Jump to content

Manspreading


Recommended Posts

Cool, so you'd be down with massive government intervention into the junk food/fast food markets just like they did with smoking? high taxes, warning labels, age restrictions, etc etc?

It's what any small-government libertarian would want.

-k

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 172
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

To me the manspreading seems similar to other rude behavior by young adult men-- I'm thinking of "fart cannon" mufflers, or straight pipe exhaust, or "coal rolling", or window-rattling sound systems.

There's no rational reason for a Honda Civic with a 1.6 liter engine to sound like a Formula 1 race car when it's going down the street at 30km/h.

If I can hear your pickup from 2 blocks away, you're an asshole.

If your car stereo is annoying people from blocks away, you're an asshole.

If you've modified your truck so that you can blast black smoke at people, you're an asshole. This happened to me last year... somebody "coal rolled" me while I was biking home from work. There are lots of "coal rolling" videos on youtube.

It's possible that there are women who are doing this stuff as well, but in my observation it seems to be men in the vast majority of cases. I don't know what the explanation is. Maybe it's their only way to express their pent-up aggressive instincts, kind of like Fight Club for people who don't want to get in fights. Maybe it's some kind of lame attempt to show people that they're "alpha". But to me the "manspreading" seems to fit the pattern.

-k

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's possible that there are women who are doing this stuff as well, but in my observation it seems to be men in the vast majority of cases. I don't know what the explanation is.

Well according the academic feminism, gender is just a social construct and any observed differences between males and females is due to social conditioning. Perhaps this behaviour is due to social conditioning.

Seriously though, it does sound like social gender conditioning has a lot to do with this.

But to me the "manspreading" seems to fit the pattern.

Is the proportion of people that 'manspread' close at all to people that do the behaviour you listed above? I doubt it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cool, so you'd be down with massive government intervention into the junk food/fast food markets just like they did with smoking? high taxes, warning labels, age restrictions, etc etc?

I dunno about massive intervention in the markets but starting with a more concerted effort at education/advertising so that more people know the risks might not be bad. Campaigns in schools, classes for parents of children that show signs of becoming obese, etc. Even a tiny drop in obesity rates would save huge amounts of healthcare dollars, so any new programs like this could be funded as preventative healthcare.

I'm also not entirely sure that the problem is the availability of junk/fast foods. It's more an issue of lifestyle. I enjoy junk/fast foods on occasion and yet am skinny as a stick. Sugar taxes have been discussed on this forum before but I think that's a dumb idea... sugar is a key nutrient that people need to live. I think there's a lot that can be done, that's not being done yet, that still does not involve any draconian market intervention.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To me the manspreading seems similar to other rude behavior by young adult men-- I'm thinking of "fart cannon" mufflers, or straight pipe exhaust, or "coal rolling", or window-rattling sound systems.

There's no rational reason for a Honda Civic with a 1.6 liter engine to sound like a Formula 1 race car when it's going down the street at 30km/h.

If I can hear your pickup from 2 blocks away, you're an asshole.

If your car stereo is annoying people from blocks away, you're an asshole.

If you've modified your truck so that you can blast black smoke at people, you're an asshole. This happened to me last year... somebody "coal rolled" me while I was biking home from work. There are lots of "coal rolling" videos on youtube.

It's possible that there are women who are doing this stuff as well, but in my observation it seems to be men in the vast majority of cases. I don't know what the explanation is. Maybe it's their only way to express their pent-up aggressive instincts, kind of like Fight Club for people who don't want to get in fights. Maybe it's some kind of lame attempt to show people that they're "alpha". But to me the "manspreading" seems to fit the pattern.

-k

Is part of the reason why you and Westcoast consider this a joke issue of no consequence that you never have to ride on a bus or a subway train?

It's been pointed out by feminists and others in these debates about 'intersectionality' that I'd rather not have to open up, that different groups within a larger group (like women) have different concerns. So women of colour and immigrants have to deal with issues that the average white woman wouldn't have to. And upper and upper middle class women are largely free of many of the public safety issues that women of lower economic classes have to deal with....like riding public transit...especially after hours and coming home late at night.

It's a different world if you can just jump in your car and drive home! There, you don't have to consider an issue like "manspreading" or the safety risks that are more serious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is part of the reason why you and Westcoast consider this a joke issue of no consequence that you never have to ride on a bus or a subway train?

It's been pointed out by feminists and others in these debates about 'intersectionality' that I'd rather not have to open up, that different groups within a larger group (like women) have different concerns. So women of colour and immigrants have to deal with issues that the average white woman wouldn't have to. And upper and upper middle class women are largely free of many of the public safety issues that women of lower economic classes have to deal with....like riding public transit...especially after hours and coming home late at night.

It's a different world if you can just jump in your car and drive home! There, you don't have to consider an issue like "manspreading" or the safety risks that are more serious.

Manspreading doesn't just effect women though. It's just generic asshole behaviour. It's not a safety issue, it's a etiquette issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Manspreading doesn't just effect women though. It's just generic asshole behaviour. It's not a safety issue, it's a etiquette issue.

That's right! I think we already mentioned before that this is also an insult and an inconvenience for many elderly men and women to have to put up with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cool, so you'd be down with massive government intervention into the junk food/fast food markets just like they did with smoking? high taxes, warning labels, age restrictions, etc etc?

I would love that, and I consider myself to be a bit of a Libertarian. I just don't think companies should have the liberty to poison stupid people. Even if they are too stupid to read a label.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A good point, well made. I hate to see people profit from it though.

Of course, the world is a better place and all that. Now you have me all confused. I'm going back to Netflix.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is part of the reason why you and Westcoast consider this a joke issue of no consequence that you never have to ride on a bus or a subway train?

I consider the thread a joke. e^p*i started the thread to whine about "feminists" calling out men who spread their crotches on the bus. If this is the kind of injustice that men face in 2015, things can't be that bad.

As for the issue, I concede that since I don't ride public transit anymore (I used to ride it extensively, mind you) I'm not impacted by "manspreading". However, I'm impacted by other asshole behaviors. Particularly, turds driving around with "fart cannon" mufflers, or other kinds of excessively loud exhaust-- especially on motorcycles. I live a few blocks from a street where these douchebags often show off their crappy vehicles and rev the engines for no particular reason. And as I mentioned, I got "coal rolled" last year. Asshole behavior affects us all.

However I'm not sure that asshole behavior can be legislated away. I think that if somebody is taking up multiple seats on a crowded bus, either with their crotch or with their coat and purse and shopping bags, the thing to do is tell them that other people would like to sit down.

-k

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I consider the thread a joke. e^p*i started the thread to whine about "feminists" calling out men who spread their crotches on the bus. If this is the kind of injustice that men face in 2015, things can't be that bad.

As for the issue, I concede that since I don't ride public transit anymore (I used to ride it extensively, mind you) I'm not impacted by "manspreading".

I guess we can thank the internet for giving everyone...even the people with the most extreme and antisocial views...a home! How anyone can take guys taking more space for no good reason, as feminist persecution of men, is beyond me. But then I discovered this phenomena called "men's rights activism" a few years ago, which is the gender equivalent to the "white rights movement." Everyone can claim to be persecuted these days...even the billionaires like Tom Perkins http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10598265/Silicon-Valley-billionaire-compares-treatment-of-Americas-rich-to-Nazi-persecution-of-Jews.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I consider the thread a joke. e^p*i started the thread to whine about "feminists" calling out men who spread their crotches on the bus. If this is the kind of injustice that men face in 2015, things can't be that bad.

You could spin that around and say that if the biggest injustice feminists can come up with is men on buses having their legs not touching each other, then they have it pretty good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could spin that around and say that if the biggest injustice feminists can come up with is men on buses having their legs not touching each other, then they have it pretty good.

but "manspreading" clearly isn't... the biggest injustice "coming up", is it? Please try again; try harder!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Real men don't take public transit.

'Manspreading' is a feminist/ metrosexual term anyway. The correct phrase for a bro needing some spatial relief for Big Jim and The Twins is 'The Bull Triangle'.

Makes sense, as long as you mean Big Jim is a guy with a big gut that hangs over his junk!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only thing I can reply with is

Did you notice back in the day, that "Big Balls" was the only song that AC/DC turned down the volume a bit so everyone could hear the lyrics!

After all the protest songs and utopian themes of the 60's, by mid-70's it was plainly obvious that rock music in total, had joined the corporate machine and wasn't interested in anything besides having a good time and making more money. And then along came the fake pr-friendly activism of the 80's (U2, Sting&The Police)....the end.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...