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echo: mens_issues
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from: `philip Lewis` nottellin
date: 2005-02-27 09:34:00
subject: Rantings of a Single Male

http://www.angryharry.com/index2.html
Rantings of a Single Male [ 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0976261308/angryharry-20
 ]from Thomas Ellis - the author! ...

I've got years of feminism, political correctness, and male-bashing clogging 
my arteries. So do most men, though they pretend not to notice. I wasn't 
aware of the extent of the damage until I began some serious 
self-examination. From the beginning I thought feminism was a toxin that 
only afflicted women. Now I understand that it's our problem too. Most men I've 
talked to have only a vague awareness of the impact three decades of 
unrestrained feminism has had on public policy and relationships. The 
anti-male onslaught has succeeded in part because men have neglected to 
actively oppose it.

It's time to end our polite tolerance of injustices committed against us. As 
men we must make a serious effort to educate ourselves about the ideas 
feminist literature is cultivating in the minds of women. We must become 
aware of the extremely negative portrayal of men and "masculinities" in 
women's studies courses, which are attended by tens of thousands of women 
each year. We must learn about the huge feminist organizations that are 
systematically dismantling the rights of men. We must acknowledge the scope 
of the problem and that we have failed to act. We must also expel the 
residue of feminist misinformation from our own systems. As it turns out, 
this book is my own process of detox as I come up to speed on the 
thirty-year ideological assault on my gender.

Although women are always welcome in my world, I expect these writings will 
be a challenge even for those of you who consider yourselves
"open-minded." 
If you are capable of reading something that does not simply force-feed you 
the standard validation and inspiration, read on. For the rest of you, bail 
now before your heads explode. There are a thousand other books written just 
for you.

I am not restricted from saying anything by the culture of political 
correctness that is so rampant in universities and the media. There are 
professionals who spend their whole lives doing scientific studies of gender 
characteristics, but are constrained by the herd mentality when it comes to 
presenting their findings. The few who stray from the pack remain cautious 
and civilized, even apologetic. They have their careers and their 
respectability to worry about. Not me. I'll say what I please, thank you.

This is opinion, not science. At least I'm not pretending it is, like all 
the pop psychologists out there. There are hordes of books by "experts" on 
the subject of men and women. I see most of them as either manipulation 
strategy books for women, angry woman books, or books about ways men can 
change to make women like them. I can't figure out why being who I am is not 
good enough, at least not in my own culture. A lot of syrupy self-help books 
are marketed to women asserting that men are dumb and women are right - 
yeah, we're the primitive men who need to go brood and sulk in our caves - 
and since they all have "Ph.D." on the cover they must be true. I'd say my 
views have at least as much validity as a follower of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 
with a phony Ph.D. who exploits our neighboring planets metaphorically.

Who am I to write anything? I'm just another laid-off software engineer - a 
novice writer with a word processor. I have no training, qualifications, 
grant money, nor data of my own. Not even a TV show. But I have something 
just as valid. I've got years of my own personal wreckage to draw upon. What 
the hell happened? I have some thoughts on that topic.

As it turns out, feminism inspired this book. My thirty-year sporadic 
involvement with a German feminist raised my awareness about what the "women's 
movement" has been up to all this time. I watched as feminism dictated her 
life decisions and destroyed her relationships. My wake-up call came early. 
Even for me, it still took several wake-up calls before I realized the 
magnitude of the feminist disaster. I barely noticed the erosion of respect 
for men, the ridicule of our sexuality, and the assault on our rights. Most 
of my male friends don't understand how widespread the anti-male culture has 
become. They laugh at the stupid guys on TV shows and commercials. So what 
if most movies now glorify men getting kicked in the groin? That's just good 
fun. They think affirmative action is a benign program that corrects 
inequities, and that there is still a "wage gap." And even though every 
woman they meet considers herself smarter and morally superior to men, they 
think the next one will be different. How many wake-up calls will it take?

In the last four decades, men in Western society have actually changed as a 
result of women's nagging, persistence, emotional outbursts, and most of 
all, because women have had some genuinely valid points. I must also say 
that men have had to sort through all the completely bogus studies and angry 
demands that women have thrown at us in order to find those points with 
merit. Feminism's valid points were exhausted long ago. All that's left is 
narcissism and anger masquerading as empowerment. I'm tired of nonsense. 
That must be why I am so profoundly tired.

But if women thought it was a long rough ride getting men to change their 
attitudes, it will be far more difficult to get them to admit the attitudes 
in need of change are now their own. Women have always seen themselves as 
the molders of men, and are not used to being challenged on issues 
concerning gender. I'm not sure how to convince women of anything, since 
they are more responsive to emotional outbursts than to reason. And what can 
men do to apply pressure, withhold sex? At the end of the day men just give 
in to anything if getting laid is on the line. Women react angrily to any 
criticism, and they can stay angry a long, long time, holding out for that 
male apology. Lots of women now automatically disregard any male viewpoints, 
since they believe criticism of women is a form of verbal abuse. They will 
rip apart a relationship if they are offended, even if they are wrong. Women 
are in really deep.

I also doubt whether women are willing to consider change even if it's laid 
out in terms of why and how, and even if they decide to try. They 
enthusiastically avoid responsibility for their actions with trendy denial 
therapies and philosophies. The only things women are willing to change are 
their hair, their clothes, and their breast size. And a lot of times not 
even their hair.

Though I believe women have as much innate intelligence as men, I'm tired of 
the fiction that women have no limitations other than those imposed upon 
them by male society. If women don't excel at something, it must be because 
of male oppression, and damn it, they deserve some compensation. At least 
dinner and some new shoes. And even if their specific misery can't be traced 
back to the patriarchy, men should feel at least as bad as they do.

This book is not an attempt to deny women any rights they should have as 
people, nor is it an attempt to deny that women are treated in substandard 
ways in many parts of the world. But why are men always excluded from such 
statements? Why is it acceptable to ignore the suffering of men? I support 
many women's rights. I do not support more and more women's privileges. I 
know men have some female allies out there who accept us as we are and 
believe in us. There are a few women who understand that equality does not 
simply mean getting their way all the time. Very few. Neither do I blame 
women for all our problems. Men and women both possess amazing talent when 
it comes to screwing up a good thing. In that sense I truly believe in 
equality.

When I began writing, I was concerned that I would upset female readers. I 
got over it. What is so abhorrent about offending women? They take full 
liberty in offending us. In fact, I would like to dedicate this book to all 
the men who have ever been told to "shut up," "get out of
the way," or "take 
it like a man" when challenging the validity of feminism and standing up for 
their rights. Why do men put up with that? As a man who brushed it aside for 
many years, I'd say it's because we have been taught it is our 
responsibility to please women. But there's a difference between pleasing 
women and appeasing them.

I should not have to compromise my rights as a man to make anyone feel 
equal. I can make compromises, but not on things like maintaining my own 
identity, being able to express my own ideas without female approval, or 
refusing to tell rhetorical lies to maintain a relationship. After many 
years of being unable to conform to the female vision of men as docile 
servants, I just want to be myself and speak my mind.

Consider these writings a male catharsis. I'd say the main reason I felt 
compelled to write an entire book is that I've rarely been listened to by 
women. At least not for more than about 15 seconds at a time. I have no 
problem with women expressing anger or whatever they want, but I'm really 
tired of it now. I'm tired of hearing only the feminist viewpoint of every 
issue concerning gender. I'm tired of tolerance for female sexism and double 
standards. I'm tired of the exaggerated consideration given to all females 
at the expense of males. I've heard it day after day and year after year 
without any real chance to respond. So finally and without interruption, 
here is an unobscured look at the world from the male point of view. I'm 
sure most women will summarily dismiss it as the rantings of a single male. 
The male voice must be disregarded, ridiculed and silenced. Let's burn that 
lace curtain. I hope others will help light the fire. Let there be rant.




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