Putts said:
...snip...
In my way of thinking both man and women have masculine and feminine attributes in various proportion. Some women are unusually authoritative and warrior-like; some men are inordinately sensitive and nurturing. The diversity of human psychological makeup in these areas and others is huge. To make a blanket statement that, "It DOES take a MAN to make a boy into a MAN" is a blinder to the real complexity of who and what humans are.
Humans are far too complex to be labeled, put in boxes, and trained solely of the shape of the meat between their legs.
And that seems to be the very crux of the problem here with these two 'hot' threads...generalities, while quick and easy (and mostly lazy) to use, almost always fail to fully address a true answer to reality and specific circumstances. (<- whew, narrowly dodged making a generality about generalities)
People operate on generalities for expediency, of course, but if you're trying to apply them on specific humans that happen to fall into a group based upon, as you've said "the shape of the meat between their legs", one can't possible account for all of the variables that defy such generalities and make them untrue.
But on this forum it seems, the problem is compounded when you make generalities from a 'protected' area/platform and then claim said generalities are being made for enlightenment while at the same time the subjects of your grouped-generalization are dis-included from defending blanket judgment statements against themselves.
I am a man. By being so, the thread in the Women's Forum has innately lumped me into the general group 'men: dangerous to women'. I cannot 'un-group' myself from being the topic of that post. (probably should have ignored it though...ah, hindsight)
But I have never:
- 'wolf-whistled'
- stalked anyone after our 'nothing' relationship (what is that exactly?)
- failed to ask for permission to 'grind my groin into anyone'
- or any other of the more serious items from a list of indiscretions specific OTHER males have perpetrated.
(from one of the comments that got lots of 'Thank You(s)'--either from agreement in viewpoint or just general support, motivation unknown but evidently a chord-striker.)
If I want to defend my own honor of being 'me, a man' in a thread I CAN post in, it's claimed I must have a
control issue that I can't seem to manage. As if being simplistically lumped into a group that matches my sex but doesn't cover anywhere near my specific moralistic spectrum is something I should just shut up and 'take it like a man'.
Or perhaps if I'm lucky and get anointed into the 'good men' category, I'll get the badge that says: "I will gladly do things for you that you can't do for yourself...feel free to pat me on the head as a reward for my time and effort and tell me what a good boy I am". ("Aww, thanks...you're sooo, STRONG!" pat-pat)
Anyhow, I don't personally know a single solitary soul on this forum (although likely alienating a few just now) so how in the world would I know what anyone's capabilities, histories or motivations are such that I could put people into 'groups' for judgment on sexual assault safety on the road?
Evidently there are a few "nice" and "good" humans in the world...but you just never know.