Reply #57: It has been brought up several times, that a lot of this type... [View All]

[rasputin1952]

of behavior is 'sexist'. If you want to believe that, it is fine by me. But I don't agree. 'Sexist' is as term, like all other 'ist's & 'ism's', it has its place, but not in all settings. It is also a double edged sword. Thee are times when women DO NOT want to discuss things with men; does this make them 'sexist'? Perhaps, but most likely, no. Does a table of women calling, 'All men liars and deviates', make them 'sexist'? Most likely, yes.

Context, as with everything else, must be taken into account. I have been through this thread, and I have seen various emotions at work, what I have failed to see, in almost every case, is the notion that an individual, personally, may be wrong, or their opinion may not be accepted as 'fact'.

We are 'hardwired' for defense. We can often feel slighted, when that was not the intent, either by design, or out of ignorance. We tend not to accept others points of view, unless there is a 'common bond'. There is a natural bond between women and women, men and men. There is a natural bond between people of like thought patterns. But every slight, is NOT, in definitive terms, by design. There are many things going on during these conversations.

While I support everyone to have equal time and effort to discuss their views, sometimes, we must understand, that our personal views may not be of consequence at a certain point. It is one of those things that one needs to learn to grow. Our views may be important to us, but not to others. This should NEVER be allowed as an excuse for rude behavior though. I would have acted like the individual who discussed this in a post about Karenina; I would have told the bombastic windbag to calm down as well, I'd get to him/her in a minute. It is just rude to implore that one's opinion is simply more important than another's, especially when I am in a conversation with another.

OK...Flame away.

O8)

edited to accept flaming