Men/boys/dudes of DU: are you serious?

[ForrestGump]

Just want to gauge how much of the recent (and, apparently, ongoing) unpleasantness is a result of actual sexism -- by which I mean overt sexism, given that many or most of us undoubtedly harbor justified or unjustified fragments of what could be called sexist stuff -- and how much is the result of wanting to needle and generally annoy our womenfolk.

Oops.

Womenfolk?

Anyway, it's occurred to me that the one, true, unequivocal way to determine DU's sexist quotient is to ask the following question: are the lyrics to the following song, written by Shel Silverstein, satirical or dead-on for-damn-sure straight?

Put another log on the fire
Cook me up some bacon and some beans
And go out to the car and change the tire
Wash my socks and sew my old blue jeans
Come on, baby, you can fill my pipe
And then go fetch my slippers
And boil me up another pot of tea.
Then put another log on the fire, babe
And come and tell me why you're leaving me

Now don't I let you wash the car on Sunday?
And don't I warn you when you're gettin fat?
Ain't I a-gonna take you fishin' with me someday?
Well, a man can't love a woman more than that.
And ain't I always nice to your kid sister?
Don't I take her driving every night?
So, sit here at my feet cause I like you when you're sweet
And you know it ain't feminine to fight

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Of course those are words to LAUGH by

IT was definitely satire. No one is void of a sense of humor.

Repeatedly calling people names...then saying you are kidding...then saying a few people are hysterical feminists once you point out that they dismiss points and don't bother examining their very deliberate antagonistic behavior DON'T EVEN COMPARE.

One is an artist...the other a garden variety ass.

YOU KNOW ME PERSONALLY and KNOW I am not uptight...when someone PUTS YOU DOWN OVER AND OVER and you pretend they are joking when they are not....THEY ARE NOT THE COMIC...you are the fool for buying their covert hostility. And the women on DU that think MYSTERY MAN IS FUNNY are BUYING into his covert hostility.

[ForrestGump]

5. Yep

Darn...she's onto me...better go change my vote

It's all fun and games until...well, until it's not.

I'm not even sure where the line is, but I think that I usually do know when I cross it...well, that is when I realize I made an obvious booboo or when someone tells me. To be honest, it'd be easy to miss relevant signals in this faceless mode of communication, and someone who's hurt but silent about it is never going to provide necessary feedback. Regardless, I'd apologize if and when I did go too far. Continuing to press an attack, as inoffensive as I might have original thought it, is a whole other story. It doesn't matter that I may know that I'm not being hateful or trying to be offensive, because what matters (at least in these matters) is how my message is received, not how it's transmitted.

And I think that the written nature of communications here adds extra layers of uncertainty as to the meaning and tone of a message -- if we were together, in person, adjustments in tone and quick corrections are easily made. Here, it's written, it's sent, and even a rapid edit may be too late. I hate to adopt or recommend the "watch what you say" Ari-ism, but it wouldn't hurt (all of) us to be aware of the potential power of our words and, certainly, to apologize for when our words incidentally escape to cause 'collateral damage.'

[Misunderestimator]

9. Well said.

:thumbsup:

It's all about learning... everyone can make a mistake, or be misconstrued, but to repeatedly badger people you have already offended is juvenile and hurtful.

I have offended people before because of some thoughtless thing I said... or even something I REALLY didn't know would offend them. It's enough that they are offended for me to apologize and try not to offend them again.

[ForrestGump]

11. Well...I hate to say this...but...you have really offended me with your

thumbs-up. :-(

In Iran, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and parts of Italy and Greece, that signal has a very rude meaning, basically demanding that I allow you to penetrate my rearmost personal place with your forward apparatus (in your case, obviously, I suppose that would be an appliance). As one of mixed Iranian-Nigerian-Italian-Greek heritage...well....I...

:P

Okay, I was just being juvenile and hurtful. :D

I should probably be spanked. Preferably with a velvet cloth.

I'd give you the peace sign, but I wouldn't want it to be confused with something else. :-)

[DrWeird]

12. Call me a hysterical islamist...

but I find your covert hostility towards Iranians to be totally inappropriate.

And only a garden-variety ass would say such a thing.

[HEyHEY]

13. Hey guys

You too are both too cool to fight each other in this way...Let's go find a freeper and tear him a new A. What do ya say?

[ForrestGump]

16. You're half right. I'm cool. You are, too. Let's roll.

Darn it. That simian's appropriated all the good sayings. Like 'fabulous.'

[DrWeird]

22. Only because I'm so hot.

All the better to flame your ass with.

[DrWeird]

17. Oh well...

maybe I should just go home and scrub your floors and stick my thumb up your ass because muslimishterismites issues aren't important enough for you!

I'M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS!

[HEyHEY]

18. Even though my floors could use a cleaning

I'll pass on thumb up the ass

[ForrestGump]

19. You're tired as well as sick?

I mean, all this time I just thought you were a sick Cheney.

[ForrestGump]

15. Don't Persia lips like that

It'll give you wrinkles.

[DrWeird]

14. What about parfaits?

Because this garden variety ass is really confused.

[Bat Boy]

2. Absolutely for the laughs.

A point made through comic irony.

Take the last two lines of each verse away, and you've removed the irony, and with it the humor.

[ForrestGump]

6. You're right. That turnsd it into a Republican manifesto

The dude wrote some good stuff. :D

[HEyHEY]

3. Believe it or not that guy was serious when he wrote that - link

THere's no link .... but I had you going

[ForrestGump]

7. Hey! Don't do that!

:P

[gpandas]

10. my snarl began. n/t

[Forkboy]

4. Isn't that the republican theme song?

[ForrestGump]

8. Actually, yes, but in a medley with "Political Science," by Randy Newman

The irony completely escapes them.

Let's drop the big one now...

[supernova]

20. I think it's called

not wanting to admit to not being so much of a liberal for the certain posters around here. Some people simply don't like having to look in the mirror that maybe they aren't that great at relating to us females after all. And a lot of it is ingrained in the family of origin.

That verse reminds me of listening to Bob Rivers when I lived in Maryland in the late 80s. He did this little skit about some male/female typcial interaction and supposedly how a "real man" would handle it. Many were dramatized versions of the verses above.

The skits always ended with the tag line "And then they'll know what kind of man you really are." I wish Bob would archive those episodes on his web site. They were priceless, getting the point across in a humorous and pointed way.

[Moderator]

21. Locking.

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