With all the drama surrounding women's liberation and rights it got me thinking. First, let me state that I'm equal opportunity to the core. I believe that anyone with the most qualifications should get any position or opportunity out there. If I'm in a situation where a woman is more qualified than I am she should get the opportunity. Whether it be color, gender, or whatever else I believe in equal opportunity.
Now that's out of the way let me get to my point. With all of the women's liberation and equality it made me realize men need their own cause. Automatically people are freaking out. Hear me out. When I was getting out of the US Navy they were implementing a plan to bring Navy ships to a point where there are as many women as men. They made this happen quickly. I was an E-4 at the time and all through the lower ranks of E1-E3 I had to do working parties (not exactly a party) and clean the entire ship including restrooms which the Navy calls Heads. Well in my last month in the Navy a new E-1 female came aboard the ship and started working with us. Her last name was Huggins and she was a nice girl. But she was a little on the dainty and girly side. I don't have an issue with that at all. But, when it comes to the duties of the Navy she signed the same documents I did. Where it requires you to be able to carry 50 pounds and carry out the duties on a ship. Well, during our first time underway (going out to sea) she started to puke from sea sickness. Our chief wanted me to fill up a bucket and carry it to where she threw up and help her clean it up. Normally, I am very cordial with helping another person or shipmate as we all referred to each other. I would have gladly helped her if she was the one that asked me. But since it was a chief that was telling me I had to I had an issue with it. When I was an E-1 and was in a similar situation nobody was there to carry my bucket but since it was a female it was expected that I help her. Same with the working parties. Because she was a female she wasn't expected to do the same lifting of boxes when we would bring on new supplies from other ships. Since they made such a beef about how we were suppose to treat women equally I was confused why all of a sudden they also wanted us to treat them different.
Once I left the Navy it was the same at multiple jobs I worked at. When we moved to a new building all the men were expected to carry the furniture and build the desks while the women didn't even have to be there. Another job same thing. Us men were expected to build desks and women were never asked to do any physical labor outside of their normal job description. So what is it? Is it equal or is it special? Look, I'm cool either way. I love women. I usually get along better with women than I do men because they're not as competitive. Men always want to compete. We're out golfing and they want to play for money, golf isn't exciting enough on its own. Life is already competition I don't need anymore. But if you're going to tell me that they're suppose to be equal and special at the same time then I'm going to have an issue with that. Same as my current job. When it's time to move desks or anything it's "Danny can you move this desk". Yet women will complain about not making the same amount. But if they'd look they do make the same amount. There is so much that goes into that equation. It's not just same pay for same position, there is also time in that position as well. If I have been in my career for 16 years and then a woman has been doing it for 10, should she automatically make the same amount as me? Personally, I don't really care. I have a coworker that has half the experience as I do but makes the same amount. I'm a power to the people kind of person. I don't hate the player I'm gonna hate the game.
My point is that I think people need to stop and think for a minute what they actually want. Look, women are on the rise everywhere, we might have a woman president very soon. In many ways they have more opportunities than men. This is going to be controversial but many times women get jobs based on their looks alone. I've had many bosses that gave attractive women raises just to keep them from leaving. Us men sometimes are treated like a dime a dozen. So I think it's time men start standing up for themselves and not just lay down for the sake of being chivalrous. If we're truly talking equality then it shouldn't matter if they're a man or a woman. If a woman wants the same job as a man then do that job.
There comes the trouble right there. Women in combat. It's a great thought and a fight for the cause to put women in combat but is it actually a good idea. We're talking about war here not games. I guarantee you if a platoon gets captured and there are females the enemy is going to do whatever they have to in order to get information. In combat people are tortured. Are the men in that platoon going to sit back and allow a female member of their platoon to be tortured physically and even sexually? Or will they give whatever information they have to in order to protect them?
How about in every day life? I know businesses run by women that only hire women. Isn't this discrimination against men? Why is this ok but the other way around isn't?
How about domestic violence? Why does a man get laughed at by police when they say a female assaulted them? How come I watched Beyonce's sister on video punching and hitting JayZ and nobody said a word? Why is it that it seems double standards are all over the place like this?
Yes, at least one of my examples is extreme. Most women are not big enough to cause harm to a man. My point is that shouldn't it be wrong for either man or woman to use physical or verbal abuse? I guess I just don't understand why nobody focuses on the anger issues and violence women have but men are criticized constantly. I just feel that it should be equal opportunity 100% or don't yell for equal opportunity. If a woman wants to assault a man then get used to being arrested.
In my opinion it's not the fact that a 5 foot tall woman is not able to hurt a 6 foot tall man it the point that violence should not be allowed either way. There should be no tolerance either way between a man and a woman. A man is taught that no matter what a woman does to them they do not have the right to hit a woman back. While I agree a man in no situation should ever touch a woman violently I just think we need to take it a step further and not allow a woman any size to be violent either. In our society I believe it's too often looked at from perception instead of reality. Reality is that although a man should never touch a woman a woman should also not be allowed to provoke a man by slapping him and punching him. If JayZ would have been arrested for slapping Beyonce's sister then her sister should have been arrested for assaulting JayZ.
I know my points don't always depict reality and that this is my opinion. I'm just thinking out loud because to me it's the same with color as it is with gender. People want to be equal until they realize that also sucks and then they want to be special. It's similar to my opinion about having no Black Entertainment Television. If having White Entertainment Television would be considered racist then get rid of the other. People say it's for pride and that's where I'll say pride is over rated and quickly turns to hate. I'm tired of seeing black people yuk it up on BET awards and celebrate being black yet anytime white people do it they're being racist. This in itself causes resentment.
If you think I'm siding with white people then you don't get me. I don't care what color people are. I just don't agree that one side gets special privileges while the other is criticized. I heard the rapper Common give his opinion about how he feels that black people should be allowed to use the word nig*a but white people should not. His logic was that black people endured hundreds of years of slavery and earned the right. I laugh at that logic. Last I checked Common lived in a better community and grew up with more money and privileges than many white and any other color people. He was never a slave and has no idea what it was like to be a slave. While he may have endured racism that is a far cry from slavery and he should be ashamed for even trying to claim he knows what it was like to be a slave. While I empathize with anyone who has been a victim of any prejudice that's a big difference from being a slave. Nobody should use that word if it's deemed inappropriate. It's that kind of entitlement that we need to get rid of in our society. But I've ranted long enough and I'm sure I've lost everyone by now.
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