Then there’s some REALLY weird stuff about how “only the strong men propagate”:
"And women know it. You want to know why I know this to be true? Because powerful men still attract women. Women, even liberal women, swooned over George Bush in a naval aviator's uniform. Donald Trump still gets access to some of the most beautiful pussy available, despite looking like a medieval gargoyle. Donald Rumsfeld, if he wanted to, could fuck 90% of all women over 50 if he wanted to, and a goodly portion of younger ones too."
Now, I thought this was pretty interesting, so I asked around a bit, but I couldn’t find even one woman I knew who views George Bush or Donald Trump or Donald Rumsfeld with anything but, well, obvious and obviously genuine disgust. Not a single one. I guess in right-wing fantasy land beautiful, intelligent, well-educated, self-possessed liberal women—women who are, in the real world of actual facts, forever unavailable to the conservative troglodyte—swoon over money and power, finally admitting that their independence and self-reliance were just a show, and that all they wanted all along was a macho man to put ‘em in their place. Perhaps it’s a gratifying fantasy, but it just ain’t so, Kim, not in the real world. Only in the fevered dream world of said conservative troglodytes. Of course some women DO go for that caveman crap, go for the guy with the big car and the small vocabulary (and the leeetle beeety wee-wee… But I digress…). Some women go for the macho man desperately insisting on his heterosexuality and virility—and that includes du Toit's “three-piece suit” crowd (here’s a big tie to compensate for my leeetle beeety… oops... Digressing again.) But some women go, instead, for the guy who actually has the occasional thought in his head, who read a book at least once, who is interesting or funny, and who treats women like human beings because he actually likes them (and who, incidentally, can usually kick the shit out of the macho caveman asshole when push comes to shove). Oh, and playing the guitar helps. A LOT. Anyway, I like the latter kind of woman, unsurprisingly. You might like the former, which is none of my business, but it takes a considerable degree of ignorance to think that that’s the only kind of woman there is. Donald Trump is about as alluring to the women I know as I am to Ivana (or she is to me, for that matter). Here’s a news flash for you: women are people, just like men! Weird, huh? They even have different, individual personalities, just like men! These and many other discoveries of modern science can be obtained by actually talking to some women, an activity that I can whole-heartedly recommend on account of its being not only informative but also enjoyable.
Article comments
1 - Chris Arabia
You must have emptied the shelves at your local Cliches-R-Us. But thanks for cramming so much substance into so few words.
2 - Eric Olsen
Great job Winston, very powerful. Thanks and welcome!
3 - Mark Saleski
three words: that friggin' rocked!
4 - duane
The injured duToit's lips moved.
"Philosoraptor," he whispered.
In a tone of horror, Manuel said, "It bit him."
"What bit him?"
"Philosoraptor."
"What's a philosoraptor?"
She looked in the English dictionary.
philosoraptor n [Gr. philosophos, from philos, LOVING and sophus, WISE, deriv. of L. RAPTOR, fr. raptus] intellectual bird of prey
5 - Pete Nelson
Ya know, Winston, I think you could have had a really excellent article if you could have resisted turning into a screed against those you disagree with politically. "Extremist conservatives control the Presidency and both houses of Congress." No, conservatives do. They're not extremists by any usual definition. John Birchers, the militia types, KKK nutcases - those are extremists. You go on to imply that conservatives are stupid, and only a liberal has "... the occasional thought in his head, who read a book at least once, who is interesting or funny, and who treats women like human beings because he actually likes them..." Your article has, unfortunately, several examples of these gratuitous insults, including the completely predictable, banal and juvenile implications about penis size. I really think you can do better.
You had some really interesting points, but you watered down an important message with a bunch of nonsensical attacks on conservatives - as if all conservatives agree with Kim du Toit's ridiculous rant. Some do, but I haven't seen many that give it unqualified support. I certainly don't, and while I consider myself a centrist, I find myself siding with the current administration on more issues than I do the leftists/liberals/Democrats.
I personally thought du Toit's article was mostly pointless and stupid. Yes, men are portrayed as idiots in the media a fair amount. Big deal. Hike up your pants and move on. Shooting guns, swearing, drinking to excess, fighting, and being crude and misogynistic don't make you a man, either. If that's what being a man is all about, then manhood deserves to be made fun of.
It's unfortunate that you felt that you had to take one very extreme example from someone that is a fairly extreme conservative and paint all conservatives with it. Mainstream Democrats protest quite vigorously when they are characterized as being the same as all the extreme leftists/socialists/Marxists that regularly post on, for example, Indymedia. It isn't fair, in either case, is it?
I wouldn't have had any trouble at all if you'd just fisked du Toit's article. It totally deserves it, and it has been criticized soundly by bloggers from both sides of the aisle. But when you turned it into a diatribe against all conservatives, you lost me. In my opinion, it weakened your argument.
I guess I'm just really tired of all the unreasoned vitriol that's spewed by both conservatives and liberals. Name calling, insults, ad hominem, strawmen, and all other disingenuous forms of argument are worthless. They just serve to lower the level of discourse to the point that neither side can really hear the other. It stifles real, substantive discussion on the merits of social and policy positions. It disgusts me. Can't people just debate honestly, with the facts as they understand them to back their arguments?
And BTW, ad hominem is Latin, not French. Yes, a little snarky, but I'm a bit put off by this.
6 - Mac Diva
Insightful. Rational. Funny. This is one of the best blog essays I have ever read.
7 - mmr
"But oh, God, there’s more...somebody...please...make...it...stop..."
I feel his pain