Of course not. But I’m only evaluating them on one particular axis. If you’re projecting beyond that, that’s a faulty assumption based on what you feel are my motivations rather than what I say.
Liberal men (and I have said men specifically, since as we all know women aren’t important and should just do what they’re told) on the whole tend to have a larger set of laudable traits. They tend to be less racist and homophobic, more accepting of intellectualism, science, and education (and by extension, reality), less religious, and a whole other slew of advantages.
But on the traditional male values scale, they’re way more often douchebag weenies. I don’t think it necesarily all has to come as a package deal, but there’s definitely correlating factors there.
As it specifically relates to the point I raised earlier, they are far more likely to think of themselves as being under the protection of real men, like soldiers and police, rather than being ultimately responsible for their individual safety. This, of course, influences their thoughts on self defense and gun control, and more specifically, how they view people who haven’t chosen to live with the same attitude and dependence.
I wanted to think deeply about this topic before I responded. So I popped a quiche in the oven (free range organic eggs of course), lit some candles and proceeded to reflect on the subject of manliness while stroking my cat. Soon the quiche was done and I sat down with it, an arugula salad and poured myself a refreshing glass of Chardonnay. I dined while listening to some soothing Michael Buble music. After a fine meal, I decided to see if Noam Chomsky or Howard Zinn had anything to say on the matter. After perusing their readings I came to the conclusion that the OP could not be more wrong and I wish folks could just celebrate our commonality as opposed to creating so much negative energy in the world.
The very idea that traditional male roles have any relevance to the modern world is itself worthy of parody. White Christian male conservative traditional roles are an doomed-to-fail attempt to preserve the imbalance of power between the races and the sexes and as such are outdated and thankfully outnumbered.
Conservatives are only as respected as their loudest proponents: Glenn Beck. Ted Nugent. Todd Akin. Richard Mourdock. Mark Foley. Dan T Cathy. David Green. Sarah Palin. Mitt Romney. Rick Santorum. Fox News. Donald Trump. Marcus and Michelle Bachmann. Paranoid, incompetent, angry buffoons, the lot of them. Their attitudes and behavior serve as the mouthpiece of the Republican party. Don’t like it? Don’t blame you. Time for a change, dontchathink?
Come out here, I’ll take you shooting. The evilest of my guns first. Just got a batch of toddler-shaped ballistic dummies, with special ballistic gel made from the tears of doves. Maybe I can grow you a little bit of back hair. Downside is that your penis shrinks.
Having been in the military and having been wrongfully arrested, I can assure you I don’t think either of those groups are protecting me, nor do I consider them “realer” men than I am. There are plenty of reasons not to want to own a gun other than “dependence” on the state. Classic right-wing projection.
Conservatives seem to put more stock in the appearance of manliness, but it is a thin veneer. The defining characteristic of the modern American conservative movement is fear: fear of women’s sexuality; fear of minorities; fear of Muslims; fear of cities; fear of science; fear of differing opinions; fear of loss of status; and fear of change in general. Remind who the pussies are again?
In case it wasn’t clear, the “women should just shut up and do what they’re told” part was a joke. I don’t address the issue of women because I’m specifically addressing the issue of traditional male values and roles.
It’s weird to me to even spend so much time protesting or mocking the ideas that liberalization of society and the social changes that come with it (mostly positive) can come with some changes to traditional male roles and value. It actually seems pretty obvious to me and I’m having a hard time buying it as even controversial, let alone this absurd idea that you’re all painting it as.
I think conservative men worry too much about appearing manly. They’re scared that if they don’t look macho enough, people won’t respect them. Ironically, the most manly men I know don’t care about that bullshit. If you can’t enjoy a slice of quiche without feeling self-conscious, you’re not much of a man.
I get the impression that you are only speaking about a certain, narrow group of liberal men. Those may be the only liberal men you know, but most liberal men I have known are as masculine (or “manly”, in both the traditional sense or any other) as most of the conservative men I have known. Demographically, most of the following groups of men tend to be liberal: union workers, hispanic men, black men, immigrant men, public workers, and many others.
Like rape, homophobia, brutality, child abuse, domestic violence, drunkenness, ignorance, amorality, and general thuggishness. The “manly” traits they value are the negative ones. And mostly have little to do with men, and everything to to with thugs. You find conservative “manly virtues” most often in maximum security.
I don’t care if it’s “reasonable and levelheaded”. The gun scum have made their complete amorality and lack of concern for human life, welfare & freedom - including mine - crystal clear. They’d sacrifice everyone and everything for their stupid guns. So if their feelings get hurt, that’s just too bad.
Saying “women should just shut up and do what they’re told” is a traditional male value and role. If you don’t beat “your woman” into submission or death, you aren’t being one of the traditional manly men you think are so great.