LD0506 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Whew! Doin' something I flat out never do here, starting a thread....................... What is it to be a man today, in these times and in this country? The topic touches almost every other thread here at some point, in perspectives and responses and the manner in which others take our words, assumption and speculation coloring our intent even when we do not expressly mean it and we don't grasp how someone else could possibly take our words "that way". We struggle with raising our sons and relating to each other, it bleeds into our sports and our politics and our lives through a million cracks and keeps bubbling up to distort our very existence. Gillette has released a very different commercial, a major brand whose target demographic is overwhelmingly XY knowing that it would start a buncha **** and it has. There is immediately a hue and cry about....well, you know, the same old bull**** we heard about a Wonder Women movie, "radical feminism!!" and "attacking men!!" and a whole raft of other pearl clutching nonsense. Now, cynical skeptical me fully expects this topic to get little notice or discussion and to be sinking off the front page and into oblivion before the day is out, but I'm curious how this commercial and its messages (because it is about a whole spectrum of points that touch on what it is to be a man) would be seen by others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I've always translated "What does it take to be a man" to "What does it take to be a mensch?" The latter hasn't changed much and probably never will. To be a mensch, you put others before you, you help out, you understand your responsibilities and duties to family and community. You do good works. You stand up when it is time to be counted. You stand for others who lack the strength to stand for themselves. You protect those abused, threatened, or endangered. You risk scorn. To be a mensch is not measured in stuff or money. It is not an accumulation of wealth or status. It is an accumulation of works and deeds, sometimes/often at cost. To be a mensch is not measured in stoicism or strength or toughness. It is a depth of effort and compassion. To be a mensch means you are not guided self-interest, greed, apathy, and ambition, but by the needs of those you love and those around you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CousinsCowgirl84 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 It doesn’t mean anything to be a man. You were born with a ****. Nothing special about that. And, if you don’t like your **** you can get that fixed up right over here. So, it doesn’t mean anything to be a man. What doesn’t it mean to be a human??? We got enough of a time answering that question, so let’s start there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wiggles Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsmarydu Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 24 minutes ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said: It doesn’t mean anything to be a man. You were born with a ****. Nothing special about that. And, if you don’t like your **** you can get that fixed up right over here. So, it doesn’t mean anything to be a man. What doesn’t it mean to be a human??? We got enough of a time answering that question, so let’s start there. Bold statement. (And completely worthless in relation to the OP.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Being a real man means having strong and durable ankles... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark327 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 2 minutes ago, Riggo-toni said: Being a real man means having strong and durable ankles... Well we all know who that leaves out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 To me it means to become responsible and leaving childish things behind. as mentioned earlier the same applies to becoming a woman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbear Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I agree with the commercial. I tried to answer this years ago. Alas, I haven't bettered my answer since. http://thelifewelllived.net/2011/11/15/a-good-man-2/ A Good Man A man is a lucky somebody who has grown out of the selfish myopic teenage years. He is somebody capable of looking out at his world and what needs to be done, what is being left undone by others be they capable or incapable. A good man is introspective enough to know his talents and his passions. Once he has looked both inward and outward, a good man may plot his path. A good man never stops looking, both inward and outward for the only constant is change. A good man is mindful of others and their perspectives. A good man seeks solace and comfort in his efforts. For if he can take comfort in his work, the fear of starting over need never discourage. A good man is ever mindful of his footprints both in his family and community. His life is marked by joys many who chose other lives never imagine much less enjoy, whether it be pride in the path of those who follow or the true company received only by the honest. A good man does what he can, when he can, until he can’t. At the end of the day, a good man can look in the mirror, see the haggard face of any age and take solace in his life well lived. I endeavor, though sometimes fail, to be the good man. Don’t we all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Take care of your kids, stand up and accept your responsibilities. Handle yourself so as not to burden others. Be kind. What else? ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llevron Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Don’t know. Not sure any of us do if you are speaking realistically. Now if we are talking about idealistically then that’s something entirely different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 The commercial has a good message: Stand up for what's right, but more importantly stop excusing and tacitly condoning destructive behavior (bullying, harassing women, mansplaining, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 31 minutes ago, Riggo-toni said: Being a real man means having strong and durable ankles... True. If we have weak ankles, you are a bender. Bender is a robot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 2 minutes ago, PokerPacker said: True. If we have weak ankles, you are a bender. Bender is a robot. How can you stand up for others when you can't even stand for yourself?? And, BTW, this is bullying and I won't stand for it and neither will this person we are talking about. Cut it out or I will beat you senseless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsmarydu Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Don't be confused. It's just not our place to comment, let the boys hash it out. We get to giggle a lot...or to Bang's post, say "Cheers!". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I don't see anything wrong with the commercial. But in the age where rage is in, I'm sure there are some out there that find it objectionable because...well, being offended is what matters today. Anyway, I'd really like to see if Gillette can cram another razor in there. What are they up to now, 5 or 6 blades? Oh for **** sake, I'm looking at some of the "outrage" about this ad. And people are like "Gillette is saying that ALL MEN ARE THIS WAY!!!!!1111" Which they're not. But let's not let emotion get in the way of anything because that never happens on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 2 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said: I don't see anything wrong with the commercial. But in the age where rage is in, I'm sure there are some out there that find it objectionable because...well, being offended is what matters today. Anyway, I'd really like to see if Gillette can cram another razor in there. What are they up to now, 5 or 6 blades? MadTV made the joke years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I’d like to add that I am currently engaged in a decades-long boycott of Gillette owing to my great hatred of the lousy, cheating Patriots and their preening owner. And that type of stubbornness and grudge-holding feels pretty manly to me. *spits* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LD0506 Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 Ok, actually more notice than I expected, glad to be wrong (so far) "Being a male", ie. being born with a dick is a biological fact determined in the womb, you get one, you become one, but it isn't supposed to stop there. "Being a man" is IMO something very different. You make a conscious choice, you decide to be a man, you struggle to be a man, you fall on your ass and get back up again These days there is a perception that it has gotten harder to be a man, and that's probably true but it isn't because women work or feminists speak out or gay marriage or Wonder Woman or MeToo or yadda yadda ****ing yadda all the other facile rationalizations that spew out into the sunlight, it is because all those excuses have become harder and harder to sustain in any rational fashion. It's because we are being dragged (often kicking and screaming) to the stark reality that so many women ARE still treated as chattel and we DO "boys will be boys" when our sons fight or smirk and "who wouldn't?" when see teachers having sex with 13 yr olds and a long list of other essentially immature and indefensible behaviors. Males need to grow into men, and men need to support them in doing that without being dismissed as *******(kittens) or weaklings. Definitions of manhood so often entail terms of strength and toughness and endurance against odds and all that other Rambo-toon stuff we like to think about ourselves, and that's ok, that's a part of it but when you see that being strong can mean keeping your ****ing mouth shut instead of saying something ignorant, or speaking up at work instead of just tacitly condoning the jokes, even when you know your buddies are gonna ride you about it, or stepping in to stop something wrong instead of turning away, then, you're on your way to understanding what it is to be a man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llevron Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Elessar78 said: The commercial has a good message: Stand up for what's right, but more importantly stop excusing and tacitly condoning destructive behavior (bullying, harassing women, mansplaining, etc.) Agree. I’m just not sure that’s what it means to be a man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busch1724 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Question, is it possible to be a man while also a vegetarian? Seriously, Burgold summed it up well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhead36 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Bang said: Take care of your kids, stand up and accept your responsibilities. Handle yourself so as not to burden others. Be kind. What else? ~Bang You nailed it bruv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Elessar78 said: MadTV made the joke years ago. And SNL did it years before that. In fact SNL made a parody when dual blade razors came out, they parodied it with "The Triple Trac" 3 bladed razor: https://www.libertysflame.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=54913&Disp=24 Of course, we all know triple bladed razors became a reality and they have now gone well beyond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 If you can't look another man in the eye while having a disagreement...you aren't a man. Clearly not on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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