Boys Are Stupid Fussing about nothing, ... Brother Harry, While I support much of the men's movement and its aims, I don't think that making a fuss over silly cartoons and T-shirts like the 'Boys are Stupid' ones is helpful to the cause. They are just jokes. If we men cannot take jokes then we are the losers, and we surely have much more important things to worry and complain about. Maybe we should lighten up over such things. Gus Brother Gus I have a question for you. Would you be willing to display on YOUR website a series of cartoons which said that, "Blacks Are Stupid, Throw Rocks At Them" (or Jews etc)? Would you be happy to visit this website if I displayed such material on it all over the place? No. I don't think so. But the interesting question for me is this. Why would you, for example, not display Blacks Are Stupid cartoons on your website? Indeed, why would you not try to sell T-shirts bearing such images? Well, I can think of a few reasons why you would not do such a thing. 1. You might not wish to offend black people. 2. You might fear the consequences. (Maybe you would be prosecuted, shunned, vilified - or even beaten up.) 3. You might not want to risk stirring up racial disharmony. 4. You might think that it is simply impolite to suggest that black people are stupid. 5. You might not find it very funny to suggest that black people are stupid. 6. You might not wish to trivialise violence against black people by suggesting that throwing rocks at them is funny. But whatever it is that would stop YOU from putting up such cartoons about 'blacks', clearly does not apply to YOU when the target is 'boys'. So, tell me Gus, what stops you from disseminating hither and thither various cartoons suggesting that, "Blacks are stupid" and that you should, therefore, throw rocks at them? Well, whatever it is that does stop you from doing this, it is clearly the case that 'blacks' (Jews, women, gays etc) are protected in some way (psychologically, socially, legally - whatever) and that 'boys' are not. And this, my dear Gus, is what infuriates so many men in the men's movement (MM) about these T-shirts. It is the fact that society - and, indeed, YOU - for whatever reason - is unhappy about people poking this type of fun at just about any group of people unless this group happens to be 'men' or 'boys'. Of course, if this particular type of humour was the only thing going on in the world that targeted adversely 'men' and 'boys', I doubt that anyone in the MM would be remotely concerned about it. But, as you know, the onslaught against men and boys is enormous and persistent, and you can find it almost everywhere - e.g. in the world of education, the law, the mainstream media, the health system etc etc. And these cartoons are actually endorsing and buttressing what is already out there. No, they are not as cruel or as disgusting and demeaning as Bobbit Jokes, but they sit somewhere along that path. And YOUR 'acceptance' of this kind of humour coupled with YOUR unwillingness to display similar cartoons about blacks etc says something about YOU. It says that YOU are unwilling to poke fun at certain groups but that YOU are quite happy for people to poke the same kind of fun at 'boys'. Your brain has been got at! And whatever it is that causes YOU to feel this way is something that many MRAs are going to fight against - and should fight against. Why? - because, whatever it is that protects other groups from certain things - whatever these things might be - should also apply to 'boys'. After all, why should 'boys' not be protected from things that other groups are protected from? And if our society actually feels the need to protect various groups from such things, then why should 'boys' not also receive the same kind of protection from whatever it is that the other groups are being protected from? Why are 'boys' considered to be so worthless in the scheme of things? Why do people in our society abandon the 'boys' when it comes to such matters, whereas they would raise merry hell if other groups were being similarly targeted? This is what angers many MRAs. Finally, I can assure you that most children will be affected by cartoons that imply that boys are stupid and that throwing rocks at them is funny. I have no doubt about this at all. Each child might only be affected by a small amount, but there are millions of children, and so the effects - and their ramifications - will be significant. As such, these cartoons represent yet another significant attack on the standing and worthiness of men and boys. And the further fact that they are not 'balanced' by similar cartoons aimed at 'girls' makes this attack much worse - particularly for the 'boys'. Best wishes Harry PS How would society and the media react if 'fashionable' and heavily-promoted T-shirts proclaimed that "Mothers are stupid. Don't listen to them". Or, "Women are ignorant. Ignore them." Or. "Girls are dim-witted. Kick them." They would go bananas! And the attitudes of children towards the above three female groups would certainly be affected if such T-shirts were being popularised. Imagine the impact of thousands of children wearing T-Shirts proclaiming that, "Mothers Are Stupid," or "Women Teachers Are Useless." Notice also that women, themselves, would be up in arms if T-shirts proclaiming that "Women Are Stupid" were being worn by young boys at school. But they seem quite happy even for their very own sons to experience such denigration. What does this tell you about western women today, eh? Well, it tells you what we already know from just about all the evidence around us. 1. They believe that they are superior to everyone else. 2. They do not even care if their own sons are being derided and mocked. Do not ever fool yourself into believing that children come first in the eyes of women. They don't. Women come first in the eyes of women. And they would be outraged if children wore T-shirts saying that "Women Are Stupid." But when it comes even to their own sons, Nah. Not a peep of complaint. ... "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize." Voltaire