March 13, 2011

...and eat it too



this is in response to a friend's post found HERE - by: Kristen Cristino

Kristen started off asking how women have become the ones to court men instead of the old fashioned, other way around.  i personally feel that this has changed over time with the feminist movements.  i am not sexist in any way and hope that this text truly reveals my point.  the feminist movement is good in few ways and harmful in many areas that people don't think of first hand.  you can't demand a "level playing field" and be upset that males aren't still holding up their end as they did before.  remember for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  it's either one way, or the other.  there is no way to have it both ways in this world so let us take a second to delve into this thought.

i'll start off saying that there will always be prejudice individuals.  no matter what.  just like there will always be thieves and liars.  it is the evil nature that some people cannot overcome.  i am, in no way, excusing this behavior.

the uproar for females to be treated the same as males is silly.  not because women are inferior but because they simply play different roles in life that men can't.  just the same as men play certain roles that women cannot.  we are not designed with the same physical characteristics nor thought processes.

now that women have cried out for "equal" rights and are being accepted as men are in certain situations they get confused.   no longer are the lines or boundaries defining the roles of a man or a woman.

GIRL POWER is a term that makes me laugh sometimes.  i think it's funny when a girl thinks that she can physically out perform a male.  now i know there are exceptions to every situation or rule, however lets keep it simple and stay with majorities here.  girls are physically weaker than men.  so what POWER are the girls claiming?  im sorry girls but there are things you just can not do.  AND THAT'S OKAY!  it isn't what you are designed to do.  it goes the same for the opposite side as well.  so don't feel like im attempting to suppress your accomplishments.



back to the power thing.  i think it is more so respect than power that you desire.  respect and recognition.  there is nothing wrong with respect and recognition however, both of those things are earned and requested, not demanded.

moving forward.  you are finally brought up to the same "level" as men.  you are a strong independent woman.  you don't need a man to do anything for you except open the new jar of peanut butter.

(this really happened to me.  the girl who lived in the neighboring condo knocked on my door and asked if i could open the peanut butter for her.  i did so and felt like a hero because i am a silly, strong, doofus of a man.)

lets take a look at it from a male's perspective.  hold on, it gets confusing from this side.  we have to guess how to handle certain situations.  we want to do the manly thing but at the same time wonder if we are going to get told off by a strong independent woman.  holding the door for a girl is a nice gesture.  so why bite our heads off by having the attitude of, "i don't NEED a man to do this for me.  i can open my own damn door!".

im all about the old fashioned courting methods.  if a girl that i had been seriously dating asked me to marry her....  i would be weirded out.  that is MY job as a man.  to nervously request for her hand in marriage.  to get down on one knee and lower myself below her, showing her respect and love.

i agree that the days of proper courtship have long gone, but lets dig to the root of the problem and decide to not make those mistakes again.  you can't have it both ways so stop trying to get it.  let's fully think about the repercussions of things that we want to change.  we are too short sighted and it hurts us in the long run.

...don't know jack


jack+of+all+trades.jpg


the main entry door to the shop i work in has been broken since we opened a year ago.  i finally received the go-ahead to purchase a new lock mechanism and swap out the old one.  this past friday, while sitting on a five gallon bucket of motor oil, i repaired the lockset.  while doing so a truck driver walked by and said, "so you're a maintenance man too, eh?"  "nope." i replied.  "i am the shop supervisor.  this just really needs to be done right now."  and he returned with, "so you're a jack of all trades and a master of none." and continued into the shop.

i've heard this a handful of times in my life and im not sure how to take it exactly.

yes it means that jack is skilled in many different areas of in everyday life.  on the other hand it also means that he hasn't mastered any of those areas.  inadequately educated in all of the areas he holds to be important in his life.  would you say a doctor is a jack of all trades or a master in his professional field?  who cares if said doctor can't change a lockset on an industrial door.  he can diagnose abnormalities in the human body.

don't get me wrong, if we didn't have locksmiths we would all have broken doors.  but isn't that locksmith the master of his field just as the doctor is a master of the medical?  not some jack who simply learned how to do it because it needed to be done.  no.  he is the master schlage, the king of the kwikset.

picture this.  you book a trip to europe and board the 747.  as your plane is being taxied to the runway a voice is heard over the intercom. "ladies and gentlemen we want to thank you for choosing to fly with us today.  our regular pilot couldn't make the trip with us but don't worry, we found someone who has done it a few times and can probably get us their safely.  please sit back and enjoy the flight."

cockpit.jpg



you would be running for the emergency exits located at the front, middle and rear of the cabin.

i guess my frustration isn't in what the phrase is saying as much as it is in what the phrase ISN'T saying.  now i know that i would be hearing what i want when i start to think along those lines.  but isn't that the way it usually goes?  i think most of the time more is said by what we don't say than what we do.

when i hear someone call me a jack of all trades, master of none i feel like they are saying...

"congratulations.  you have managed to get by without really applying yourself in any one area."

my+own+critic.jpg

maybe im being too hard on myself.  but if i weren't, who would be?  many times it is said that an artist is his own worst critic.  for me i feel that it forces me to be 100% satisfied with what i create.  but it is not always so.  i am not always satisfied with my performance and get frustrated.  being a selective perfectionist is hell

please keep your back handed compliments to yourself.