Ah, the wondrous world of Facebook, where people can congregate from all walks of life and without any accountability we can openly hate on each other. When did that become a thing by the way? A fashionable way to present oneself? To jump on someone's profile that you barely know, take his wording entirely out of context and begin to shout obscenities at your fellow 'friends'? It stirs me up the wrong way because I was targeted today, not because I was being unfair, but because I was a man. This is cold-hearted right there what's wrong with Feminism today. It's why so many women are distancing themselves more and more from the idea, and it's why we are seeing a male movement when one did not exist beforehand.
Women and men want the same
I've always believed that women are the same as men. Maybe that's a far-out idea for this day and age but to label and vilify someone that you don't agree with is a backwards step in my opinion. To effectively shut out all opposition without taking the time to listen to what is being said is not progression, it's not a healthy debating skill, it's not being mature in your wisdom, it's being childlike and afraid. I've dealt with people like this in the past but I have most often found that they exist on the right side of Politics. Today I was challenged by someone as far left as me and agreed with everything that I've said in the past, until, of course she disagreed with what I said that challenged her opinion on women.
My friend said something to me today that made me perk up and listen, she was a woman. She said to me, "I really hate how there's an unfair balance between men and women when it comes to arguing. It's encouraged for females to attack men verbally, yet discouraged for men to do the same thing. Often men are looked down upon in certain cases.” It had me wondering if perhaps this was why I was answering her statements tactfully and she was going right out there and calling me sexist. Maybe it's personal to me, I'm unsure. I often take solstice that the same women that complain about men objectifying them are often rubbing one out to Magic Mike XXL, or Fifty Shades of Grey; not that I feel having Magic Mike XXL is a bad thing, or either is FSoG, I point out the sheer hypocrisy of such actions.
It's behaviour, not 'ism'
For me most 'isms' are generally down to behaviour through learned experience of individuals. It's more of a behaviour attitude than an 'ism'. When one shouts as loud as they can that I'm wrong without heeding anything that I say, then I'm more inclined to understand this person hasn't properly developed an attitude in which another person can open up and listen from. These people can usually be heard drowning out other people’s voices from the four corners of the web, and it's becoming more normal now and growing in fashion. I can honestly see a trend. Let me be clear I've never been called a sexist in my life, but in the past perhaps year I've been called it twice. Maybe far more in future the more I try to stomp out the injustices of shutting speech down.
I'd much rather tell a woman that she can do great things with her life than tell her she's a victim of a cruel patriarchal injustice in this world that she can never escape from unless she shouts louder. The latter seems rather backwards and toxic to whoever is listening. We can also shine a light on acceptance too, though. If I were to tell my friends Stacy, or Claire that they were victims in a cruel world they'd laugh at me because they are just doing fine, they'd also tell me to mind my own feckin business. If I were to tell a female that had come out of a shaky relationship with a horrible man with nowhere or no-one to turn to, then harmony in Feminism may be a heart-warming option, a place to belong, a place to feel again, a place to right the cruel injustices that happened upon them, but I digress. Life, as it is now, is nowhere near black and white or as simple as we may think.
We are what we are
The same can be said for each Political side. It matters now what you believe in, it matters how you act it out. No amount of shouting in someone’s face and calling them a loony lefty or a Hitler Nazi will change that. If I listen to you then I expect you to listen to me. It's why we're finding it real hard at the moment to be heard, because no-one is actually listening. Facebook, blogging, YouTube, Twitter and god knows what else have so expertly shown us how to express ourselves but have yet to teach us how to listen better, or respect each other in a way that's civilised.
My motto is this. Be the change that you wish to see in the world, by that I mean lead by example. If I lead like a cunt then I should expect to be treated like such. This is why I have nothing but warm hugs and love to give you lovely readers, hah!
Anyway, for further note, please try and not see Feminism as bad, if you're like me and enjoy the company of most women then see it as a behaviour thing, and just, y'know, put any notions of 'isms' out the window.