A few weeks ago, as the controversy over Don Imus and the Rutgers University women’s basketball team was brewing, I wrote a column highlighting a certain double standard. Why, I wondered, does no one take up for one of the only groups of people it’s politically correct to insult—males?
White males in particular, especially if they’re fathers, are routinely portrayed as lazy dolts in the mass media. I’m a wife and mother of two teenage sons who are being raised in an anti-male media culture—a culture that far too often spews the mantra of radical feminism. The guys in my life are good, decent men. It makes me sick each time “their kind” is attacked in commercials, television shows, print ads—you name it.
“Where’s the outrage?” I asked. I then invited readers to respond.
Wow. Did they ever! As a conservative columnist who has written candidly about some controversial topics, I’ve had my share of e-mails. But nothing topped the river of e-mails that flooded my in-box. About 99 percent were completely supportive, thanking me for broaching the topic—a topic they were grateful to vent about themselves. As more than one reader wrote, “Thanks for letting me blow off steam.”
A lot of people were just glad someone stood up and said what was on their minds. “I’m glad I saw your story ‘Imus, white males and PC discrimination’,” a typical reader wrote. “I had begun to think that maybe I was the only one who noticed this or that I was just being paranoid.” Some were upset, but others faced the topic with humor, such one who wrote: “Thanks for standing up for us morons.”
They came from all walks of life. I heard from truck drivers, college students, grandfathers and fathers. Some had witnessed the double standard in their profession:
“As an attorney, I have handled many cases where good Dads are falsely accused of abuse. The courts and the authorities give the allegations credibility simply because the allegations have been made by a woman. There seems to be a mentality that all women are honorable and would never manipulate the system. Unfortunately, the presumption of innocence does not apply when a man is accused, e.g., the Duke Lacrosse team.”
Plenty of women chimed in, too, on behalf of husbands and sons:
“Our son graduated from high school last year. It was amazing to watch during his senior year how several of his teachers reacted to him when he stated he was joining the military. (He’s currently in the U.S. Coast Guard.) Talk about hostility.”
Another wrote:
“My 27-year-old daughter and I are forever marveling at how contemptuously men are portrayed in everything from TV commercials to sitcoms and even some movies. The feminist influence is so obvious and I can’t help but wonder why no one raises a complaint against it. That is why I was so glad to see your column. It’s about time someone said something about this outrageous discrimination.”
A few readers went further and theorized about why such a double standard exists:
“One major reason is that males have been taught from a very young age that “You don’t hit girls”… Throughout my life, I’ve heard such statements as: “Boys don’t hit girls” or “If a girl hits you, don’t be a coward and hit her back.” But it’s also been ingrained into the male mentality that males don’t verbally attack females. Therefore, if a female calls a male a pig, for example, a gentleman does not retaliate, even making a complaint is viewed as him acting somewhat like a sissy.”
Another reader noted that “females tend to band together and protect each other and stand up for each other. Males seem to be more individualistic.” Others agreed, including one who said: “Because we don’t want to sound like whiners, I think most of the white male population is just willing to keep our mouths shut and move on.”
If you’d like to read what others had to say, please visit www.HomeInvasion.org. (You can add your thoughts as well.) The notes I appreciated the most were from fellow parents. As one woman wrote:
“My husband and I are raising two teenage boys. We homeschool, yet they are still inundated with the media portrayal of men as incompetent oafs. It just breaks my heart. Why in our society do we sit back and tolerate this nonsense? Oh, that’s right … because if we (meaning conservative Christians) do speak out, we’re labeled ‘INTOLERANT.’ Please, Rebecca, keep speaking out on behalf of our young men and continue to encourage the rest of us to do the same.”
You can count on it. Who knows? Maybe if we speak up on behalf of the men in our lives, we can turn this trend around. Let’s start today.
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