Steven T. Wright at Vox.com is troubled that there is a community of men talking about manly things. From Meet the men obsessed with carrying all the right stuff
The Boy Scouts in particular have been praised and criticized in equal measure for promoting a vision of rugged manliness that is inextricably tied to this idea of readiness, as reflected in their longtime motto, “Be prepared.” But while many admit that traditional Western concepts of masculinity certainly contribute to the popularity of the subculture, /r/EDC users like Sean S. (who asked that we not use his last name) stress that your personal choice of carry is ultimately a very intimate decision that says more about a person and their vocation than the community as a whole.
…
That said, not everyone is entirely happy with the community’s stereotypically masculine overtones. Although several subjects pointed to their mothers’ seemingly bottomless purses as inspirations for their EDCs, others, like Kevin Diale, feel that the subreddit can be somewhat hostile to women. “When you see people post problems that they bump into as a woman, like not enough pockets on pants, you get folks who crawl out of the woodwork and wave a pair of niche work pants marketed to women and try to invalidate them,” he says.
While he frames his concern in standard feminist terms, it is obvious that what keeps Wright awake at night is the fact that so long as competent men exist his own inadequacy is obvious. He opens the piece with an unhappy memory from his childhood, when his father presented him with a pocketknife. For normal boys this is a treasured memory. But Wright recounts the moment with shame and derision:
We were searching for an appropriate knife for me to take on our hike up a nearby mountain, just in case something terrible happened. As we sifted through the pile, my father said that when he was my age, he carried a pocket knife with him everywhere he went. I pointed out that would probably get me expelled from my middle school, but he just laughed. “That didn’t stop us. We wanted to be prepared for anything. You should carry it with you when you can.”
Wright contrasts his own rejection of his father’s healthy masculinity with the experience of an Every Day Carry (EDC) enthusiast. Instead of viewing a gift from his father with shame disdain, the EDC enthusiast warmly recalled a similar moment:
The concept of treasuring the seemingly mundane objects that you carry every day was inculcated in Hayes by his father, who gave him a wallet that belonged to his own grandfather as a symbol of his entry to adulthood. As a former Boy Scout, Hayes was more than familiar with the concept of “readiness,” so when he stumbled upon page after page of carefully posed shots of high-end gear like flashlights and folding knives, he felt right at home.
It is interesting to see the way that men like Wright’s objection to men who value tools and weapons has changed over time. Ten years ago the standard claim was that men who were interested in and owned guns and knives were betraying a lack of masculine ability. Real men don’t need weapons, went the argument, so men who have them must be inadequate. This is a foolish argument, as Doug Marcaida explains in the video below:
But now men like Wright don’t even bother projecting their inadequacy onto more masculine men. Now they come out and openly complain that other men are being too manly, not only for having an interest in weapons, but for having an interest in tools in general.
This shift is especially interesting because in most of the US the legal tide is strongly moving in favor of carrying weapons. It is not only easier to legally carry a gun in many states now, but restrictions on knives have been rolled back as well. As a result, a surprising number of states now allow carry of switchblade knives.
Of course not all jurisdictions are addressing the question in the same way. I suggest that the men of Vox.com would feel much more comfortable if they moved to the UK:
Related:
I anticipate a lot of scenarios where the new wave of “feminists” are actually unmasculine men fighting other men who exude healthy masculinity. Meanwhile, the women will have been so starved for any hint of masculine behavior that they will be supporting the masculine men. I’ve already come across instances where older women are actually encouraging younger men to be more assertive and masculine whereas the older men are pushing against it and encouraging those men to be submissive and defer to women.
You know who’s going to be really happy about these men be uncomfortable with tools? Your repairmen. They’ll charge a fortune just to fix a doorknob.
So now in the UK, screwdrivers, pliers, scissors and files are considered deadly weapons that need to be confiscated? I had heard that sharp knives with blades longer than 3″, and that the underaged can’t purchase a simple steak knife.
So do British handymen need to pass a background check and a permit before being allowed to purchase a screwdriver? Are they kept under lock at the hardware store?
Oops, should have proof read that. Meant to say that sharp knives with blades longer than 3″ cannot be carried in public.
Or Canada 😂:
There’s a much deeper problem here, evident from the very first sin even before the fall of man (the fall of Satan): envy. Greed can be a problem, but it is minor compared to envy. It is envy, not greed, that the 10 commandments forbid, even as a thought. It is not only women that have Y envy (it is not the penis thy actually envy, but the entire masculine frame); but as in this case it is even more the envy of “soft men” as the Bible names this sin. The Bible names as sinful not only male homosexuality, but also male effeminacy. Men are supposed to be hard, effective and useful. This is why long hair which gets in the way and requires maintenance is a shame to the man. It is for the woman to be soft, somewhat frivolous (anything to an extreme is not good) and decorous. If you think about the mechanics of sex, this is self evident.
Men like this ought to “grow a pair”; but seeing this difficult they prefer to emasculate others. This goes much further than sex. I have been repeatedly told that when I post my IQ of 145, or my accomplishments that this somehow invalidates my comments. This is the envy mentality at work. Unless you suspect I am lying (quite easy to do on the internet), this should make the reader place more weight to my comments or at least be neutral. Anything carried to excess is wrong, and I was brought into the Kingdom by a mentally retarded teenager, so I am hardly in a position to think my intellect makes me superior to anyone. But why should I hide it, other than the reader’s envy?
I have begun to think lately that contra Christian theologians, the original sin of Satan and man was not arrogance, but envy of God.
So do not hate me because I’m beautiful.
Do you know where pliers, screwdrivers, and scissors would be prohibited?
In a prison, that’s where.
So, it is proven beyond any shadow of a doubt, those dumbass stupid idiots in Lame Britain live in a great big giant prison.
Which they voted in and support of their own free albeit brainwashed will.
I hate them for being that way, a lot.
By the way, can I just take a minute to shill for the NRA? I know they are a highly imperfect organization but who else is defending any of our rights to carry self-defense weapons?
My little blurb on Instagram above was really true. They asked us at the border if we had any weapons and we said of course no. The clerk asked me if I had pepper spray and I said well of course. That earned us a trip over to armed agents who were just as sweet and friendly as can be as they tore our entire car apart. It took over an hour for them to confiscate one little pink pepper spray and lecture me about trying to “carry a weapon” over the border.
I can’t believe Canadian men have allowed themselves to be neutered in this way, and I feel sorry for my Canadian sisters who are completely defenseless when walking alone anywhere. Basically the NRA is what stands between us and living like Canadians.
This falls under “pictures speak a thousand words”.
Needlenose pliers, flat head screwdrivers, and scissors are “weapons” now?
A pocketknife is a “weapon” now? (Though a pocketknife has a sharp blade, it’s a pretty ineffective weapon – most have blades less than 4″ long and not sharp enough to do any real damage to tissue beyond superficial wounds.)
Pretty sure you can carry a monkey’s fist in Florida now thanks to Rick Scott.
@JR, I read somewhere that the “effeminacy” that the KJV Bible forbids refers to “catchers” (as opposed to “pitchers” which is also forbidden, of course). I don’t think being a wimp is a good thing but I don’t think it’s a sin.
“They asked us at the border if we had any weapons and we said of course no. The clerk asked me if I had pepper spray and I said well of course”
Hey, that reminds me of the time that the comedian Steven Wright was crossing the border and they asked him if he had any firearms. He replied, sotto voce, “whadda ya need?”
I’m reminded of my Chesterton and Glubb readings. Nations or empires who remove risk and danger fall into decadence and collapse. This is perfectly obvious to everyone who has been paying attention. It’s also exacerbated by Churchians and their nonviolence messages to the point of disarming everything to eliminate the possibility of violence. They deliberately lead astray those who don’t realize that preparing and understanding weaponry in the material world also requires the mental determination to use it. This is also a spiritual battle, in that sin must be fought against. This translates into the material world in that those that spread sin, deceive, and corrupt must also be defended against.
Peace and security (or universal love and nonviolence) are the origins of decadence and the wages of sin, and Christianity should never attempt to achieve it here on earth. That way is filled with the servants and temptations of Evil.
I never knew that; that The Regent’s Park (to give it its correct name) where I have indeed spent a lot of time as my girlfriend taught at the University therein situate in what must be the world’s most beautiful campus, has its own police force. You must understand that there is a general fear in Great Britain of knives perhaps because they are the one weapon that can be obtained easily and easily concealed and therefore the one likely to be used. Most murders here seem to involve a knife. Remember also that British police are unarmed save for a truncheon.
My girlfriend did not say that she had witnessed any knife crime in the park (which is so nice – the zoo at one end, the secret garden hidden away as befits a secret garden where I once saw a fox trotting along, the pond with the ducks and swans, the open air theatre and perhaps best of all The Hub which is an under-utilised cafe situate in the middle and which looks like nothing other than a flying saucer) but she did say that once walking to or from work in the park she came upon a woman giving her boyfriend fellatio beside a tree and without attempt on their part to be discrete. She also said that one morning in the park and walking towards her was a woman entirely naked. Shortly thereafter a number of policemen ran into the park to apprehend the said woman. It is a tough life being a policeman and their helmets have multiple uses.
One of the most interesting things about the park is the tameness of the (American) squirrels whereas on Hampstead Heath they are not so tame. The Park squirrels will approach and happily take food from you in their little hands. The squirrels are however stupid because they will go and bury nuts which a minute later the eagle-eyed pigeons will promptly dig-up.
In my teenage years I always carried a small knife.
Great Britain is not a dumping ground for the world’s girlie-men.
@Opus
Hilarious! My apologies for making such a proposal.
“Basically the NRA is what stands between us and living like Canadians.”
Nah, The 2nd Amendment, is what stands between us and living like Canadians.
I think Churches are not encouraging being masculine.
My daughter lives in her brothers house (he’s living in a what will remain an un-named Asian country, far away from feminism).
Whenever something breaks, she calls me, her dad.
She knows a lot of guys at her Church. They have “community groups” that “do life together”.
She doesn’t know one guy who can fix anything. They’re all utterly clueless.
They can’t look at anything and do any fault isolation. They can’t saw a board, fix a lawnmower, troubleshoot a clothes dryer or fix a toilet. She is not attracted to any of them, and I can see why. I’m actually praying that she can meet a guy like her brother. He’s a rare millennial who’s masculine, a born leader, really good with people, and can fix and has fixed anything.
To paraphrase a maxim that appears hereabouts from time to time: “Faggots gonna be faggoty,”
@SunshineThiry
I can’t believe Canadian men have allowed themselves to be neutered in this way, and I feel sorry for my Canadian sisters who are completely defenseless when walking alone anywhere. Basically the NRA is what stands between us and living like Canadians.
So if something goes wrong it’s Boo, Men!!! If something goes right it’s Yay, NRA!!!
I’ve gotta hand it to modern society – they make it very easy for a man to fit into the Christian ideal of the unprofitable servant (Lk 17:10)
By the way, can I just take a minute to shill for the NRA? I know they are a highly imperfect organization but who else is defending any of our rights to carry self-defense weapons?
These folks:
http://www.gunowners.org
While not as well known as the N[ot]R[elevant]A[nymore], they should have an infinitely larger membership, given that they have an infinitely better track record of fighting any legislation that even hints at violating the Second Amendment.
I’m used to seeing thumbsucker articles at Vox but this one is just a bit worse than usual. That bit about “Mom’s bottomless purse” suggests part of the problem with boys being raised by women (frivorcees, babymommas, etc.)
Wright can’t seem to decide if he wants to view all this ickky masculinity with alarm, or with interest. There is a distinct air of passivity as well as the usual “Expedition to mysterious tribal America” aspect. It’s annoying and cloying.
Too many young men cannot fix anything, cannot work any machine beyond an automobile and their phone. Downloading apps onto a phone is not “computer worK”, it’s more like cargo-cultism. A older relative of mine was delighted with the first Leatherman tools came out, because he was the kind of man who would fix things in hotel rooms, “Because it oughta work! What’s the point if it don’t work?”. I can second that emotion.
Joe
They can’t look at anything and do any fault isolation.
Because they do not know how to think that way. Very likely no one showed them.
Walt Kowalski is Never Safe For Work, but the scene from Eastwood’s movie “Gran Torino” where Walt is in the Hmong family house and goes downstairs into the basement to the young people’s party is a very good introduction to a couple of concepts.
tl;dr
If you are a competent man and there is a Toad in your life, teach him something real.
“When you see people post problems that they bump into as a woman, like not enough pockets on pants, you get folks who crawl out of the woodwork and wave a pair of niche work pants marketed to women and try to invalidate them.”
Which pretty much sums up feminist demands, listen to their problems, but please don’t try to solve any of them, it invalidates their victimhood. That’s why they hate the patriarchy, which has been working to solve every feminist demand for decades.
So when a woman complains about her lack of pockets, don’t reminder that she can sew more pockets, buy clothes with more pockets, or carry less stuff, simply listen to her and then do and carry anything she asks of you. We exist as slaves to their victimhood, not problem solvers.
@feeriker
Thanks, that’s helpful! Will definitely check them out.
Of course, we’re not quite ready to abandon the NRA around here. We’ve been supporters for years, and it’s important to realize that they’ve been under relentless SJW attack.
Are these guys locals (Asians) or are they effeminate western missionaries? The Asian guys I could understand. I’ve read articles about how hardware/DIY stores like Home Depot are not popular over there, because doing manual labor (like say replacing a bathroom faucet or painting a room) is considered “beneath” educated people, so they never learn to do it, and will instead hire someone, who unlike in the West will do it for cheap.
Do It Yourself has become very easy with the advent of youtube, which can show you how to do just about anything. We had a loose tile in the shower. I watched a youtube video on how to re set it, what materials and how to prep. It was a snap and years later the tile is still sealed and snug as a bug, Ditto with plumbing repairs. A month ago m adult son and I power washed and restained 200 feet of cedar fencing, and it looks great, almost as good as new. I watched a youtube for the powerwashing part and learned that most cedar fences have posts made of pine, which are easier to wash. I confirmed this on my fence. Anyway, I’m not what you might call “handy” as I grew up in one of those countries where there was no Do It Yourself and hence did not learn, yet it was not hard to teach myself how to do things by watching a simple video.
And there are non home applications as well. I wanted to change the cabin air filter in my car and the car’s manual was rather unhelpful. I found a video, which showed how to do it (it involved removing 3 panels inside the engine bay). Being able to see it done step by step made it easy, I also learned that on my wife’s car I have to completely remove the glove box (8 screws!) before being able to access the cabin air filter (who designs these things?)
Which pretty much sums up feminist demands, listen to their problems, but please don’t try to solve any of them, it invalidates their victimhood.
So true.
The only reason to go to Canada as far as I know is to hunt big game in the territories which requires a weapon.
I’ve never understood the mindset of people that appear to actively avoid learning how to fix/build things. It’s pretty easy to understand why to pass on actually doing that at times (ex. – I hate mowing/yard work, therefore I pay a guy to handle it and avoid the time it takes to do it and maintain the equipment). But particularly on more advance things that we all have to deal with being an idiot in these areas is just a good way to get taken to the cleaners by spending more than you should to get something fixed.
@Morgan
They don’t need to be a feminist to pull this type of crap. Women in general just want to be listened to and have their feelings “validated”. I’ve managed to get my wife to the point where for the most part she’ll tell me beforehand if she just wants to essentially complain about something and have me sit there and listen or if she’s actually looking for help with a problem.
Frank K says:
July 29, 2019 at 2:54 pm
She knows a lot of guys at her Church. They have “community groups” that “do life together”.
She doesn’t know one guy who can fix anything. They’re all utterly clueless.
****************
Are these guys locals (Asians) or are they effeminate western missionaries?
************************************************
Clarification: He is living overseas. She is living in his house that he owns in the US.
I think Churches are not serving men well and contribute to their lack of masculinity.
We recently got back from visiting our son in that un-named Asian country (I’m just protecting his privacy). All his friends we met were are pretty skilled at mechanical things in spite of being surrounded by technology. They all seem smart, kind, and very respectful. Many are small business owners.
I was treated with so much respect there. I enjoyed it. They just automatically defer to men. I thrived there. People we very friendly.
It was interesting to live, if even for a couple of weeks, in what appears to be a much more patriarchal culture than the US. By the time a few days had gone by, we could see why he likes it there.
LOL! My wife and I have come up with something similar. They should teach that in those “marriage preparation” classes churches are so fond of, but as we all know, it would be sexist to teach that sometimes women just want to whine for the sake of it. But to fair, I’ve had my moments when I need to vent, though they are far less frequent than hers, like by two orders of magnitude.
@Sunshine Thiry
I’ve been a GOA member for about 8 years, and while they nay not always win every battle in defense of the 2A, I’ve never known them to abandon principle for political expediency. That, IMNSHO, counts for a lot.
I’m a member of National Rifle Association, which is wimpy, and Gun Owners of America, which is strong, but my favorite is JPFO, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, because they are the only organization I know of that supports the repeal of the National Firearms Act of 1934.
@joe those men are refusing to b your daughters beta orbiter. Good
To b clear she was not going to do anything for the favors in return. Women should start counting out the endless supply of male utility. If she wants male utility find a husband.
I think they need to fix her toilet as much as you think she should stop by and randomly cook for all of these men.
@joe those men are refusing to b your daughters beta orbiter. Good
To b clear she was not going to do anything for the favors in return. Women should start counting out the endless supply of male utility. If she wants male utility find a husband.
I think they need to fix her toilet as much as you think she should stop by and randomly cook for all of these men.
Soy boys are passive-aggressive bullies. Whenever they see strength or manhood, they whine and hiss and hope the media destroys the target for them.
Vicious, utterly effeminate cowards.
The soyboy cries out in pain as he bitchslaps you.
@Bruce
The passage probably has a double meaning including both definitions just as the prophecy of the virgin birth of jesus in context also had double meaning.
What I object to the most in this article is the spiteful way in which it is written. Mr Wright seems hell bent on being patronising to men more masculine than he is, under some delusion that he is somehow civilised and enlightened while the rest of us aren’t. It tells me he has attended that “finishing school” that turns out smart-alecky, passive-aggressive types who have the capacity to be little else other than clever with words.The other “finishing school” is the one turning out effeminate gay me who mince when they walk and lisp when they talk.
My father bought me a pen knife when I hit double digits. It was a 3 blade and made by Schrader. I loved it and it was in my pockets constantly. Eventually the odd teacher knew that I carried it, and that even when I got into fights, I didn’t intend using it as a weapon. Now that I have done martial arts, the thought of using it in a fight situation, fumbling it out of your pocket, selecting a blade locking out and using it to stab would be laughable. I added a small lighter later along with a wallet that had band-aids as well.
The modern “civilised’/ effeminate man is welcome to not carry anything in his pocket. It is however, a “free” country so we can say or do what we like. And if men want some space to themselves, be it to discuss EDC, prepping – which daily makes more sense since governments are listing under the weight of their own cronyism – then it’s their right.
Pink Floyd once sang,
“We don’t need no education. We don’t need no thought control.
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher leave them kids alone”
a modern version of this would substitute “kids” for “men” and “Teacher” for the word “Harpy bitch”, a term that would apply to both sexes of feminist writers who clog up print.
My dad, although super smart and motivated was not particularly handy.
I was a scout, where I learned preparedness. Many of the boys I knew from scouting and the neighborhood in general had dads like Walt Kowalski. They had garages with a tool for every imaginable purpose. They could fix anything.
I had never heard of a pitman arm puller until I was 27 and installing a lift kit on my 4×4.
Living the way I have chosen out here in the backcountry has forced me to be on a steep learning curve.
At the end of this summer, I will have a “dry shell” log home on my property and I will doing the finish work myself.
My boys will be around and they will not grow up with holes in their basic knowledge of how to do stuff.
He actually says this as proof that it is an evil, patriarchal, male-dominated environment;
—-(For example, of the 10 most upvoted posts this week with the gender of the poster in the title, only two are women.)—-
Shut it down now! Only TWO!!!!! OH NOOOO!!!! Until it’s regularly 8 or 9 of the 10 being female then there is something wrong. Call that Swedish Equality; when women make up 90% or more of a situation.
What I think really happened is that he wanted to write this article about something manly that annoyed him. Some latent issues with his dad etc. No big deal, just another effete soyboy bleating about some trifle and being laughably petty. But where I get annoyed is that he just had to make his obeisant nod to the feminist overlords. As long as he can conflate his annoyance with leather wallets and jackknives into a feminist issue then his article gets published, gets attention etc. Without the Grrrl power aspect included, it is an irrelevant article.
Just like North Korea or Mao’s China. Any event, gathering, ritual, party, sport, etc. ANYTHING. There must be a nod to the “Dear Leader,” even at a neighborhood badminton tournament. We are reaching that with feminism. There must be a nod to feminism. Even a soyboy with daddy issues complaining about men carrying pocketknives and mini-lights must make sure he gets the nod in to Grrl Power or Grrl indignation or else his Lena Dunham clone editor won’t run the article. Somehow people on the internet discussing this perfectly cool, harmless hobby is somehow still tied in to feminist angst.
I anticipate a lot of scenarios where the new wave of “feminists” are actually unmasculine men fighting other men who exude healthy masculinity.
This would be fantastic, because that would mean that systemic misandry is greatly diminished.
‘Male feminists’ are the most universally hated people in society. If red-pill men and radical feminists agree on just ONE thing, that thing is that manginas should be eradicated.
Remember that a ‘male feminist’ is always a creepy predator/rapist in disguise.
I gotta add that I’m an EDC carry nut myself. So this one really hit home. To think that I’ve added to patriarchal evil with my lifelong fascination with traditional pocketknives and wristwatches is just hilarious. All humans throughout history have had a fascination with their daily carry and how much those totems mean to their lives. Imagine how a caveman felt about his club or an Indian felt about his tomahawk. A cowboy and his pistol. This fascination is bred into our bones. It’s a great ritual. For me, a leather wallet, a mechanical watch and a classic, natural handled small pocketknife can really set my frame in the morning. It’s your gear and the day is underway. You’ve done something to prepare yourself to leave home and the day is on. I’ve been this way since I got my first knife at age 6. They’ve been talismans throughout my life. Companions, totems, whatever you want to call it. There is a self-containment to it, a sense of planning, adventure and self-reliance. I like to feel like I’ve got everything I need to carry on if my house burns down when I’m away. Yeah, bank cards help and that’s not exactly Davy Crockett stuff but the spirit is still there. A pocketknife with a black pearl handle is a piece of jewelry to me. So there’s even a spiritual element if you allow it. Decent, pressed clothing, leather shoes, belt and high quality EDC gear will absolutely change your approach to the day as compared to jeans, a t-shirt and a polyurethane wallet and keys. I’d bet anything that a study could confirm that. I have ivory, shell, bone, stag, exotic wood, and fossil handled knives to choose from every morning. I have dress knives all the way to working knives. Smaller knives for slacks, bigger ones for jeans. Also, a couple of Swiss, mechanical watches (that are great art in my opinion) and a Saddleback leather wallet that I know will outlast me. I’m thinking of getting a dressier wallet for certain occasions . No one will know but me, but that’s all that matters. This twinky has his ID and credit card rubber-strapped onto his I-phone that he puts in the pocket of his daisy dukes. No wonder he hates life so much. The guy had to have a sniffle because other men like to have an Old Timer jackknife in their pocket. Just think about that.
What made it laughable is that, with a 60% rate of answers, she found she had a tough time.
https://pluralist.com/treena-orchard-bumble-feminist-dating-app/
Locustplease actually kind of has a point there.
In our small community of Orthodox friends, there is a symbiosis of sorts. My wife is a nurse, the wives of my (our) two closest friends have their own skills. The husbands are former army officer/psychologist (me), carpenter and superintendent of a major construction company in town, and a wildlife biologist/park ranger. We all pitch in where needed, Benedict Option style. Right now there is a fire raging in the mountains north of Helena. One family is staying with the other. We have their dog, because we have space for that. We are all praying that their home is saved.
The carpenter is acting as the general contractor for my building project.
And on and on.
If I go over to one of their houses to work on something that I am good at, a meal will be prepared for me, guaranteed.
Every time a mental health question comes up — they are referred to my practice.
We all have (fairly) large families with a huge range of childrens ages. They all “owe” Christian charity to each other on many levels. The older girls carry the baby at church when Mychael gets tired. The teenage boys are at my house working on projects I have regularly.
But none of them owe anything to random strangers because of their sex.
Now, maybe the men at the girls church are as useelss as Joe says they are. But so what? That’s their problem. Unless you, the dad have noticed a particular amount of potential in one of them (as a would be son in law), they might as well be invisible to you. They are to your daughter.
This is the world we have created.
@Scott
Hopefully their tax dollars will become invisible to any theoretical daughters as well. If men aren’t suitable for your theoretical daughter’s husband, they shouldn’t be on the hook for the endless amounts of social programs available to her. Daddy or hubby should be paying 100%, otherwise she can live in the woods and eat wild berries.
@Joe
Maybe these incompetent men are smart enough not to get roped into doing free stuff for ungrateful women which will never be reciprocated. Maybe the #metoo movement has taught enough men that even being near a woman (yes, even Christian women) can result in false accusations – sometimes not even by the woman but by a white knight mangina orbiter.
@Frank K
I wouldn’t say that putting in a bathroom sink or a similar job is ‘beneath’ me, I would say that this is a task for people specialized in this kind of work. I could spend the time to train myself how to do it, or just call someone who does this for a living. If money were really tight, trading the time to do it myself would be reasonable. Since I spend a lot of time in the office, it makes more sense for me to hire a contractor or handyman of good reputation.
What has not been observed on this blog as to the Regent’s Park Police tweet is this: to the south of the park is the area known unofficially as Fitzrovia – a very upmarket area, to the west is St John’s Wood and equally upmarket which includes EMI’s Abbey Road studios – so you will recall its famous Zebra crossing, and to the east, more des-res housing and I once represented a middle-aged female shop-lifter who lived there and seem to recall visiting her home ?!?!? – but why – and to the north of the Park that is to say Augustus Street and above it is Euston which is where vibrant youth’s live. London was a month or two back losing one or more of these youths on a daily basis through knifings. We were apparently the world’s murder capital and worse than rat-infested Baltimore (which was nice-enough the only time I spent twenty-four hours there). I would not now be at ease walking alone in north London. Everyone agrees that Mr Trump was right to call-out the Mayor of London.
We don’t have as many pockets for two main reasons: pockets “mess up” the fit of clothing that’s usually meant to be form-fitting and/or sleek, and every woman in this country carries a purse. For the rare occasion when you don’t (exercise, yard work), there are shorts and pants available with extra pockets. I’ve seen yoga pants with zip pockets for hiking. Complaining about a lack of pockets might be the most disingenuous, pointless thing ever.
@Joe
Maybe these incompetent men are smart enough not to get roped into doing free stuff for ungrateful women which will never be reciprocated. Maybe the #metoo movement has taught enough men that even being near a woman (yes, even Christian women) can result in false accusations – sometimes not even by the woman but by a white knight mangina orbiter.
This. More and more men are catching on to the scam and are refusing to have anything to do with it. As far as “men at church” are concerned, fewer and fewer men are going to have anything to do with it in the future as its misandry further metastasizes, so any snowflakes who “need help” can just look to the clam patch for whatever assistance they need. Snowflakes are going to have no choice but to start taking care of themselves (strong and empowered and all that).
Complaining about a lack of pockets might be the most disingenuous, pointless thing ever.
Agreed but…do people REALLY complain about such things?
If so, there’s an easy answer: Bring Back the Fanny Pack!
@Paul Barnes,
Post more. Great call out of tradcon dodo’s and their arrogant expectations and roundabout AMOGing.
“Mr Wright seems hell bent on being patronising to men more masculine than he is, under some delusion that he is somehow civilised and enlightened while the rest of us aren’t.”
That shouldn’t come as a surprise. He’s a Feminist, and as JR said above, Feminism, as with other Leftist religions, is about envy.
Paul-
Of course, in my perfect scenario, we would live in an off the grid agrarian community where the expectations of both young men and women are clearly delineated and supported by the entire community. Failing to develop yourself in to the kind of person someone of the opposite sex might want to marry would be a road to obscurity and loneliness (unless you become a priest or a nun). It would definitely not result in subsidizing more of the bizarre, non-normative behavior.
As is often discussed here “social programs” exist as a form of alleviating all that pressure and the pack mule standard american male pays for most of it. At my age and income, I should be receiving several fathers day cards every year from children I have not sired.
On a side note, I think some of the stuff that anarcho-libertarians (I am not suggesting you are one) would dismantle is actually worth it, and even I was a single guy I would gladly pay for.
My wife has taken a side job of going into the homes of elderly disabled vets to see if they can qualify for more in-home care while they begin the descent into the winter of their lives. I accompanied her on one such visit recently. The guy was in his 80s and had served honorably many years ago. He had been relegated to a beat up old single wide trailer behind the house. It was a mess. He is in the late stages of a form of a dementia. Only his nephew cares enough about him to come by and help feed him and clean up his place once in while. But the nephew is also getting on in years, has a job, and doesn’t exactly have the energy for it either.
What a F$&%ed up ending to his life. He will die and all that will be left of him is a small flag folded into a triangle on someones mantle.
Always carried one of these Swiss Army Knives with like a zillion tools on em but I didn’t know about the community so thx Dalrock
@Scott
Most libertarians I know, whether they’re minarchists like me or some other type like the common anarcho-capitalists, have little to no problem with veterans benefits and wouldn’t view them as a “social program”. They performed a service and there was an agreement as to the payment for that service while on active/reserve duty as well as after they left the service.
On a personal note, my family owns a home care business and deal with the VA regularly. If anything, they’ve made it too difficult to access a lot of the programs available and some of the programs often have a waiting list. The veteran or their family have to be able to afford care that’s needed immediately for six months to a year before the paperwork gets through. Yes, there are companies that will front the money and help with the paperwork but at a significant cost in lost dollars available for care.
For me it depends on the task, its difficulty and how much it would cost a pro to do it. For instance, I had a toilet that was leaking where the incoming water line meets the tank. I found out that is typically caused by a worn out floater valve. I could have paid a plumber $100+ to do it. Instead I dropped by the Home Depot, bought a new floater valve assembly for $8. It took 10 minutes to replace. Easy peasy and I saved almost $100.
I also refinished our oak kitchen table, and my wife and I were very pleased with the results, even though it was the first time I ever tried it I refinished it with polyurethane, and youtube videos showed how to do it (I never would have known that you need to lightly sand each layer of finish before applying the next one). That was more laborious, but I found myself relishing the challenge. Just a month ago I power washed and refinished a 200 ft section of cedar fencing. Since I have my own power washer I was able to take my time prepping it. Again, I found satisfaction in doing it myself, and I saved a chunk of change.
There are tasks I won’t do because they can be very difficult, dangerous or may require special tools and training. Like replacing a roof or servicing the central air conditioner. I also wouldn’t drop the transmission from my car and overhaul it myself, not that it needs that at this point.
cshort
Most libertarians I know, whether they’re minarchists like me or some other type like the common anarcho-capitalists, have little to no problem with veterans benefits and wouldn’t view them as a “social program”.
I don’t mind having libertarians or even Libertarians for friends and neighbors. But at the social / political level, Libertarians are irrelevant. This was clearly demonstrated by the Free State Project.
I was in two knife fights in my twenties, in the streets of a major urban area during the mid-80s, and I lived through both without being maimed (though I do still have four scars from those two incidents). Neither of them were like the Dog Brother gatherings (which I’ve attended) where two guys rush each other and mindlessly stab each other with rubber knives as fast as possible, about fifty times each in less than a minute, with zero attention given to defense or living through it. If it were real life, they would both would be dead every single time. Dying is a stupid strategy. I prefer winning to dying but mostly I prefer never having the problem to begin with. My conversion to Christ in the mid-80s saved my life and taught me to live upright so that I no longer have such problems with other people. I am grateful for the Christian revelation.
” Libertarians are irrelevant. This was clearly demonstrated by the Free State Project.”
Yes, because people do not want liberty, they want more benevolent masters.
Judging by the way most people vote in the West, I don’t see how to come to any other conclusion
Libertarianism would/could work if the majority of them would accept the basic truths of descriptive statistics (normal distributions), discrimination and HBD
A society full of people just like them pooled from a particular subset of the population would get along just fine.
There’s also an old saying, “Ignorant and free never was and never will be.”
And most of all, morally degenerate and free never was and never will be either. In order to be free a person must be willing and able to take responsibility for their own life, their choices, and to accept the consequences. Moral turpitude makes one too stupid and selfish and short sighted to be free.
The Free State Project summarized.
https://infogalactic.com/info/Free_State_Project
Wasn’t there once a project to move certain flavors of Christians to South Carolina and take over the state?
@Scott
I’d argue that large numbers of libertarian and libertarian-oriented individuals due understand those basic truths and the basic truths of human nature. Unfortunately for the Libertarian party, almost none of them belong to it as it’s run by the looniest of the loons. The sane ones tend to either work within the GOP or just ignore politics as much as they can.
I tried to work with the Libertarian party in my own state after getting tired of the GOP. The vast majority of the group is more focused on the internal infighting and tweaking their policy stances than actually being effective and changing anything. The party has had ballot access since the 2016 election and hasn’t managed to field more than a couple dozen candidates for office in the state.
I’d never heard of Mackworth House so I clicked the Twitter hashtag. There are some hilarious parodies of the Regents Park Police tweet.
https://twitter.com/hashtag/MackworthHouse?src=hash
The UK police have gone mad, but the law they are over-enforcing is not completely absurd: it is a crime to “carry an offensive weapon”. If you are a workman carrying a toolbox, you are not going to get into trouble; but if you go out for the evening carrying a screwdriver, and the police stop and frisk you, you will be charged with a crime. It is not uncommon to hear of someone being stabbed with a screwdriver.
My take on the Vox article is that EDC forums exist because men who grew up in fatherless home are a large and growing demographic.
Fathers teach their sons, in a naturally-ordered society, the skills that they will need to survive and then prosper, on their own, in the future. This includes not only how to use tools, but how to choose tools. Plus how to care for them.
I can see the appeal, even though my own father taught me very well, because one man cannot know all the skills, all the tricks, and all the alternate uses for tools of every trade.
I’ve got a special tool for setting the point gap on pre-solid-state-electronics ignition distributors. My father taught me how to use it, but I haven’t needed it in decades. Other things he taught me were acceptable methods, but I have since independently discovered or found superior methods.
With the potential for overcoming the handicaps of growing up fatherless, and the potential for learning ‘the best’ techniques, these kinds of fora shall continue to prosper.