I have had some instructive exchanges with some ladies at Amir's blog (see here and here). One of them, Christina, has expressed some frustration at her own blog about what men and women say about each other (see here and here). I read Christina's posts and reflect on what some other religious women have said in a similar vein. Admittedly, the feelings of these women are understandable.
Such are the Gender Wars. I am find myself looking at these women as a soldier looks at civilians in an enemy country. I am going house to house. There is the awkward exchange: "No, ma'am I am not here to wreck your house. I am looking for Male-Bashing Brown Shirts. We have reports they are stationed in the vicinity. Have you seen any suspicious activ ... calm down, ma'am, I need information ..." Sometimes an interpreter is needed to translate my male language into something the female civilians can understand. My combat training is geared towards seeking out and neutralizing the enemy. Wait. I just heard a board creak. I wheel around with my M4. Nothing here. Okay, now the lady in the house is panicking. "Calm down, ma'am." My skills in diplomacy are something I have to learn on the job. They don't teach you this stuff in boot camp.
One hopes that there will be minimal feelings of ill-will among the innocent bystanders and refugees caught up in this mess. One hopes for minimal collateral damage, but things are awkward. Terrible mistakes get made. Innocents get shot at. War is a terrible business, especially among the sexes.
Another bad cop
2 years ago
6 comments:
Thanks Anakin.
"Male-bashing brown shirts." LOL
Good analogy.
(With apologies beforehand the ladies, whom I think tend to look better in earthy tones.....)
Brownshirts or brownskirts?
Interesting analogy Anakin
War is a messy, tragic, and outrageous propostion. That is why it should be avoided if it can be. There is no such thing as a nice war, or a war fought by rules. It is certain that if one side tries to fight fair, the other side will not.
Wars are also fought to be won. To fight otherwise is to guarantee failure.
It's tragic, but whether we want to admit it or not, we are at war.
So, are we going to fight to win, or fight to a stalemate? With so many lives hanging in the balance, what justice is served by a refusal to fight. Remember guys, men did not ask for nor want this war. It was thrust upon us, and we have no choice but to fight. If the war is to end, then the prosecutors of it will have to step down.
Anakin,
Your analogy is interesting, and if I have time, I might borrow this post too. Unfortunately, I have almost 100 articles for potential post, and there's no way I can get to them all...
Anyway, if you're going to fight a war, then you have to crush, kill, and destroy the enemy-end of story. No mercy can be shown; no quarter can be given or sought. Unfortunately, in spite of one's best efforts, innocents get caught in the crossfire; they always have, and they always will. As a wise man once said, them's the breaks. War IS a messy business, and if you aren't fighting to win, then you shouldn't fight it at all.
MarkyMark
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