Well this is a while overdue. I have wanted to do a second one of these for a while now. Since I am engineering student, you can probably tell I don’t get much time to myself.
For those of you who don’t know what this is, a while ago I did a post called “The world today as we know it.” In that blog, my goal was to get some discussion and some back and forth with you Tempers about some sensitive and current topics. I really liked what y’all had to say about those topics, even though I may not have agreed with all of it. But you know what? That is okay! As people, is great that we are all different. As much as I would like for everyone to think the same way I think, I thinks it is more important for everyone to exercise their right to think and act however they would like. Before I get started, quick disclaimer. I may say some things you may not agree with or might get you Triggered! I just ask from you wonderful people that we remain civil and polite. I have no intentions to piss people off, I just heavily value discussion amongst a diverse group of people. With that out of the way, let’s get into part 2!
[4] Sexism and Feminism
Do you want to hear a joke? Women’s rights. Do you want to hear another joke? Feminism. Okay, okay, I’m just kidding. Well… only about the first joke. I will get to feminism in a moment but I want to talk about why I made that first joke. Like most people, I believe that women should be/are equal to men in many ways, but not all. WAIT, HOLD ON! Let me explain. I grew up with 3 sisters and I love them to death. They are smart, funny, and try their hardest at everything they do. They are all in college pursuing degrees that will financially provide for them for the rest of their lives. I talk about social issues and politics a lot with them and not once did they ever think they were put down or looked down upon because they are women. For the most part, they and I have been on the same playing field our whole life. So why do they feel like they are equal to men, but other women today don’t? I genuinely don’t know! I have been trying to figure out this whole patriarchy thing for years now. Let’s discuss some of the view points.
I would be lying if I said that women do get the short end of the stick in a few ways. The first thing that comes to mind is harassment and pursuit. For me, this hits a little close to home. For those of you who don’t know, I have a twin sister. When it comes to guys, she hasn’t been so lucky. She gets cat-called often and constantly has men trying to pursue her. I had lunch with her a few weeks ago and she was telling me about these guys. She told me that they are always trying to talk to her and do “sweet” things for her that make her very uncomfortable. She doesn’t like how guys always try to “get to know her.” She told me all she does is try to be nice to people but men always interpret it as, “SHE WANTS ME!.” This truly does suck but I can’t really blame most guys. We are all looking for someone special. It just sucks that sometimes it requires a bit of awkwardness and trying and failing.
Above I made a joke about women. Where you offended by it? I really hope you weren’t. Many see comedy in terms of roasting a good thing or a destructive thing. We are all different and take things differently. But comedy only works in a few ways. It’s based on pain and timing. Someone has to be on the butt-end of a joke. As someone who believes in the value of women, I still don’t think they are safe from scrutiny. I believe in something called “Prejudice Equality,” where everyone is subject to humiliation and ridicule. Is it mean to make fun of women’s driving skills or mannerisms? Not really, it is a joke. It’s a joke in the same way as saying men are forgetful simpletons. Is it wrong to sign up my friend Tavion to BlackPeopleMeet.com because he is black and make his preference male? Of course it’s not! It’s a joke. When my buddies told him we did this, he thought it was funny! I have quite a diverse group of friends in my major and we give each other s*** all the time. I give my girlfriend and sisters hard times as well because it’s a joke. I make fun of them, and they make fun of me. We grow from this, we bond from this. I do know that people (women) are not as strong willed as others. At that point it comes down to appropriateness. Should I tell a women joke to a rape survivor? Absolutely not! That would just be mean. There is a time and place for everything, you just have to know when
[5] Feminism (continued)
I rambled on a bit above because I felt like I had a lot to say. With Feminism, there is nothing that I can say that hasn’t been said already. A long time ago, women were not treated equally and in some places, still aren’t. For the west, we gave equality for women in the 60’s. Yes it took a bit of time for them to get on the same playing field but they got there….. or so we thought. While I think and believe women have reached equality with men, there are so many others who think there is soooooooooooooooo much more work needed to be done. The still believe they are being oppressed, payed a lot less, won’t get jobs over men, ect, ect, ect. It doesn’t end with these people. Let’s try to dissect some points and look at it from a nonbiased point of view.
The wage gap is a fun place to start. On both sides of the coin, there seems to be evidence for women getting payed less vs those statistics being misleading. I feel like I am going to upset someone here if I bring up evidence against the wage gap. I can show statistics but I am not going to. Here is why. We are all biased towards studies that show this or studies that show that, so let’s just think critically…. If a company was paying women less and there was hard evidence, what do you think would happen to that company? If women are payed less, then why do men still work there if they can be replaced with someone who will work for less pay? If a women and a man apply for the same job, are equally skilled, and both are married, but the man gets chosen, would you think that happened because maybe the women has kids to pick up from school or maybe wants to become a mom? I’m not trying to sway people, but rather get them to think as critically as possible.
So what about that other side of Feminism? You know the one. The feminists that paint with their period blood, wear “p***y hats”, call all men scum despite never meeting every man, and demand men to pay extra tax at their restaurant (look this up, its mind blowing). Am I crazy? This is ridiculous, right? How many women actually believe in this nonsense. It may just be because I live in the south but I have not talked to a single women who is a feminist. To a lot of my guy and girl friends, they are a joke; trying to get free handouts and push men down to be nothing more than cattle. I have heard feminists say some crazy things, but I’ve come to the conclusion that men are not the sexist ones, it’s feminists.
Okay, I want to wrap up the Women and Feminist topics with what I said at the beginning of this. (“Like most people, I believe that women should be/are equal to men in many ways, but not all”) That my friends is what you call a hook. Since you read this far, you took the bait. I don’t think men and women are equal, they are just… different. Both type of people are biologically different and unique. I would go as far as to say that both exhibit characteristics that the other cannot show as well most of the time. When we are talking about working, payment, ect, women should most definitely be treated the same. When talking about day to day life, I think women should be treated the same as men if not better. Growing up, my dad always made me open the door for women, be the last to get food, do the harder work in the yard, ect. He taught me these things because he values women very highly as something that should be honored and cherished. The same goes in reverse. I believe women should be the most loyal companion to men and do whatever they can do to assist. This view might seem controversial to some but please understand that these views I come from the idea that men and women NEED each other. In no way I am implying that women should and should not do certain things. They can do whatever the heck they want. All I’m trying to say is men and women are not equal, just different and that is okay
[6] Unity
OKAY!!!!! Time for something quick and different. This kind of ties in two the topics I covered last time. We currently live in a word where everything is so opposite to the point where we are killing each other over different opinions. This is not okay as most of us can agree. It seems to every good proposition, there is always a backlash. This is inevitable but should backlash really be this big and violent. This is why I want to touch on the concept of unity real quickly. 16 years ago, on September 11, a plane crashed into the world trade center here in the United States. This is one of the most tragic events in U.S. history and is remembered as a day of infamy. But…. There was one good thing that came out of that day. No matter who you were, where you were from, what side of the political spectrum you were one, we all became one. We all were Americans that day. As one nation, we all reflected on the event and mourned over the events that happened. People came together to help those who were affected that day, whether it had been with their time, their money, their labor, and even prayers, we helped our fellow man in a time of great tragedy. With the events of the hurricanes and the earthquakes in Mexico, I once again see people gathered together in solidarity, helping one another not because they have to, but because they want to. To quote Psalms 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” These painful events we are having are terrible, but from them comes joy when it’s over. Joy from the people who have helped, joy from seeing people come together, and Joy from seeing what man kind is in times of crises. It is truly a beautiful thing.
What about when its over? What happens after the Cities are rebuilt, the water drained, and people’s home’s restored? Will we go back to how we were before? Yes. These events bring so much unity for people but when they are over, people descend back to how they were before. Why do we do this? Why after the storm do we go back into the sea? We were people then and we are people now. We were Americans then and we are Americans now. We were Europeans/Latinos then and we are Europeans/Latinos now.
I know it seems I’m preaching to a wall but what I want people to understand is that despite what we believe in or practice, we are all people on this big rock called Earth. I don’t want wars and I don’t want other nations to parish. Please as man, don’t hate purely off of what someone believes because they have their own reasons as to why they are the way they are. Don’t try to change people. Prove them wrong and let them change their selves.
Well that is it everyone. Sorry that I got a bit dramatic and ranted a bit more than last time. I hope that we can get some discussions started with each other. If some of the above points seems scrambled, it is because I wrote all of this REALLY FAST!!!!!
Thanks for reading!!!
For those of you who don’t know what this is, a while ago I did a post called “The world today as we know it.” In that blog, my goal was to get some discussion and some back and forth with you Tempers about some sensitive and current topics. I really liked what y’all had to say about those topics, even though I may not have agreed with all of it. But you know what? That is okay! As people, is great that we are all different. As much as I would like for everyone to think the same way I think, I thinks it is more important for everyone to exercise their right to think and act however they would like. Before I get started, quick disclaimer. I may say some things you may not agree with or might get you Triggered! I just ask from you wonderful people that we remain civil and polite. I have no intentions to piss people off, I just heavily value discussion amongst a diverse group of people. With that out of the way, let’s get into part 2!
[4] Sexism and Feminism
Do you want to hear a joke? Women’s rights. Do you want to hear another joke? Feminism. Okay, okay, I’m just kidding. Well… only about the first joke. I will get to feminism in a moment but I want to talk about why I made that first joke. Like most people, I believe that women should be/are equal to men in many ways, but not all. WAIT, HOLD ON! Let me explain. I grew up with 3 sisters and I love them to death. They are smart, funny, and try their hardest at everything they do. They are all in college pursuing degrees that will financially provide for them for the rest of their lives. I talk about social issues and politics a lot with them and not once did they ever think they were put down or looked down upon because they are women. For the most part, they and I have been on the same playing field our whole life. So why do they feel like they are equal to men, but other women today don’t? I genuinely don’t know! I have been trying to figure out this whole patriarchy thing for years now. Let’s discuss some of the view points.
I would be lying if I said that women do get the short end of the stick in a few ways. The first thing that comes to mind is harassment and pursuit. For me, this hits a little close to home. For those of you who don’t know, I have a twin sister. When it comes to guys, she hasn’t been so lucky. She gets cat-called often and constantly has men trying to pursue her. I had lunch with her a few weeks ago and she was telling me about these guys. She told me that they are always trying to talk to her and do “sweet” things for her that make her very uncomfortable. She doesn’t like how guys always try to “get to know her.” She told me all she does is try to be nice to people but men always interpret it as, “SHE WANTS ME!.” This truly does suck but I can’t really blame most guys. We are all looking for someone special. It just sucks that sometimes it requires a bit of awkwardness and trying and failing.
Above I made a joke about women. Where you offended by it? I really hope you weren’t. Many see comedy in terms of roasting a good thing or a destructive thing. We are all different and take things differently. But comedy only works in a few ways. It’s based on pain and timing. Someone has to be on the butt-end of a joke. As someone who believes in the value of women, I still don’t think they are safe from scrutiny. I believe in something called “Prejudice Equality,” where everyone is subject to humiliation and ridicule. Is it mean to make fun of women’s driving skills or mannerisms? Not really, it is a joke. It’s a joke in the same way as saying men are forgetful simpletons. Is it wrong to sign up my friend Tavion to BlackPeopleMeet.com because he is black and make his preference male? Of course it’s not! It’s a joke. When my buddies told him we did this, he thought it was funny! I have quite a diverse group of friends in my major and we give each other s*** all the time. I give my girlfriend and sisters hard times as well because it’s a joke. I make fun of them, and they make fun of me. We grow from this, we bond from this. I do know that people (women) are not as strong willed as others. At that point it comes down to appropriateness. Should I tell a women joke to a rape survivor? Absolutely not! That would just be mean. There is a time and place for everything, you just have to know when
[5] Feminism (continued)
I rambled on a bit above because I felt like I had a lot to say. With Feminism, there is nothing that I can say that hasn’t been said already. A long time ago, women were not treated equally and in some places, still aren’t. For the west, we gave equality for women in the 60’s. Yes it took a bit of time for them to get on the same playing field but they got there….. or so we thought. While I think and believe women have reached equality with men, there are so many others who think there is soooooooooooooooo much more work needed to be done. The still believe they are being oppressed, payed a lot less, won’t get jobs over men, ect, ect, ect. It doesn’t end with these people. Let’s try to dissect some points and look at it from a nonbiased point of view.
The wage gap is a fun place to start. On both sides of the coin, there seems to be evidence for women getting payed less vs those statistics being misleading. I feel like I am going to upset someone here if I bring up evidence against the wage gap. I can show statistics but I am not going to. Here is why. We are all biased towards studies that show this or studies that show that, so let’s just think critically…. If a company was paying women less and there was hard evidence, what do you think would happen to that company? If women are payed less, then why do men still work there if they can be replaced with someone who will work for less pay? If a women and a man apply for the same job, are equally skilled, and both are married, but the man gets chosen, would you think that happened because maybe the women has kids to pick up from school or maybe wants to become a mom? I’m not trying to sway people, but rather get them to think as critically as possible.
So what about that other side of Feminism? You know the one. The feminists that paint with their period blood, wear “p***y hats”, call all men scum despite never meeting every man, and demand men to pay extra tax at their restaurant (look this up, its mind blowing). Am I crazy? This is ridiculous, right? How many women actually believe in this nonsense. It may just be because I live in the south but I have not talked to a single women who is a feminist. To a lot of my guy and girl friends, they are a joke; trying to get free handouts and push men down to be nothing more than cattle. I have heard feminists say some crazy things, but I’ve come to the conclusion that men are not the sexist ones, it’s feminists.
Okay, I want to wrap up the Women and Feminist topics with what I said at the beginning of this. (“Like most people, I believe that women should be/are equal to men in many ways, but not all”) That my friends is what you call a hook. Since you read this far, you took the bait. I don’t think men and women are equal, they are just… different. Both type of people are biologically different and unique. I would go as far as to say that both exhibit characteristics that the other cannot show as well most of the time. When we are talking about working, payment, ect, women should most definitely be treated the same. When talking about day to day life, I think women should be treated the same as men if not better. Growing up, my dad always made me open the door for women, be the last to get food, do the harder work in the yard, ect. He taught me these things because he values women very highly as something that should be honored and cherished. The same goes in reverse. I believe women should be the most loyal companion to men and do whatever they can do to assist. This view might seem controversial to some but please understand that these views I come from the idea that men and women NEED each other. In no way I am implying that women should and should not do certain things. They can do whatever the heck they want. All I’m trying to say is men and women are not equal, just different and that is okay
[6] Unity
OKAY!!!!! Time for something quick and different. This kind of ties in two the topics I covered last time. We currently live in a word where everything is so opposite to the point where we are killing each other over different opinions. This is not okay as most of us can agree. It seems to every good proposition, there is always a backlash. This is inevitable but should backlash really be this big and violent. This is why I want to touch on the concept of unity real quickly. 16 years ago, on September 11, a plane crashed into the world trade center here in the United States. This is one of the most tragic events in U.S. history and is remembered as a day of infamy. But…. There was one good thing that came out of that day. No matter who you were, where you were from, what side of the political spectrum you were one, we all became one. We all were Americans that day. As one nation, we all reflected on the event and mourned over the events that happened. People came together to help those who were affected that day, whether it had been with their time, their money, their labor, and even prayers, we helped our fellow man in a time of great tragedy. With the events of the hurricanes and the earthquakes in Mexico, I once again see people gathered together in solidarity, helping one another not because they have to, but because they want to. To quote Psalms 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” These painful events we are having are terrible, but from them comes joy when it’s over. Joy from the people who have helped, joy from seeing people come together, and Joy from seeing what man kind is in times of crises. It is truly a beautiful thing.
What about when its over? What happens after the Cities are rebuilt, the water drained, and people’s home’s restored? Will we go back to how we were before? Yes. These events bring so much unity for people but when they are over, people descend back to how they were before. Why do we do this? Why after the storm do we go back into the sea? We were people then and we are people now. We were Americans then and we are Americans now. We were Europeans/Latinos then and we are Europeans/Latinos now.
I know it seems I’m preaching to a wall but what I want people to understand is that despite what we believe in or practice, we are all people on this big rock called Earth. I don’t want wars and I don’t want other nations to parish. Please as man, don’t hate purely off of what someone believes because they have their own reasons as to why they are the way they are. Don’t try to change people. Prove them wrong and let them change their selves.
Well that is it everyone. Sorry that I got a bit dramatic and ranted a bit more than last time. I hope that we can get some discussions started with each other. If some of the above points seems scrambled, it is because I wrote all of this REALLY FAST!!!!!
Thanks for reading!!!
