Kevin Powell: Joe Paterno, Herman Cain, Men, Sex, and Power

Submitted by anthony on Sun, 2011-11-13 21:54

Article here. Excerpt:

'The bottom line is that our notions of manhood are totally and embarrassingly out of control, and some of us have got to stand up and say enough, that we've got to redefine what it is to be a man, even as we, myself included, are unfailingly forthright about our shortcomings and our failures as men, and how some of us have even engaged in the behaviors splashed across the national news this year alone.

But to get to that new kind of manhood means we've got to really dig into our souls and admit the old ways are not only not working, but they are so painfully hurtful to women, to children, to communities, businesses, institutions, and government, to sport and play, and to ourselves. Looking in the mirror is never easy but if not now, when? And if not us in these times, then we can surely expect the vicious cycles of manhood gone mad to continue for generations to come, as evidenced by a recent report in the New York Times of a steadily climbing number of American teen boys already engaging in lewd sexual conduct toward girls. Where are these boys learning these attitudes if not from the men around them, in person, in the media, on television and in film, in video games, or from their fathers, grandfathers, uncles, older brothers, teachers, and, yes, coaches?'

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Comments

If you have an account that can post to the blog, great. My suggestion is to politely point out the vast double-standard that exists around female sexual misconduct vs. male sexual misconduct, and point out the many ways in which female sexual predators are simply let go or have excuses made for them. Also pointing out that he is himself proof that manhood is not bad. After all, he is a man, yes? What is bad is that there are some men among men who do bad things, just as there are some women among women who do bad things. But to condemn all of one sex based on the misbehavior of individuals among them is wrong and does a great injustice to everyone.

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Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2011-11-13 22:26

The venom she's spewing is beyond misandry, its pure hatred.

voicesrising said...

"Thank you Kevin Powell for naming the whole beast instead of only individual scandals and tragedies. This way of being, this false fractured "manhood" is continually destructive to all, including those who play the game mindlessly. Yes, abuse perpetuates the creation of abusers. It's absurd that those in power don't take this to heart, instead of supporting and protecting abusers repeatedly.I treasure your words and I thank you, dear brother, for fighting with your thoughts and intentions for a better world. The patriarchy is dying; the death throes are not pretty."

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Submitted by anthony on Sun, 2011-11-13 22:27

Like all man hating blogs, they have a moderator to ensure no one disagrees with them. This is why I respect MANN. Aside from personal attacks and hate speech, we have complete freedom to express our opinions without worrying about censorship. MRA's have confidence in what we believe and aren't offended by someone who might disagree. In fact, we welcome debate.

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Submitted by anthony on Sun, 2011-11-13 22:35

Why even use Herman Cain as an example here; hasn't he consistently denied any wrongdoing with regards to the accusations levelled against him? What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

Or is it now de rigueur to use accusations of wrongdoing as proof of guilt since some never believe a woman is capable of lying?

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Submitted by sirprince on Sun, 2011-11-13 22:47

"I presume you include yourself, your father, your brothers, your sons and all your male friends as an examples of these male sexual deviates, or else your generalizing the entire male gender in a negative light is contradicted by your own existence. Or perhaps you are simply arrogant enough to believe your existence is the exception that proves the rule?

You speak of the crimes Cain is guilty of, ignoring the fact he is simply accused, putting faith in women that their motives aren't politically or financially motivated, a rather naive faith given the timing and the women's apparent connections to political rivals of Cain. Perhaps you should hold your judgement until the matter is settled.

And I fail to see any mention of the double standard that allows female sexual predators to walk away free, or with probationary sentences. There is a reason it's always male predators in the news, and it has more to do with a willingness to excuse the behavior from women than it does any inherent qualities of masculinity.

But you have your hate on for men, I doubt this post will make it past your moderators."

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Submitted by Kratch on Mon, 2011-11-14 12:32