Boys are Stupid? by Richard L. Davis

[Brent]

Boys are Stupid?

January 6, 2004
by Richard L. Davis

Those who think that the Glenn Sacks campaign against the "Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them," T-shirt is sophomoric, are missing the point. It's not about the T-shirts! It is more complex than a "men's rights vs. women's rights issue." It's about our sons and daughters.

OK, OK, it is a bit sophomoric, given the fact that many men's rights groups are attempting to "out PC" women's rights groups. Everything they disagree with seems to offend them, but you are still missing the point.

The point is, "What is it that our public policy makers do not understand about the "angelic female/demonic male agenda of the National Organization of Women?" NOW publicly claims that it wants the world to be a better and more humane place for all of us. And, for reasons beyond me, our public policy makers believe them. What NOW really wants is a better world for women and they are not very subtle about it.

At least NOW has an agenda. Although their agenda is disguised, it is an agenda never-the-less. What is the agenda of our public policy makers who march lemming like behind NOW? Do they really think that women's rights are more important than men's rights? Are they thinking about anything other than getting reelected?

Why is it so many of our public policy align themselves with NOW. I don't see any public policy makers who alien themselves with men's rights groups? Have they bought into the NOW angelic women – demonic men rhetoric. If so, I think it is time to ask why?

Sacks also has a not so subtle agenda. He wants more equitable treatment from both the civil and criminal justice system concerning father's rights and domestic violence issues. In fact both the men's and women's rights groups claim the other group has more "rights" than they do.

Both the women's and men's rights groups claim they are seeking "justice" from the civil and criminal justice system. And with little thought and even less research our public policy makers have placed the issue of domestic violence in the hands of the criminal justice system without any agreement on just what "domestic violence" is.  

Sadly, the fact is that there is little to no justice in either of those systems for anyone, male or female. And sadder still, both the women's and men's rights groups do not seem to understand that fact. What each group really wants (look up Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs) is more rights than the other.

There is no greater oppressor than someone who thinks they are being oppressed. Those who view themselves as being oppressed, do not seem to understand that by attempting to oppress their oppressor, their are now as guilty as the party of the first part. Sadder still, most often these people do understand that, however, they just do not care. Hating someone simply because they hate you actually makes sense to far too many people, regardless of age or gender.

The fact is that our civil and criminal "justice" systems are not "justice" systems. They are a system of laws, not "justice." Under the law American women could not vote. Under the law African-Americas lived in a slave/neither world. Under the law American Jews lived in a shadow society. Under the law rich men in America paid a fee to avoid the deaths that poor young men faced in a war time draft. Whose version of "justice" is that?

NOW, in some twisted sense of "gender justice," thinks that to provide justice to our daughters we must demonize our sons. Is there is single person that has any doubt – any doubt what so ever - that if the T-shirt said, "Girls are stupid, throw rocks at them," that NOW would not be using its political muscle to stop the sale of the T-shirts? I DON'T THINK SO!

Isn't there a single member of NOW that has a son and if so, what the heck are they thinking? How is it that NOW is not willing to stand up for our/their sons? How is it possible there is not a single public policy maker somewhere in this nation that might ask themselves; "Why is NOW so willing to defend girls and remain silent when boys are defamed?" LIGHTS PLEASE!

The vast majority of us in America who actually love our daughters and sons equally, should question how and why it is possible for any member of NOW not to understand that in a humane world they would agree with Sacks. The silence of NOW is deafening. As my drill instructor told me more than once, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!  

At the risk of sounding Monty Pythonish, perhaps what we need is a group of radical moderates. Hummm, radical moderates. Now there's a thought. Not necessarily good or bad, but a thought never the less.

Richard L. Davis



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[font size=-2]Richard L. Davis served in the United States Marine Corps from 1960 to 1964. He is a retired lieutenant from the Brockton, Massachusetts police department. He has a graduate degree in criminal justice from Anna Maria College and another in liberal arts from Harvard University. He has a BA from Bridgewater State College in History and he minored in secondary education. He is a member of the International Honor Society of Historians and an instructor of Criminology, Group Violence and Terrorism, Criminal Justice and Domestic Violence at Quincy College in Plymouth, MA. He is a past president of the Community Center for Non-Violence in New Bedford, Massachusetts and the vice president for Family Nonviolence, Inc. //www.familynonviolence.com in Fairhaven, MA. He is an independent consultant for criminal justice agencies concerning policies, procedures, and programs concerning domestic violence. He is the author of Domestic Violence: Facts and Fallacies by Praeger publishers and has written numerous articles for newspapers, journals, and magazines concerning the issue of domestic violence.

He has columns concerning domestic violence at //www.policeone.com, and //www.nycop.com, is a distance learner instructor in Introduction to Criminal Justice and Domestic Violence for the Online Police Academy and has a website at //www.policewriter.com.  He and Kim Eyer have a domestic violence website The Cop and the Survivor at http://www.rhiannon3.net/cs/. He lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts with his wife and the two youngest of five children. He experienced domestic violence professionally for 21 years as a police officer and personally as a child and as an adult. In his retirement he continues to use his education, experience, and training to help the children, women, and men who have had to endure violence from those who profess to love them. He may be reached at [email protected]. [/font]