Wimps and Barbarians (on being a Man)

[Phantom Warrior]

Someone mentioned "Wild at Heart" by John Eldridge...

I recommend this book to all the guys out there. Heck, I recommend it to all the women as well. I will come out and say it's written by a Christian, from a Christian point of view. If you have a pointed dislike for Christian, I'm sorry. I think you are missing out. Independent of his religious beliefs (though I belive this is also _because_ of his religious beliefs), John Eldridge writes a fantastic book about men. He lays out very accurately what makes men tick, why they are the way the are. He also explains how trying to deny the intrinsic masculine nature of men ends up cheating men and woman both. It's not a very long or difficult read, but it's definitely worth the time.

 

[schromf]

Interesting test

0 out of 50

Just check these stats:

110742 have taken this test so far.

109388 people have scored higher than you.

0 people have scored lower than you.

1354 people made the same grade as you.

The only question on the whole quiz that was a doubter was do you like to dance, but they didn't say with who, and from the tone of that quiz I don't want that answered.

 

[CaesarI]

Real Men: GREAT movie "High Noon" with Gary Cooper. 1952. If you haven't seen it, do. Saw it at our "Honor's Film Festival" fell in love, bought the DVD.

Real men have always been the exception, rather than the rule. Hillbilly's point here is solidly backed up by good historical evidence. As a point of fact, in Cooper's "To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth" he tells a story "survivor" during which the question is asked:

So the two set about recruiting the 200 necessary spirits. Gerhardt looked at me keenly and asked, "How many good men are there per hundred, in the world?"
"Allowing for differences in circumstances, condition and background, I should say perhaps one."
He grinned at me bleakly and said, "Wrong! We thought we could find two hundred out of thirty thousand. How many do you suppose we did find?"
"I don't know," I replied. "That was a pretty grim situation and I dare say the people were more downcast than most."
"We found ten." He held up both hands, fingers spread. "Ten, out of thirty thousand. It seems that a real man is the exception rather than the rule--the very rare exception."

I scored a 12 on the test, on account of a dare or two, and some degree of grooming, grew my hair out once (I've had a thing for Samson since i was a kid) and got into the habit of using conditioner.

My dad, alas, never taught me to be a man. I learned some from my early fascination with Arthurian legends, Greek Mythology, and other Romantic delusions. But most I had to learn on my own, after the fact. All this after I first overcame the prevailing social system, which was made easier given that I was a nerd and had always embraced the philosophy:

"The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help rebelling against. Who are the people that make up the biggest proportion of the population the intelligent ones or the fools? I think we can agree it's the fools, no matter where you go in this world, it's the fools that form the overwhelming majority." - Henrik Ibsen

I think it was my early education in science, and the scientific method ultimately that saved me from joining the ranks of the emasculated Socialists. As long as the school's teach science there's some hope.

Ultimately, I think the definition of who is, and who is not a "real man" is a question for each man, rather than all men. Which sounds rather strange from someone like me who believes in objective morality. How's the quote go? On matters of taste, bend like a tree in the wind, on matters of principle stand firm?

-Morgan

 

[longeyes]

go Burt!

DELIVERANCE was on cable last night. We all know who the "real man" was in that film: the guy who shot straight when it counted.

 

[longeyes]

Come to think of it, I was flipping back and forth from DELIVERANCE to THE DEAD ZONE. There's another film about a guy who did the right thing when he had to. Not as good a shot, though.

 

[Boats]

My favorite movie on the topic of "being a man" is the 1958 western epic The Big Country.

Ironically, the movie stars, among others, the late gun grabber Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston, president emeritus of the NRA.

Thematically, the movie has everything the Claremont Institute could want concerning the character of men and women.

James McKay (Gregory Peck) Former ship captain representing the "cultured East," but defying the Eastern stereotype living by deed rather than fast talking. Doesn't use courage for show, but as a steel reinforcement to his character. When push comes to shove, his character fights Steve Leech (Charelton Heston) to a draw, and stands ready to kill Buck Hannassey in a duel.

Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons) Strong willed brunette who has, following the death of her father, been keeping an increasingly difficult peace over a dispute concerning her property's water rights. Both Terrill and the Hannasseys want to buy her ranch to exclude the other. Represents a good blend of Eastern education and frontier female strengths. Sees the quiet strength in McKay and comes to understand him by selling him the ranch when he is willing to step into the feud and maintain the status quo.

Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker) Imperious blonde, the bitchy daughter of Major Henry Terrill. Comes to represent the worst of the "cultured East" having become vain and a fan of style over substance while in college on the East Coast. Castigates McKay for his unwilliness to "be a man," through showing off. Comes to believe McKay is a coward because she cannot escape the image of her cruel, casually power-wielding father as the ideal man.

Steve Leech (Charlton Heston) Terrill's ranch foreman. He represents the better aspects of the "frontier West." Self-reliant, tough as nails cowboy, and loyal to a fault. He harbors class resentments and is not so-secretly in love with Terrill's daughter. He regards McKay as a rival and treats him with contempt early on for the latter's "metrosexual ways." Nonetheless Leech sees the error of his judgement regarding McKay, but cannot quite bring himself to abandon Terrill moments before his boss leads him into a deadly trap through the latter's stubborn pride.

Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives) Represents the better, old school, of the "savage West." Rough around every edge, he nonetheless lives by a moral code and ultimately respects women though he is a chauvanist. He has raised his sons without a mother and he bitterly regrets what failures they are as men.

Major Henry Terrill (Charles Bickford) Represents the worst of the "frontier West" He is vain, pretentious, power mad, cruel, and has gone out of his way to make the Hannasseys into his bitter enemies. He has also corrupted his daughter through his base hatreds. Allowing his men to beat the Hannassey boys in town at the start of the movie and ordering them to keep the Hannassey cattle from water he doesn't even own, later in the flick, are but two of the memorable episodes of his pettiness.

Buck Hannassey (Chuck Connors) Representative of the all of the worst of the "savage West." Buck is essentially a good-for-nothing sociopath. He is a liar, abusive, a coward, he kidnaps Julie Maragon and attempts to sexually assault her. There is nothing redeeeming about Buck at all. If his character were in a modern movie, he'd be a ghetto punk or something.

Anyway, it is my favorite Western for a lot of reasons. Everyone should see it at least once.

 

[SteelyDan]

I scored a "3," but I suspect my "man bag" isn't quite what they meant. Mine is a small to medium sized duffel filled with camping and survival gear. But that's what I call it (kinda started out as a joke, but it stuck), so I answered that one "yes."

 

[Tyrannosaurus]

When's the last time you saw an action hero that didn't shave their chest? This just drives me nuts.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

H.G. Wells, in his story "The Land Ironclads," had some imteresting things to say on this subject.

 

[rainbowbob]

My this is sooooo faascinaating!

I skimmed this whole thread and don't believe I saw one reference to a legal issue related to guns and the RKBA - on a gun/legal forum.

I mean, I don't care...but sheeeesh!








...And real men don't need to convince anybody they're real men.

 

[Strings]

Holy thread necromancy, Tyrannosaurus!

 

[DocBoCook]

Tyranosaurs- Two tours in Iraq, and I don't shave my chest. Do I qualify? I have tried to impress similar Ideas like this to the Men who served under me in the service (and some of my superiors) The Man, is a dying breed. I think of Full Metal Jacket, when Joker would say "Is that you John Wayne", but I didn't use it in the same context, I would say it when someone did the right thing in the face of doing the easy thing. That was when I would give them a firm handshake and do everything I could to make sure that the hammer fell as lightly as possible, especially if they fixed their mistake

 

[rbernie]

Just say no.....

to thread necromancy.