Manhood

[Peloso]

In his stunning new book, "Manhood", senator Josh Hawley, best known for running away from insurrectionists like a little bitch, posits that true masculinity can be defined by upper body strength, a willingness to keep your woman barefoot and pregnant, and a return to traditional (as in ancient) ideas of masculinity such as acting "kingly" (bigly so) and, I would assume, wrestling wild boars into submission.

We all know something about the desperate deflection of men who feel the need to scream it from the mountaintop, but really, Senator, a whole book? The word "Manhood" on the cover in big block letters? (all caps, ofcourse). My knees are all aquiver.

What is your idea of manhood? How do you define masculinity? Or do you even feel it's necessary to do so?

 

[rareboy]

Hawley is the most pathetic kind of excuse for a man.

I think that a real man considers himself to be first and foremost a complete human being. With a full range of emotions...not only rage and stoicism.

A real man doesn't view life only as a competition with others or even with himself. He is as content with a fair loss as with a fair win.

He doesn't consider genetic weaknesses to be moral failings, either in himself or others.

He doesn't require everyone (including animals) to be subordinate to him.

He views kindness and empathy as his best traits and not weakness.

He has evolved from being a brutish, hormone driven primate only focused on his own satisfaction and survival to being an equal partner in relationships, a pro-active and a loving father.

All Josh Hawley is trying to do is cynically echo Joe Rogan, Jordan Petersen and Andrew Tate along in order to appeal to broken, angry, and emotionally and socially stunted knuckle draggers...just like Tucker Carlson makes a fortune doing.

 

[pigface]

I know almost nothing about this silly senator, but the tragedy bigger than his writing this novella is that a publisher is taking it to press, and a lot of people will buy it.

 

[rareboy]

You might think that but his target demo likely doesn't read...and if they look at him...they just see a big wuss.

 

[unloadonme]

I know almost nothing about this silly senator, but the tragedy bigger than his writing this novella is that a publisher is taking it to press, and a lot of people will buy it.

Publishers will take any old crap to press if they think a lot of people are going to buy it.

 

[Peloso]

To rareboy's response I would add a certain degree of humility; the courage to admit to one's mistakes and the ability to learn from them.

A desire to help those who are weaker or in need. Isn't that what alphas are for?

The courage to be truthful, even if it should bring negative repercussions.

Basically all of the things that Donald Trump is not.

 

[Peloso]

I know almost nothing about this silly senator, but the tragedy bigger than his writing this novella is that a publisher is taking it to press, and a lot of people will buy it.

Look for it in the humor section.

 

[cityboy-stl]

Hawley's book is all about laying groundwork for The Fourth Reich, The Fascist States of America. Another brick laid in the road to fascism.

The subtext of Hawley's book is: Real men don't have empathy for others. So you are not a real man if you feel bad about it when we turn on the gas and light the ovens to dispose of people we think are inferior to us white supremacist Nazis.

This book is the exact same type of propaganda garbage Hitler used in the 1930s. Hawley, Carlson, and the others are planting the same hyper-masculine bullshit ideas, with the same intentions, for the same purpose.

Hawley's book is nothing but pure American NAZI propaganda, designed to indoctrinate young men into his fascist cause and induct them into his militant war against the "libs".

They are deadly serious with spreading this message. The far-Reich will pick this book up as a textbook. Expect a lot more of this shit.

As crazy as the book may appear to us, it is not a joke, and it is a mistake for us to disregard it or to laugh it off.
But, I know most of you will.

If you read through this, the far right here in the US today, is saying and doing exactly the same type of things they did in Germany in the 1930s.

Introduction · The "New German Man": Masculinity in Nazi Germany · Nazi Germany

nazigermany.lmu.build

Partial quote from the Introduction:
In addition to militarism, ideals regarding ‘Aryan’ supremacy, racial purity and hygiene, racial and social deviants and the importance placed on sexuality, all played important roles in shaping the Nazis’ understanding of manhood and masculinity. Their hyper-masculine militant image was the foundation upon which the Nazis defined and cultivated manhood and was the impetus and inspiration for atrocities against Jews, homosexuals and other “undesirable” groups. It fed the notion of Aryan superiority and undergirded the desire to go to war and conquer Europe.

And from the Conclusion:
Hyper-masculinity played a vital role in shaping the Third Reich and Nazi ideological beliefs. It performed an important function in mobilizing the German population for war by creating a sense of purpose through militant comradery. Coupled with ideals of racial superiority and Hitler's quest for power and the elimination of so-called inferior peoples, Nazi masculinity helped perpetuate one of the largest genocides in human history, from which the world is still recovering.

 

[Araucaria]

^You may have a point. It's easy to laugh at an unprincipled buffoon like Hawley, but there is a pernicious effect of appealing to hyper-masculinity. By claiming that they are "real men," by implication they are painting all of us who don't agree with them as sissies, pussies, homos, faggots, or whatever epithet you wish to characterize it. The problem with this is that it strikes fear in men and boys, as in "Surely you're not one of THEM!" When males' masculinity is threatened, it short-circuits their reasoning and empathic capacities. That puts a straitjacket on their thinking, acting as a strict censor which will only allow ideas consistent with the accusers' point of view. Thus, it is dangerously effective in silencing opposition and depriving the targets of their violence of allies and helpers.

 

[pat grimshaw]

When males' masculinity is threatened, it short-circuits their reasoning and empathic capacities. That puts a straitjacket on their thinking, acting as a strict censor which will only allow ideas consistent with the accusers' point of view.

The number of English school children who think they're non-binary has doubled over the last two years ​

(according to the Times Higher Education, October 2022)​

 

[Peloso]

. . That puts a straitjacket on their thinking, acting as a strict censor which will only allow ideas consistent with the accusers' point of view. Thus, it is dangerously effective in silencing opposition and depriving the targets of their violence of allies and helpers.

The MAGA crowd is already doing this. Worse, they justify their behavior and ideals by claiming that it's sanctioned by the highest power imaginable.

 

[cityboy-stl]

^You may have a point. It's easy to laugh at an unprincipled buffoon like Hawley, but there is a pernicious effect of appealing to hyper-masculinity. By claiming that they are "real men," by implication they are painting all of us who don't agree with them as sissies, pussies, homos, faggots, or whatever epithet you wish to characterize it. The problem with this is that it strikes fear in men and boys, as in "Surely you're not one of THEM!" When males' masculinity is threatened, it short-circuits their reasoning and empathic capacities. That puts a straitjacket on their thinking, acting as a strict censor which will only allow ideas consistent with the accusers' point of view. Thus, it is dangerously effective in silencing opposition and depriving the targets of their violence of allies and helpers.

That's pretty much the same Nazi philosophy of "we men" vs "the undesirables". If it were only Hawley (and he is my a-hole senator btw) I'd just laugh at him too. But Tucker Carlson wrote a book with the same theme, a few years ago. And a lot of others on the far right are echoing this hyper-masculine theme as well. This Nazi interpretation is not original with me. I saw the same interpretation of Carlson's book from anti Nazi commentators saying the same thing, and that's what it was all about. I happen to agree because, putting it together with everything else, it fits pretty fucking well. So I am just applying it here to Hawley's book.

 

[gsdx]

Hawley is the most pathetic kind of excuse for a man.

I think that a real man considers himself to be first and foremost a complete human being. With a full range of emotions...not only rage and stoicism.

A real man doesn't view life only as a competition with others or even with himself. He is as content with a fair loss as with a fair win.

He doesn't consider genetic weaknesses to be moral failings, either in himself or others.

He doesn't require everyone (including animals) to be subordinate to him.

He views kindness and empathy as his best traits and not weakness.

He has evolved from being a brutish, hormone driven primate only focused on his own satisfaction and survival to being an equal partner in relationships, a pro-active and a loving father.

All Josh Hawley is trying to do is cynically echo Joe Rogan, Jordan Petersen and Andrew Tate along in order to appeal to broken, angry, and emotionally and socially stunted knuckle draggers...just like Tucker Carlson makes a fortune doing.

I liked it better when they didn't eat quiche.

 

[nycguydowntown]

Yeah he’s a “man” like trump is - he‘d trample woman & children to get to a lifeboat on the Titanic

 

[Kahaih]

Yeah he’s a “man” like trump is - he‘d trample woman & children to get to a lifeboat on the Titanic

Speaking of getting moist, there are a lot of women who drip for a man who puts/keeps them in 'their place' - kicks the kids and the dog and rules the roost.

 

[pat grimshaw]

These persons have different views—

https://twitter.com/x/status/1675134991943049216