“What would men be without women? Scarce, sir...mighty scarce.”
Mark Twain
“Well, it seems to me that the best relationships - the ones that last - are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is... suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with.”
Gillian Anderson
HIGH REGARD. I have known a few women I wouldn’t like to meet in a dark alley in my time, but mostly I hold women in high regard and have long been of the opinion that you are a superior sex (and you’re so much nicer to look at).
WOMEN HAVE THE EDGE. Men are better at breaking things and killing people—our traditional role since we lived in caves and wrote dirty pictures on its walls—but women tend to be superior at just about everything else.
FACTS TO BACK THAT UP. That’s not just my opinion. There is plenty of formal research out there to confirm such things as :
- Women, generally speaking, being less confrontation politically.
- Women, generally speaking, being superior executives.
- Companies, where women are directors, being, more profitable.
- Women being at least as common as men in the military.
- Women being superior academically.
THE MAIN TROUBLE WITH WOMEN IS THEIR CHOICE OF MEN. The list goes on and on. Ironically, if women have any weaknesses—which, being human, you/they do, it lies in their physical and emotional need for us men which not infrequently causes them to make lousy choices and to tolerate treatment which, by any standards of decency, should be regarded as unacceptable. Here, I am not just talking about sexual infidelity—a separate issue—but about other issues (which we really could and should resolve).
SENATOR WARREN. Let me quote Senator Elizabeth Warren on the matter.
When I was a law professor, I spent years studying why middle class families were going broke. In my academic research on bankruptcy, I uncovered some grim facts:
- In one year, more women will file for bankruptcy than graduate from college.
- Having a child is the single best predictor that a woman will end up in financial collapse.
- Single moms are more likely than any other group to file for bankruptcy – more likely than the elderly, more likely than divorced men, and more likely than people living in poor neighborhoods.
- Single moms who had been to college are actually 60% more likely to end up bankrupt than their less educated sisters.
Women get hit hard. They still earn, on average, only 77 cents to the dollar that her male colleague earns. Bloomberg analyzed census data to find that women are paid less in 264/265 of major occupations – in 99.6% of jobs, women get paid less than men. Yet Republicans have blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act – a law that would make sure women don't get fired just for asking what the guy down the hall makes.
Minimum wage workers haven't gotten a raise in seven years, and today nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women. Mothers of very young children disproportionately work low-wage jobs in every state in the country. A minimum wage job no longer keeps a mother and baby above the poverty line, yet Republicans continue to block legislation to raise the minimum wage.
And seniors? Because women make less than men throughout their lifetimes, they receive, on average, more than $4,000 less a year than men in Social Security benefits, yet women rely most heavily on those checks. At a time when Social Security is the only safety net keeping 14 million people out of poverty, Republicans continue to try to cut Social Security for women.
I know how lucky I was to have a woman in my life who was there when I needed her. She's gone now, but the best way I know to honor her memory is to , help another woman – or maybe join with a lot of people and help millions of women.
It's time. It's long past time. Minimum wage. Equal pay. Social Security. Doing something tangible in honor of the women who helped us.
THE NATURE OF POWER. It seems to me that Senator Warren is entirely right—but history shows that people do not give up power unless they are forced to. Doubtless there are a few exceptions, but, for the most part the powerful put a great deal of effort into ensuring that they remain powerful. They tend not to be overcome with generosity of spirit. In fact, they tend to become greedier and greedier and they will do almost anything, not just to retain their positions, but to become even more powerful. Power is addictive, corrupting, relentless, ruthless, thoughtless—and cruel. Sociopaths just naturally gravitate towards its centers—and sociopaths are not the kind of people you want to be in power. They have charm but no values.
WE MEN ARE IN POWER. But, here is the thing. When it comes to the sexes, we men are in power—and we are behaving in the classic selfish manner of such such people. For instance, we know perfectly well that there is no moral justification for treating women like second class citizens—yet we prefer to maintain the status quo.
LADIES, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT. That leads me to the conclusion that if you women genuinely want gender equality, you are going to have to fight tooth and nail for it. We men are not going to give it to you. You are going to have to take it.
IF THERE REALLY WAS…If there really was gender equality:
- Productivity would rise because women would be more motivated.
- Companies would be better run and thus more profitable.
- The country as a whole would be better run—and Congress would be markedly less confrontational.
- Millions of women would be removed from poverty.
- Millions of women would be better paid.
- Such an increase in purchasing power would increase demand—something we are seriously lacking in right now.
- Growth would increase.
- People’s sex lives would improve significantly.
- There would be less stress all round.
- There would be less sickness and people would live longer.
WHY ARE WE MEN SO MEAN AND SO DUMB? When you look at it that way, you have to wonder why we men are so mean and so dumb. Hell, better sex would swing it for me any day of the week. But then I happen to really like and respect women.
WHICH MAKES ME WONDER. Which makes me wonder about what other men really think—because surely, if they really did like women, they would do the right thing and implement gender equality NOW!
“A woman is human.
She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man.
Likewise, she is never less.
Equality is a given.
A woman is human.”
I hate to disagree with Vera, because it’s a lovely quote—but as I have said before, I happen to think that women are a little smarter than we males—and they have certainly got more sense.
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