around her belly, the other braced on the bench. Her body, which has been working on forming this new little human inside of her for the last nine months, has kicked things into high gear and said, “Ok, it’s go time.” She’s having contractions. She’s in pain. She is right across the street from the hospital, and unnamed “authorities” are preventing her from entering, even on foot, because the POTUS will be driving by at some point on his way to rub elbows with Kerry Washington and quip about how Usher put him to shame on the dance floor.

“If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college.”  -Lewis Black

Whenever I feel like my mind might explode from the sheer stupidity of the world, I think of that line. It’s from his White album, and while I highly recommend it, it’s NSFW, children, and other delicate ears.

Have we really sunk so far? That not a single person would take action? In a land where people protest capitalism on Wall Street, not one man or woman would do the right thing, push past the cops or Secret Service or whoever, and get that woman to the hospital? They would take pictures and tweet about her plight, but no one would help her. Just as sadly, the “authorities” (it wasn’t specified if they were LAPD or Secret Service or military) would not do the right thing either.

I’ve mentioned before that my brothers are cops. They come from a long line. Uncles, a grandfather, cousins… I cannot imagine any of them putting up with this sort of nonsense, be it because of the president or the Queen of England. I can’t imagine this happening because of any other president, either. Pick any president who ever took part in a motorcade. Any of them. I think they’d be furious to hear that this happened because they were in town. Obama probably won’t even notice.

Not many things are completely unbelievable in this day and age. This though? Wow.

 

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I am not for equal rights.

There. I said it. Let the grandstanding, mudslinging, name-calling, et cetera, begin.

Specifically, I do not subscribe to this notion that women are equal to men.

Likewise, men are not equal to women.

If I asked any kid who had a basic grasp of mathematical principles what the word “equal” meant, he could probably explain to me something like “If A = B, then B must also equal A.” Or, A is the same as B. If we’re talking quantities, yes, that’s true. If Annie has 2 apples, and Billy has 2 bananas, then they have an equal number of pieces of fruit.

Are apples the same as bananas? They are fruit, but the similarities end there. Apples are roundish, smooth, usually kind of shiny, and they come in red or green. They crunch when you bite into them. Apples are juicy, and they have a core, and seeds. Bananas are yellow, shaped, well, bananas. Like the letter “C” that someone gave up on.  They’re smooth, but they don’t have the same feel as an apple. Bananas are soft and mushy, a preferred food for babies. There are no seeds inside and even their nutritional values are different from an apple’s.

With those in mind, are apples and bananas equal? There is no doubt that they are both valuable foods, and the world would be a darker place without them. They are both good, but no, they are not equal. Equal in value, perhaps, but in this case, A does not equal B.

So it is with men and women. Men and women have different characteristics. We are built for different things. Modern society would have us believe otherwise, but it’s true. Biologically, right down to our very genes, a man is different from a woman. In the labs, they call this “XY” and “XX”. Male chromosomes are labeled “XY”, female “XX”. When conception happens, no matter what, the mother’s ovum is delivering an “X” chromosome. The father’s sperm will deliver either an “X” or a “Y”, and in that way the sex of the baby is determined. Makes it more than slightly ironic, all those kings who blamed their queens for producing daughters, when it was their sperm that actually made the determination, isn’t it? It’s also why there’s no such thing as “transgendered” or a “sex change”. A man can cut off his penis and testicles and take estrogen, or a woman cut off her breasts and have a penis and testicles built and take testosterone, but there is no changing the genes. What one is born with, one will die with.

Look in the mirror, and take a picture of someone of the opposite sex with you. Doesn’t matter who, although one of a sibling may make these differences more pronounced, but it could be a magazine model. Start with the lines of the face. A man’s lines will be stronger, sharper, especially around the jaw. There may be the shadow of facial hair, the 5:00 shadow, or maybe it’s grown out to a mustache, beard, or goatee. Men generally have a stronger chin, a heavier brow. Society usually dictates that a man’s hair is much shorter, cut above the top of the ears. Women’s faces are softer, more gentle. The curve of the cheek is more rounded, the cheekbones, though visible, not as heavy as a man’s. There is often even a different look to the eyes. Nothing specific, just a notable difference. His eyes will say, “I am a man.” Hers will say, “I am a woman.”

It is not surprising then, that little girls are drawn to play house with dollies, and even lacking a realistic toy doll, will make one out of whatever is available. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s first doll, “Susan”, was a corncob. While they do, their brothers are more likely to be out running and roughhousing in the mud with games like “cops and robbers” and “cowboys and indians” or anything involving soldiers. At an early age, girls are more often drawn to music,  arts and crafts. They gravitate toward activities that are engaging mentally as well as physically – ballet, gymnastics, lyrical, jazz, tap, and modern dance. Boys gravitate toward team sports – football, soccer, baseball, lacrosse.

American classrooms have ignored these basic differences in males and females and made education a living hell for boys. They are expected to sit still, be quiet, and pay attention indoors for long periods of time. In other words, they are expected to act like girls. When they fidget, talk, and generally disrupt the class, they are punished. Even at recess, if they get an outdoor recess, they are discouraged from running, jumping climbing, and playing any of the make-believe games I mentioned above. Again, they are prevented from acting like boys. Modern playgrounds, in the name of accessibility and safety, are all but wrapped in lambs’ wool. There are no trees to climb or dirt to play in. There are no mud puddles to explore. We wonder why so many of our boys are “diagnosed” with ADD and ADHD.

I’m not saying little girls don’t like this, too, or that boys don’t like music and dance. Fathers, for the sake of your sons’ future wives, please understand that women find few things more attractive than a man who can tell one note from another and is able to make his way around the dance floor with a basic working knowledge of things like the waltz, Foxtrot, salsa, et cetera. I know highly respected women in the United States Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard who I would definitely choose first for my “Live Through the Zombie Apocalypse” team.

What I am saying is that men and women are different. In a culture that is so wrapped up in diversity, we have forgotten that one, extremely important difference. In the name of “equality”, we have forgotten “compliment”.

Men and women are not equal.

Men and women are two halves of a whole.

A yin and a yang.

The Rhett to her Scarlett.

The Leia to his Han.

 

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