This is a comment by Danny on the post “On the Disposibility of Men“.
Lisa Hickey asked:
If men are defined by what they do, if that is a core of their very essence—and if progress is measured by what gets done, and men get killed when things get done—then where does this leave us as a society?
Danny said:
“At best those men might be lucky enough to be remembered in some way but most aren’t that lucky. (Could anyone name any of those 32,000 men that died building the Panama Canal?) At worst we have situations that are going on now. Where men and boys are literally treated like interchangeable parts in a machine. Gear gets worn out and fails? Just toss another in its place.
“One thing that is going to make it hard is that, like most forms of oppression, men and boys are raised to believe that our disposability is not just an asset but our purpose and that it is what we are supposed to do (which I think is what makes it a feature of The System at work rather than the collateral damage that it is at times reduced to). We are taught that as men that a large part of our value comes in the ability to just toss our lives away for some ‘greater good.’”
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At the core here is a basic human rights issue. The issue of men soldiers ties into specific politics we should talk about separately, but look just on a social scale this is widely practiced and accepted and no one blinks.
Where is everybody when the spirit of a little boy is first broken? I want to know where the mother and the father are standing, where the teachers, the clergy and the entire community stands that makes this even after all this time ok? Like Lisa Hickey I have been asking this for some time, just look at the workplace now. I learned independence and entrepreneurial savvy from 20something young men going into uncharted territory and demanding to do work that gave their lives meaning rather than be cogs!! Seven years ago I could not carry on these conversations about innovation w any of my women colleagues! Ironic how things go..
Keep writing everyone!
In deepest appreciation,
Adriana Story Hill
I tend to look very far back in history for clues to our behavior.
And I’m not going to go back and research this carefully.
For 99% of hominid reproduction, reproduction took place within small inter-related groups. reproduction took place with cousins of some sort, and there is a numbers game we win when our related progeny thrive.
( it’s a game theory thing)
So if we are/were all about passing our genome down the line- then a man’s altruistic sacrifice of self makes sense in a herd/hive safety/succor thing……
http://standup2p.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/wanderlust-is-simply-genetic-diffussion-mobile-draft/
I have a difficult time swallowing anymore theory or academic research, having witnessed & grown up in a time of genocide. I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel going backwards in time is no longer valuable especially on this issue. Solutions do not lie back in history –we are evolving at such a rapid rate. They are HERE in the MOMENT. And what we decide from this point forward can determine so much. At the end of the day we analyze and play with a lot of data and have the ability to make it serve ANY agenda we choose. FULL responsibility for our lives lies in our choices going forward. Epigenetics show even genetic code is not written in stone and can be pliable. Let’s face it, our common gender history and related politics have not served the dignity of either gender or our human integrity. As a woman I can attest that in many cultures mothers prioritize food rations to strengthen boys over girls from infancy so they can be fortified for battle one day, just “more units”. This is unconscionable! WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE for our species to go? Or do we just throw our hands up in the air and say, “code” made me do it?
Sincerely,
Adriana Hill
“Welcome To The Machine” by Pink Floyd
Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.
Where have you been? It’s alright we know where you’ve been.
You’ve been in the pipeline, filling in time,
provided with toys and Scouting for Boys.
You bought a guitar to punish your ma,
And you didn’t like school, and you know you’re nobody’s fool,
So welcome to the machine.
Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.
What did you dream? It’s alright we told you what to dream.
You dreamed of a big star, he played a mean guitar,
He always ate in the Steak Bar. He loved to drive in his Jaguar.
So welcome to the machine.