Isn't It Time for the Human Race to Grow Up?

[McCamy Taylor]

Sexism is alive and well in the U.S. today. Take my own profession, medicine. A male doctor who is not a complete dick is treated as something special. A female doctor who is not 100% Mary Poppins is a "bitch." Another way to say the same thing: patients will not tolerate a female physician who does not act motherly, but they often respect--and continue to consult--- a male physician who is curt, abrupt or even downright rude---like the one who started a visit by saying to me "I will ask the questions and you will answer the questions and you will not say anything else." Yeah, he was an asshole, everyone knew it. But a man like that can maintain a practice. His god-complex is a sign that he is good at his job.

On a related note, if the corporation is run by "good old boys" who thank the Lord each day that they were born men and not women, because being a man makes them "better", lower level staff will be tempted to scapegoat females, even females in positions of power--i.e. their bosses--- because they know that the Good Old Guy(s) at the top are so eager to discredit the female competition that they will readily believe that the woman executive caused the latest disaster--even if she had nothing to do with it. The female executives will be required to "prove" that they are loyal and up to the job---but the harder they try, the more threatened the men will become, and the more eager they will be to accept any criticism of their female colleagues. Hillary Clinton is a victim of this. We have all seen how often she is "accused" of doing the same things that male politicians do. She can only get a break when she is practically doing a Mother Theresa routine. Those who write and read the mainstream news know that their Good Old Boy bosses are scared to death of not being better than even a single woman, and so they level vicious attacks on her as a cheap, fast way to earn favor. Everyone wants to get ahead. If they can get ahead by blaming their mistakes on a woman---then "cherchez la femme".

Of course, anyone who has to label him or herself "better" than someone else in order to sleep at night is a bundle of neurosis and self doubt, and really should not be in a position of power. But it is these same scared little boys and girls who crave power--or rather the illusion of control---so that they can stop being frightened. And so they claw their way to the top of the dog pile. But no matter high they get, they never stop being afraid. And their fear paralyzes the organizations which they control, preventing them from enacting meaningful change in order to 1) increase profits 2) improve services and 3) build a lasting enterprise. They create a house of cards which looks flush on paper but really has no more substance than a soap bubble, and if they are lucky they cash out. And if they are unlucky, they go bankrupt--and find a woman to blame. All because 10,000 years ago, before the advent of agriculture, those who did not have wombs had to have a different mindset and different hormones in order to track and kill mammoths in order to feed those who did have wombs.

Of course, the third world has it twice or maybe even a hundred times as bad. There, women are treated as chattel, property. There, the poorest man knows that at least he isn't a woman. It helps him bear the indignity of his life. And if it all gets to be too much, he can use his woman as a punching bag and know that his culture will say "She had it coming. She gave him lip. She showed her ankles." You have to wonder, if all that rage against social injustice wasn't being channeled against women, maybe the victims of oppression would notice who the real enemy is. Maybe they would create a well organized, effective resistance, rather than houses of cards, like ISIS and Al Qaeda which temporarily boost their machismo, but in the end are just "sound and fury signifying nothing."

All this effort spent keeping women suppressed---excuse me, I meant to say safe--is a drain on our time and resources. Dwindling resources. Our overpopulated world can no longer afford sexism. There are no more mammoths. When we want to eat, we no longer have to hunt. We no longer have the option of hunting. We have to work together to create a social and economic structure capable of feeding and providing shelter for the billions who now live on our planet.

Isn't it time for the human race to grow up?

[elleng]

1. It appears that way, but

as it hasn't happened, I suspect it won't; we're stuck with 'human nature.' Kind of a joke by Nature, I guess.

[niyad]

2. wish it would, but not holding my breath.

[shraby]

3. For the most part, women have grown up. The men are lagging behind.

[Fumesucker]

4. Growing old is mandatory...

Growing up is optional..

Do you feel you are "better" than a Teabagger?

[McCamy Taylor]

5. No, I feel sorry for them. They are scared and so they look for scapegoats

and believe it when they are told that if they just kill the Jew/Black/woman who is responsible for their misery, they will live happily ever after. I am an optimist when it comes to human nature and I believe that we can all be taught to love ourself the way we are---which is the necessary first step to loving others--if only we can undo the harm that it done by those who have so much to gain by instilling fear in the masses. Or rather, those who mistakenly believe that they are gaining something by instilling fear in the masses. I don't feel "better" than the Kochs, either. I feel sorry for them. They could be so much happier than they are--but they will probably never free themselves from the wheel of suffering in this lifetime. I think their dad must have been a major jerk---but then what was his dad like?

[salib]

6. Well past time.

[awoke_in_2003]

7. Religion has a stranglehold on us...

and a lot of the rest of the world. It isn't going to give up easily.

[RKP5637]

27. IMO that is the root cause of so much immaturity. Individuals stuck in a period

time when religious belief structures helped explain the mysteries surrounding people. People really need to move into the 21st century and quit basing their interpretation of life, belief structures and resulting actions on what happened eons ago.

[The2ndWheel]

30. What does it being the 21st century have to do with it?

Our definition of time is not objective.

[RKP5637]

32. It's timeless! n/t

[DonCoquixote]

8. I whole heartedly agree

" You have to wonder, if all that rage against social injustice wasn't being channeled against women, maybe the victims of oppression would notice who the real enemy is. Maybe they would create a well organized, effective resistance, rather than houses of cards, like ISIS and Al Qaeda which temporarily boost their machismo, but in the end are just "sound and fury signifying nothing."

"what is odd is, just like Susna B anthony had a lot of oppostion from other women, that both the religous right here and isis there seem to be attracting women who defend them. This is not a slam on women, but I am just befuddled where the Srah Palins and Hayat Boumeddienes (aka the paris shooter who is on the lam) come from?

[HereSince1628]

9. In many ways we are a young species in the throws of sorting out the important questions

We'll probably get there...some time long after my grandchild dies of old age.

But that's no reason to avoid the struggle, NOW.

[Android3.14]

11. Young compared to what?

Evolution is often misunderstood as teleological (in that it is somehow proceeding from something of lesser value to something that is improved).

There is no evidence that humans are advancing, and in fact there is some evidence that our intelligence and physical robustness is actually decreasing across the past 30-40 generations.

The only thing we can hope for, enlightenment-wise, is to take control of our own genetics in order to breed a less aggressive human or to allow AI to replace us, or some other option.

A cry to grow up, as the OP expresses, seems as if it might have the best opportunity to succeed in the current information age for the simple reason that the cultures that ignore enlightened self interest will observe the success of other cultures and eventually change to achieve those comforts.

Imagine if we had a culture (probably one of the Nordic variants) exisiting in the near future with something along the lines of Star trek's utopian vision of the United Federation. My hope is that the rest of the knuckleheads will follow the example.

[HereSince1628]

15. oh, say, Limulus polyphemus

and I am not so silly as to think Homo has a destiny to fulfill

[MisterP]

10. sorry, that all sounds exactly like Steven Goldberg's argument

it's also Whiggish to think that we're going to "outgrow" this or that, like it's a function of time: histories of sex and gender have crackdowns on women's roles in the 16th and 19th centuries--it's not some sempiternal thing that we only got out of recently

[planetc]

12. Agree, and

I think one of the most insidious forms of sexism afflicts those men who think they understand the subject and assume they aren't affected by it. But they are. The men I'm thinking of are well educated, have good office manners, often have happy marriages, but continue to think of all the women they work with as different, as sharing in the "feminine" psychology, as wanting different things from life than men want. And those assumptions flavor their thinking about women in their professions, in their organizations, and in their own offices. These men are charming, civil, think well of themselves, but achieve almost no progress in "diversifying" their work forces. In fact, they may treat accomplished women fairly and warmly, but women in other roles will be subtly put in their places. They think they need no education in feminism because they're okay--they're not like real sexists, who call women sluts, and cunts, and who rape and abuse. These civilized sexists are lucky in their birth, and talents, and education, and assume that because they know a lot about their fields of expertise, that they know a lot about everything else, like sexism. For them, feminism isn't a real subject of study, like engineering or medicine. It's so soft a science, like psychology, that it's barely a science at all. In fact, they may assume, there's nothing to be learned there at all. They're in error, but it will be very hard for them to improve their understanding, because they already know all they need to know. The Catholic church used to have a term for those who died never having been exposed to the good news of the Christian gospel, like Africans who had never been found by Christian missionaries. These people, Catholic theology said, were "invincibly ignorant." There are a great many invincibly ignorant men in the world, and women too. May theGoddess preserve us from them.

[McCamy Taylor]

18. Men are not allowed to cry in the US when growing up. This is their tragedy.

This is not true of all cultures in the US, but it is true of the ruling hegemony.

[Warren DeMontague]

13. The world is more prosperous and less violent now, than at any time in human history.

I know it is an immensely unpopular sentiment in some circles, but things actually are getting better.

MLK was correct about the arc of history.

[The2ndWheel]

35. As long as the energy is cheap enough. nt

[hopemountain]

14. yes it is.

see if you can find a full audio of the Confronting Misogyny Panel at Earth Risk last fall. the presenters should not be missed.

these links may have it in their archives/listings:
linktv.org
kpfa.org

[seveneyes]

16. The variable in the Human Equation is Love

[PADemD]

17. "I will ask the questions"

You didn't walk out?

If my doctor (male or female) won't listen to me, I walk.

[silverweb]

20. Ditto that!

[840high]

21. I've been fortunate to

have a male internist who listens. On the other hand had a female surgeon that was the opposite.

[smirkymonkey]

24. Most of my doctors are female.

And they are all great. Extremely compassionate and willing to listen. If a doctor ever treated me that way, they would be fired. I've done it for less. We don't have to put up with that crap. If a doctor is rude or condescending, find another one.

[BlueJazz]

19. Speaking for myself, I've been pissed about this "Inferior Women" thing for a long time but not...

...just for the humanitarian reasons.

Just maybe, if the past were different, a woman or a team of women may have found cures for many illnesses or perhaps even found many ways to prolong life and more happiness or perhaps written even more great theories or books or ideas about (insert just about anything imaginable here).

THAT's what infuriates this poster the most. Society/Men have screwed us all by their...thinking...ah..Bullshit egos.

[F4lconF16]

23. A very good point...

We could have effectively doubled the speed of progress in our society. But no, men must keep their power at all costs.

[F4lconF16]

22. +1000 excellent post

I don't have much to add, you hit pretty much all of it. Thanks.

[smirkymonkey]

25. +1000

[AngryAmish]

31. The human race has failed to live up to your expectations.

How very Holden Caufield.

[cali]

33. except for the somewhat rhetorical and meaningless question in the OP title,

this is a great OP.

K&R.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

34. Grow-up to what?

The term "grow-up" implies there is an observed end-state, as in, we see the adults children grow up to be. What you describe has never been observed in all human history. Perhaps this is as good as it gets.