What the hell is wrong with men?

What The Hell Is Wrong With Men - Not My Usual Blog

Armenian Gospel Of Mark

What the hell ails men?  Where do they get the idea that they are in charge of women and are entitled to sexual access to any and all of us at any time that they fancy? Where does this sense of ownership of women and their bodies come from?  I know - stupid question, it comes from male-authored "scriptures" that are designed to justify male dominance and female subservience.  Religious patriarchy is at the root of the problem and patriarchy in general keeps it going from generation to generation.


What brought all this on, you ask? This is what did it:  http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1208612--women-in-egypt-s-tahrir-square-assaulted-during-march-to-end-sexual-harassment?bn=1#comments

A mob of over 200 Egyptian men attacked and sexually assaulted 50 women who were peacefully demonstrating against the ever-present sexual harassment to which women are subjected on the streets of Cairo and elsewhere in the country. 200 men against 50 women.  Earlier in the week it was 200 men against 1 woman. They surrounded her and forced her into a side street where they groped her and pushed up against her until she fainted.

Lest you rationalise that these assaults are random and infrequent, journalist Sarah El Deeb reported on 7 June 2012 through AP:

"A 2008 report by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights says two-thirds of women in Egypt experienced sexual harassment on a daily basis. A string of mass assaults on women in 2006 during the Muslim feast following the holy month of Ramadan prompted police to increase the number of patrols to combat it but legislation providing punishment was never passed."  Just a co-incidence that a law is written with no penalty for breaking it? I don't think so.  

Now I ask you again, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH MEN?


The So-called Arab Spring

A year ago the democracies of the world were watching the "Arab Spring" in hopes that the repressive regimes in Northern Africa had become artifacts of history.  Women had been at the forefront of organising the revolts that spread from country to country and culminated in Tahrir Square where thousands of women with and without the hajib protested along side males. Even then, however, it was apparent that the Islamists were only biding their time until Mubarak could be brought down. Whatever democratic motivations existed in the movements would not be enough to counter the radical Islamists who even during the initial demonstrations managed to harass women on the fringes of the square.A year later a young medical student had this to say: 

"Women activists are at the core of the revolution," said Ahmed Hawary, who attended Friday's protest [9 June]. "They are the courage of this movement. If you break them, you break the spirit of the revolution." And there we have the gist of the matter. Fundamentalist males of all three mono-theistic religions fear women they can't control. They are Gynaephobes. Look at the current Pope and his battle with American nuns. Or the Republican candidates for president who want to remove birth control from insured health care. Just think about  the insane level of sartorial and behavioural restrictions imposed on Muslim women whereby a woman in Afghanistan who is walking her children to school can have a hand amputated because a member of the Religious Police caught sight of her right hand and wrist when a strong wind blew back the sleeve of her burqa! How crazy is that?

What Women Want


Just as the majority of women are not interested in wielding political power for its own sake and tend to take a non-hierarchical approach to their work in various fields, most women would prefer not to participate in demonstrations but when the yoke of oppression reaches intolerable proportions, we march.  And when we do so, we should not be subjected to assault of any kind for any reason.

For those who can't quite get their heads around that simple statement, maybe this will help. Those of the Judeo-Christian persuasion will remember that Moses had a sister who helped to save his life. For those of you with memory problems, her name was Miriam. According to the Hebraic Bible, it was Miriam who watched over Moses in his basket as he floated downstream toward the palace of Pharoah. It was Miriam who continued to watch over Moses when he was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter, Batya, and it was Miriam who led the women in singing and dancing after their successful escape from Egypt. Now here's a newsflash, Guys: It was also Miriam who had the real 10 Commandments that she brought down from the mountain. In his impatience to get back in time for a football match, Moses only got the first draft. Miriam stuck around and got the real deal. Read it and weep.

The Ten Commandments for Human Males As Given To Miriam 

1. I am the Source of All That Is and as such I am indestructible. I AM. Therefore, thou shalt obey the following commandments as though your life depends upon it  - for indeed it does.

2.  The Universe in which you exist is my invisible and infinite Consciousness. You are a point of newly created consciousness whose goal is to be so purified from millions of lifetimes that you may be re-absorbed into my infinite consciousness to participate in ongoing creation.

3.  In order that this be accomplished, thou shalt ever be subject to the rule of Karma, the Balancer of All That Is.

4. The Prime Directive is: Thou Shalt Do No Harm To Any Being or Object In This Universe or the parallel Multi-verses through which you will ultimately pass.

5. Thou shalt protect and nurture all forms of life particularly those that are smaller, less strong, less mobile, or more vulnerable in any way.

6.  Thou shalt share what thou hast without stinting.

7.  Thou shalt not take that which belongs to another.

8.  Thou shalt not speak ill of any for thou hast not the right to judge.

9. Thou shalt treat all whom thou encounters as thou wishes to be treated, refraining at all times from sexual advances, violence, ogling, commenting on or denigrating through gesture or deed the physical, emotional or psychological sanctity of any person whatsoever.  

10. Know that Karma is the inescapable consequence of all that you do both 'good' and 'bad'; that all evil is therefore ignorance and that to wallow in ignorance is a waste of consciousness than which there is no greater violation.

Any questions?