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Patriarchy Makes Men Stupid
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by rumana husain | July 10, 2008 at 03:01 am
1528 views | 9 Recommendations | 14 comments
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It is interesting for me to read about the 'lessons learned while spending time in a different culture' sitting here in the United Sates, where I have freshly arrived, while the writer of "Patriarchy Makes Men Crazy and Stupid", Robert Jensen, analyzes it from his experience in Pakistan.
"The United States and Pakistan are very different societies, but they are both patriarchal. Patriarchy takes different forms in each society, and the harms to women can be quite different, but my observation holds in both. It doesn't mean patriarchy doesn't sometimes also constrain women's thinking, nor does it mean women are always right in debates with men. To identify patterns is not to make ridiculous totalizing claims."
Read the whole article:
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/jensen080708.html
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rumana husain
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (14)
at 05:28 on July 10th, 2008
rumana husain, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 05:42 on July 10th, 2008
thank you PEP, the author of the article has made some pertinent observations, hasn't he?
at 06:35 on July 10th, 2008
I reads the article but did not find it very enlightening. I would discuss this with you but fear I will hurt your feelings and so will not debate you. :)
at 11:16 on July 10th, 2008
Thanks for pointing that out. A lot of the time North Americans can only sit back and lash at other patriarchal countries until we get a reminder that we ourselves live in one.
at 11:27 on July 10th, 2008
Excellent story - thanks for including the link.
at 11:55 on July 10th, 2008
Interesting.
However, without taking sides, I would like to see opinion noted in the headline or at the top of the story. No harm. No foul. Just a suggestion.
Keep them coming.
at 12:06 on July 10th, 2008
Thanks for the post, Rumana. Please use the Highlight tool to quote from external sources.
at 14:32 on July 10th, 2008
Sure enough, patriarchies produced all sorts of idiots:
Aristotle, Plato, Isaac Newton, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Albert Einstein, just to name a few.
at 16:29 on July 10th, 2008
Anyone bothered to look at the history and fruit of matriarchy in the world.
Look at the wonderful results of it in the black culture in the USA.
The title a clearly way over the top ranting generalization.
The greatest, most advanced, and most productive cultures in history have been patriarchal.
AS it happens so have most of the worst. So your point is?
The fact is that it's NOT who is in charge, it is what moral structure they obey.
If they are followers of a religion that says lying is OK, or murder is OK then you can bet that things won't go too well. And if they are not real believers in the prevailing religion things will go even worse. For they will have no respect for even it's poor set of rules. The happiest and most prosperous times in various countires history's are those where a strong leader who feels personally bound to a sound moral code leads his nation by example.
at 16:34 on July 10th, 2008
No, "black culture" isn't a matriarchy. What you see is just absent men from families.
Several Native American tribes originally functioned as matriarchies, and some still do, traditionally. And it works quite well, thanks.
Cute dog, though.
at 19:39 on July 10th, 2008
There is a difference between matriarchal and matrilineal, the first being a society where women rule and the second being a society in which relationships are defined along the mother's line of descent.
But aside from your anthropological mistake here I tend to agree with what I believe is your basic premise that people of all races, religions and sexes can be friggin' jerks. But for your own mental health, try not to take it so personally. You'll live longer.
at 08:01 on July 11th, 2008
America is a matriarchy.
Anyone can see that men and women are not treated equally under the law. Women receive vastly favorable treatment in the U.S. informally and legally.
at 10:01 on July 11th, 2008
rumana husain, I like this story. It's good stuff.
What a fantastic article you've highlighted - a much-needed blast of humanity in these confusing times. It's good to be reminded that people are the same the world over and that our perception of what's "foreign" is so often a misconception.
I'm also amused at the bristling comments that have been posted by some - your headline made me laugh out loud, whereas others seem to have suffered humour-failure over it!
at 10:31 on July 11th, 2008
thanks mchawk, i found it not only interesting but the timing was just right as i had just set foot in nyc from pakistan. as for your other comment, yes, perhaps the most tricky thing for people is to laugh at themselves. never too easy.