Predatory Men

Posted on May 10, 2005 in Gender Responsibility

Yes, they exist. And they have only themselves to blame. The trouble I have is when the label extends from the perpetrators to other fellows such as myself. There’s danger in boxing. I feel amputating shock whenever I listen to some pseudo-feminist go on about how all men are this or all men are that. And yet I also despise the men and from the women who say that men are supposed to be like that.

I am a man and I don’t want to be like that. So I am not. Anyone who promotes the myth of the male as predator perpetuates vile institutions such as the old boy’s club, corporate takeover, violence, war, and rape — to name a few. So while we must only hold predatory men accountable for their actions, we must hold others accountable for educating them in stupid cruelty.

I’ve learned not to listen to junk psychology authors, closeted academics, bitter women, or the boys in the locker room. I reach out for other possibilities of what it means to be a man, of what it means to live with a woman (others are welcome to live with other men), of what it means to be alive and human.

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At the time you read this, I’ll be attending a conference at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. I am feeling distance from imagery. Maybe I can come home with some. This prostelytizing wearies me.