Wimps and Barbarians - The Sons of Murphy Brown (LONG)

Claremont Review of Books ^ | December 8, 2003 | Terrence O. Moore

[ZeitgeistSurfer]

On a day where the genuinely real men in our society have accomplished a great mission, here is a good think piece to contemplate.

[dpa5923]

sef-ping for later read

[martin_fierro]

Little Avery is a Metrosexual.

[clintonh8r]

good stuff. thanks.

[BenLurkin]

This has some good observations.

[Skywalk]

It does have some good observations, but I think he's setting up a false dichotomy here. Hell, he even condemns rock and roll. Let's get real, you can be a real man and listen to hip hop or rock and roll, provided there are things in your life with which you balance the "barbarian" impulse.

[weegee]

The fictional Murphy Brown's "decision" to have a child and not a father was reckless because the character was seen as a role model for women and it made the presence of a "father" just another choice.

The fictional Murphy Brown had a "limitless" income in the high paying world of infotainment news. Single mothers quite often may find it more difficult to meet the living expenses of raising a child in a single parent household (especially one where the father has been ruled irrelevant and thus not a source of even child support payments).

Didn't Candice Bergen even step forward later to admit that "Murphy Brown" wasn't a good role model?

[jocon307]

"sef-ping for later read"

me too

[Pahuanui]

Allan Bloom famously identified rock-and-roll as the music of sexual intercourse.

Are you kidding me? The very term rock and roll is a euphamism for sex, as was long before Bloom every began writing his tripe.

[Pahuanui]

Heavy metal lacks all subtlety, reflection, harmony, refinement—in a word, civilization.

Wow, overlooked this little gem.

The author is a damn idiot.

[PistolPaknMama]

My fiance' was playing ball a few weeks ago with his 5 year old son and my dog was the "catcher." (LOL) Everytime the kid missed the ball, the dog got it and ran off. Finally I proclaimed the dog the winner of the ball game and the kid says "There ARE no winners or losers."

This is how people are raising kids these days. Everyone is equal and it's all about fun and feeling good. There is no competition. They don't have to excel in anything...the world revolves around them and their wants. Boys are growing into adult bodies with the brains and emotional maturity of 3 year olds, limp wrists and wet pants.

And yes I told the kid that all of life was about winning and losing and to get over it...in so many words.

[Mr. Jeeves]

It appears to them that, except for a few lucky members of their sex, most women today must choose between males who are whiny, incapable of making decisions, and in general of "acting like men," or those who treat women roughly and are unreliable, unmannerly, and usually stupid.

Well, they could choose the third type of man, the one they have been taught by the popular culture is the most repellent of all: the conservative.

[oprahstheantichrist]

"sef-ping for later read"

"me too"

dittos

[raybbr]

It's the culture of "sharing" that has endangered the human male. Young males are turned into sharers and when the urge to act as a male and claim his masculinity arises he is forced to stifle it hence the rage and anger. It builds up like a volcano and when the pressure gets to high; KABLOOM!

[tiredoflurking]

Manhood is a sustained act of character.

Amen! I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this article.

[Pukin Dog]

Thank you for this article. While I dont agree with it 100% (rock and roll), I think it makes some very strong and important points. Any boy who has not fished or hunted by age 11 might be lost forever.

[JusPasenThru]

Bump for later read.

[dbwz]

"There ARE no winners or losers."

Five years old and he's got that drilled into his head already? Lawdy.

Every time I go out in public I can't help but notice the behavior of some of these young "men" - I dunno, maybe as you get older you tend to glorify your younger years, but damn I can't remember ever hearing boys being so crude. I'm so glad I'm not growing up with them.

[PistolPaknMama]

I can't remember ever hearing boys being so crude. I'm so glad I'm not growing up with them

Yea but unfortunately we have to grow OLD with the turds!

[Dan from Michigan]

You will know them right away by their distinctive headgear. They wear baseball caps everywhere they go and in every situation:

I like my caps. I got an MSU one and Michigan Gun Owners one I wear. It's casual, easy, and saves me morning time.

in class, at the table, indoors, outdoors, while taking a test, while watching a movie,

Nothing wrong wearing them there.

while on a date.
Well, I don't wear it there.

They will wear them in church and with suits, if ever a barbarian puts on a suit.
Well, I do take mine off for the National Anthem, in church, and in formal business settings.

football, sex, hard rock, the latest barbarian movie, sex, football.
You forgot beer!!!!

Among the most popular barbarian activities are playing sports and lifting weights
Sports and weight training taught me hard work and was one of my biggest influences to conservatism. It taught me that the world meets NOBODY 1/2way.

The modern barbarians do little besides play sports and pursue women.
What else is there in life(Politics is a form of sports to me...the competition) besides earning a paycheck? :)

heavy metal.
I like heavy metal(the OLD metal), although I'm most partial to Southern Rock.

A particularly annoying barbarian habit is not looking you in the eye.
I do slouch. I'll look people in the eye.
They belch and proudly pass loud gas in public places.
Damn. I'm losing it here. I follow the "time and place" criteria here.

Proper speech and posture and other signs of respect helped to bring him into the community of civilized human beings. No longer.
I show respect to those that earn it, and disrespect to those that deserve it.

They held open doors, pulled out chairs, stood up when a woman entered a room, stood up in public places to offer their seats, took off their hats in the presence of women, and carefully guarded their language so as not to offend the fair sex
Damn, I am losing my caveman image here. 5 for 6.

But this sort of thing goes on all the time. Young women who appear in public, whether in a dance club, at a pub, or in a shopping mall, are constantly accosted by packs of young males on the prowl who consider it their inalienable right to make crude, suggestive advances.
Being an asshole works. On a serious note, I normally don't go into that route unless I'm in 'competition' mode.

If barbarians suffer from a misdirected manliness, wimps suffer from a want of manly spirit altogether.
He nails it perfectly. It's MENTAL.

The traditional father was the sole breadwinner, the chief disciplinarian
I had to worry about mom(still do and I'm outta house).....she's Irish. That slap in the side of the head when I'm a smart-ass.(It didn't really hurt, but noone wants to see mom mad)

On a serious note, my dad was tough at times as well. We didn't always get along and were both stubborn as a mule during power struggles, and we fought(mentally) to win. I didn't understand a lot of what he did then at first, and even when I did, I still had to get to do things my way. I don't regret that, and I'm glad at times my dad was tough. It made ME stronger and gave me an edge. Best of all, all the problems we had were cleared up over a few beers.

Coaches know how to appeal to the thumotic element in boys in order to train them to win, and they actually work hard on the field. They appear far less energetic and in command, however, when they must teach a history class,

Hey! I'm a coach, and I like history.

Boys are not compelled, indeed not allowed, to fight anymore. They cannot fight on the playground. Nor can they fight for grades, for a girl, for God, or for country (though September 11 has altered this last).

I wrestled with that for awhile, then decided #@^# the rules. Sometimes breaking the rules is the right thing to do.

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I think Terrence Moore has this perfectly.