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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

The Worst That Men Can Be

Hey All.  Hope you're enjoying June.

Recently, we have witnessed two men exhibit the worst possible examples of the alphaganda.  Let's review them.

(1)  Brock Turner.

What this young man is convicted of doing is absolutely disgusting.  Sexually violating an unconscious woman, hoping to use her lack of knowledge to argue that she consented, and having his father minimize the act itself?  Unacceptable.

Once again, society is discussing rape in depth.  Is it encouraged?  Enabled?  Are all men potential rapists?  Are there rapists lurking around every corner in every bar and college campus?

There is a paragraph of the alphaganda that seems to suggest that what Brock Turner did is American as apple pie.  That he was "the man."  That in order to register as an all-American red-blooded male, you must, repeat must, hook up.  You must have lost your virginity by the time you're 15.  No, 12.  No, younger.

That paragraph also suggests that once you get started on that route, you gotta keep going.  Put up numbers like Wilt Chamberlain.  Gene Simmons.  Any pick-up artist.  If you're not doing like them, you're nothing.

This is not necessarily rape culture, in and of itself.  But it unmistakably causes it.  The same way that bullying naturally leads to rape and other forms of brutality.

The answer to this is discipline.  This comes naturally with maturity, but in order to prevent more of this from occurring, that discipline should begin much earlier in life.  There needs to be an understanding that self-respect, respect for others, and basic ethics and morals matter more than having sex.  And this would be best served if young people waited until their 20's to even consider it.

(2)  Omar Mateen.

Some men think that might makes right.  That would probably be the first chapter in the alphaganda.

It's one thing to belong to a religion that denounces homosexuality.  Those of us who are Jewish or Christian already do, but most likely keep that opinion within the bounds of decency.  Or sometimes we even decide that respect for those we love is more important than denouncing the act.

It's quite another thing to commit a mass murder of those that you perceive to be wrong.  Something completely different to take a whole arsenal of weapons into a nightclub full of unarmed people and just  . . . kill 'em all and let G-D sort them out.

As Bold Betas, we are able to discipline ourselves against making such errors in judgment.  Unlike Brock Turner, we understand that (a) having sex at a young age is not the end-all and be-all that others think it is; (b) if a woman tells us no, she may or may not be doing us a favor; (c) other people's life choices cannot propel us to violence; and (d) no deity or demigod compels us to kill, and ourselves have no authority to save or damn any soul in this realm.

A small number of readers of this blog have objected to my use of the term "alphole" because they think that it unfairly paints all "manly men" with a broad brush, and that it lumps assertive males unfairly with pathological males.  Ladies and gentlemen, you now have textbook illustrations of what that term was meant to describe.

Condolences to the victims of the Orlando shooting.  Sympathy to the victim of Brock Turner's sexual assault.  And respect towards those victimized by the Tel Aviv shooting.

I EXIST.  I MATTER.  I BELONG.  I DESERVE.

I AM BOLD.  I AM BULLETPROOF.  I AM BETA.