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Editorial -- 8/3/1999
"It's a man's world." Your bloody arse, it is!
If you think it's a man's world, go to Arlington, the Punch Bowl on Oahu, Golden Gate, or any other garden of stone where those who made the ultimate sacrifice are at rest, and count how many service women are buried there.
When I was a young man out of high school, I did not have the same options as my female co-graduates. If they did not have money for college, they could get a job and pursue their education on a part-time basis. If I had tried that, I would have been drafted before I finished English Comp 101. Yeah, advantage male.
Today, I understand there are stepping stools on the obstacle course at Marine Officer Candidate School for the use of the physically-challenged "weaker" sex. There are women who are physically capable of meeting the physical standards as well as the other standards; so why lower the standards?
If you read my note on the bottom of the home page (If you look down on others because of their race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, social status, financial position, etc. then I have two words for you . . . SUCK IT!), then you probably guessed that I am in agreement, for the most part, with Affirmative Action; there are too many a-holes out there who stick it minorities, women, Catholics, Baptists, Jews, Atheists, etc. to turn them lose without any legal restraint. I still see a lot of lily-white companies (or, in the Silicon Valley, white, Asian, and Indian/Pakistani); this is especially true in high-tech departments. I was in "data processing" in the Marine Corp for 7 years and I knew ONE black programmer; and the military has led the way in improving race relations.
That being said, as I understand Affirmative Action, if two applicants are equally qualified for a job, then the minority individual gets the nod; companies are not expected to hire less-qualified people. I have experienced first hand the use of Affirmative Action to justify hiring a less qualified individual. When I got out of the Marines, I applied for a programming position at a teacher's college (now having the hubris to call itself a university.) I had seven years experience in the computer field, two as a COBOL programmer; but no degree. The Director hired a woman straight out of college (Major: math; Programming courses: one) with no experience. Now, dear reader, whom would you hire: Someone with seven years experience, including supervising and training others, or someone straight out of college with very few actual computer courses? (I had more semester hours in what was then called "data processing" than she did.)
A similar incident occurred many years later when I applied for a state job. Long story short, the woman they hired instead of me didn't even understand nested IF logic -- I know, because I had tried to explain it while working with her on a contract previously.
And then we have the current situation in divorce courts, where the man is always to blame regardless of the evidence; where the judges can render any decision they want, regardless of evidence; where a woman can level false charges of child or spousal abuse and cost a man all of his assets if not his freedom.
If you are a young man, strongly reconsider if you are thinking of marriage. It is not as easy to find information for us as it is for the man-haters, but it is there. Don't just take my word for it, educate yourself. Join the Men's Defense Association. Work for true equal rights.
Do you really think that sweet young thing won't turn around in 10 years and take the house, the kids, and half your income, just because she is tired of being with you? The odds are not in your favor, my friend.
If you have already been burned, tell other's about it. Complain to politicians. Do whatever you can. We must change the current attitude toward men in this country or the family is doomed.
One final note about something I've been wanting to say since I wrote the first editorial on divorce reform: I do not hate women, I do not want to see women's roles reduced to what they once were. We have too many problems in this country and we need the best men and/or women working on those problems regardless of color, religion, or anything else.
I count women among my closest friends. I admire women (or anyone!) who start out at the bottom, educate themselves, and become very productive members of society, interacting with men, cherishing and respecting our differences and similarities. There are women and children in abusive situations and I hold no sympathy for the bastards who are abusing them.
I have problems with women who refuse to get an education or a job after the kids are in school, spending their days watching soaps and hanging out with their friends. (I know there are also men that do similar things to their working spouse, and I say the hell with them also.) These people then decide they don't want to be married anymore, and the courts hand them almost everything the working spouse paid for AND a large part of their income - perhaps for life! That is large farm animal excrement, folks.
Your input is welcome.