Real Men Don’t Walk This Way

As I post this, Donald Trump has been President of the United States for 14 days, and the United States is still holding together.

I’ve had a bunch of Facebook friends talk about participating in some of the protest marches around the country after the inauguration.  Some of the most popular ones are the women’s marches around the country.  I think I’d like to get a pussy hat just for the novelty of it, but I have no interest in walking with the women.  Sorry, I don’t walk that way. Other men should think twice about walking too.

No, it’s not because I don’t support the women.  I do sympathize with their causes.  (In my more naive days, I once offered to publicly speak against Rush Limbaugh’s misogynistic behavior.)  And it’s not because my knees are slowly going out and I couldn’t tolerate the walk.  Heaven knows I could use the exercise.  No, the reason I’m not interested in walking is I am, after all, male, not female.

You see, I don’t believe men should be participating in women’s causes except under a few circumstances.  Let me explain.

I was not invited to join the women in their protests.  If I was, I might have considered joining, knees be damned.  I wasn’t, so I didn’t.  Some guys did join in and we saw pictures all across the news with men in the middle of the march.  Were they invited?  I suspect many were not, they just wanted to be part of it.  I think there’s a big problem with that.

The women of this country created this march, and made this their issue.  The marches in no way addressed men’s issues. (Yes, we have some, whether you believe we are privileged or you actually know better.)  The marches were about women’s issues and the women’s belief that President Trump is their enemy.  If men join in after being invited, the women who invited them have vetted the men as true supporters.  When men join in uninvited, they dilute the impact of the message.  The uninvited men turn the women’s issues into issues about all people, not just women.  In effect, the uninvited men steal the issues away from the women.  In theory, the women should be insulted.

Naturally, some men say they marched in order to increase the numbers and help the women spread their message.  Really?  Personally, I think the women do just fine spreading their messages.
They don’t need my help.  Many of the women I know are independent and plenty strong enough to get their message across without help from men.

Sure, I’ll hold a door for a woman.  That’s just being polite.  I’ll hold the door for a guy too, but I expect him to take charge of the door after me.  On the other hand I’ll not step up and help a competent woman do her job; that’s just insulting.  I know they are competent and I respect their competency.

Of course, some men had other reasons for being at the marches and rallies.

On Saturday after the inauguration, the news channels were full of reports from the women’s marches. I had the misfortune of watching an interview with wealthy director Michael Moore, the overly smug creator of BS documentaries, and outspoken critic of almost everything not blessed by Hollywood elitists as liberal.  Moore was overly enthusiastic about his role in the march on Washington DC and his speech.  If he was wearing a pussy hat, I swear it would have been dripping wet, he was so excited to be there.  The trouble was he wasn’t there for the women’s causes; he was there to promote himself and his agenda.  He never once mentioned the women other than in passing.  He focussed on his hatred for now-President Donald Trump, the only thing he shared with the women, except perhaps for a high estrogen level.  He addressed his anti-American goal of disrupting Trump’s term as much as he could.  He tried to rally people to his hate-filled cause, not the women’s causes.

Moore’s despicable behavior is example of why males like Michael Moore should not be participating in women’s causes.  These deplorable males only distract from the real issue and attempt to aggrandize themselves.  Do you think Moore cares about women’s issues?  I don’t.  Moore is one of the top 1% in America.  I suspect he doesn’t understand the cost of a loaf of bread (insert fat joke / paleo joke / gluten-free joke of your choice here) yet alone women’s issues.  I suspect he doesn’t understand why he even hates President Donald Trump.  I’m sure he doesn’t see the irony in promoting his own brand of hate.

If Moore’s interview had been about women’s issues, congratulating women on their rally, and offering advice, it would have been a good interview and he possibly would have been a good ally for the women.  Instead he chose the low road.

I wonder if he even bothered to walk?  He could use the exercise as much as me.