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the last paragraph of roberts' column reads: "It is ironic that American males, demonized and second-class citizens in their own society, are at work liberating Afghan women from bin Laden and the Taliban. Perhaps the American male should reconquer his home front before he shows his prowess abroad."
"reconquer" is not the word i'd use -- the idea is to break the deadlock of genderwar -- but he's right -- the fall of those towers was a marker describing the state of american masculinity, suggesting the unappetizing fact that the source of our antagonisms and problems lies inward, especially in that ur-crucible of the opposites, gender
junior bush is not authorized to identify or punish "evil" ... i don't wanna hear about bin-shit until my own house is clean
first america must end its war with itself, especially the demonization of the masculine ... only then will the nation have legitimacy to wage peace in other lands, not as an empire, but as a leader
roberts cites the important work of professor howard schwartz
schwartz'online papers are at www.sba.oakland.edu/faculty/schwartz/Papers.htm
especially worthy is schwartz' "the psychodynamics of political correctness," a realitybomb, especially by academic standards ... i'll bet his book is at least as good, tho he says the publisher is charging an outrageous amount
if schwartz tickles yer gizzard, you'll find his grounding in erich neumann, marie-louise von franz, or most anything by the mature jung
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if schwartz tickles yer gizzard, you'll find his grounding in erich neumann, marie-louise von franz, or most anything by the mature jung
A fan of jungian psychology? Have you ever read "He" by Robert Johnson? It's a great comparison of the Fisher King myth with modern masculinity. The same author wrote similar books titled "She" and "We." He pre-dates Mr. Mars & Venus, btw, and is much more insightful.
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Hallums' unabashed manliness, however, was out of step with a feminized military. Female faculty members charged him with sexual harassment and "creating an intimidating environment." One of his offenses was that, returning from exercise, he walked through the department in a sleeveless shirt and exercise shorts. His confidence in, and display of, his masculinity was considered by female faculty members to be an offensive act.
Sorry if copying this para is illegal, or something, but it made me chuckle. It sounds like something from Victorian England, when saying 'trousers' in front of a woman was considered very rude.
Does it seem to anyone that we've forgotten how to say "No."? Stop letting manhaters call the shots. Some guy in shorts is not sexual harrassment - or any kind of harrassment (unless his dick's hanging out, I guess). As for "creating an intimidating work environment", isn't that what sexual harrassment laws do? Perhaps we should play these people at their own game. Sexual harrassment laws are sexual harrassment if you're male. The recursive nature of the argument will be especially appealing to the kind of mind that thinks up this rubbish. Demand objective standards, not subjective ones, and if you can't get them use subjectivity yourself. Don't let them set the agenda. Make the harrassment of men by subjective laws the most offensive abuse of employees rights outside of a creosote farm.
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Good idea, Uber, but it will take litigation to make it real, and so far, no one has bellied-up to the bar with a fat wallet.
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hi mist –
thanks for the tip
i have read johnson’s stuff – slim but nourishing chapbooks
the fisher (grail) king represented masculinity long before johnson picked up the thread – it has been the defining myth and conundrum for the masculine since the middle ages … the healing of the grail king and the production of the “philosopher’s stone” describe the same need in the collective masculine of the west
the king is wounded in the “thigh” as they used to say in the days of chivalry – chivalry being an artificial elevation of the feminine or material, and a phylogenetic recapitulation of mother right
it seems that our fearless leader’s been gored in the gonads, in a big old everyman kinda way, and as he writhes in agony down the centuries, chaos reigns: the opposites flee apart, his knights become impotent, the grail is left unfilled and the land turns to waste (a blessed and fruitful land turning to waste – any bells ringing out there?).
how was our hero speared? late redactions -- for example wagner’s parsifal -- suggest a necromancer, but if one traces to root, one finds that the king’s original assailant was a boar
in the ancient world the boar was sacred to the goddess, the great mother – he was often employed upon errands of wounding – his equivalent in egyptian cosmology would be set – in the old kinship village structures, he was the mother-in-law’s brother, the sinister uncle who wielded the blood knife -- boyblood, and that ain't a legend
jung and von franz discuss these matters at length, as do frazer, j.j. bachofen, robert briffault, and others – the depth psychologists, especially jung and neumann, have advanced the understanding of gender and the human project enormously, and it is their works that deserve attention instead of the agitprop currently on the college syllabi
the grail is no fable, and neither is it's king -- beside them, we are the fictions
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the grail is no fable, and neither is it's king -- beside them, we are the fictions
Indeed. "He," even though it is a short book, affected me deeply. I recommended it to Scott a while back, in fact. If you've ever seen the Robin Williams film "The Fisher King," and you know the history behind that story and its relevance to masculinity, the film makes much more sense, particularly Jeff Bridges' character's struggle to "become whole" again by rescuing Robin Williams' bum character.
Check out the film if you've never seen it. It's one of those movies I always felt that most people don't really understand. I also think it's more of a "guy" movie, because the majority of women I've known who've seen it understand it even less than the men do.
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