"IGU" (International Gentlemen Unite!)/Discussion

Friends:

In these trying, turbulent times, rife with racism, bigotry, hatred, and intolerance, I truly believe it is time for men (especially American citizens) of different ethnic/racial backgrounds to UNITE.....to join together in the spirit of BROTHERHOOD and discuss different topics in a MATURE and GENTLEMANLY manner, with EQUAL RESPECT SHOWN TO ALL!

What does it matter if some of us are Caucasian?

Black?

Asian?

Oriental?

Middle Eastern?

Native American?

Why can't we FINALLY put our differences aside and DISCUSS different topics (as well as to celebrate our rich and diverse backgrounds) and see the world as it is, not only through our OWN eyes, but the EYES of OTHERS?

Think of how much we could learn from one another, as we unite as BROTHERS and CELEBRATE our origins, as well as to celevrate those of other men, REGARDLESS of religion, race, or creed?

Fellows, let's "unite" and give it a try!

Brotherhood and solidarity forever, my friends!

 

Yeah, been there done that in the 60s, early 70s. That's how it was for at least a decade, until the racists made inroads and Fox News turned right wing lunatic.

 

As virtually all discussion shows on television nowadays are nearly entirely all female, I truly believe that having an all-male, multi-racial discussion show is, in all honesty, long, long overdue.

It would indeed be quite refreshing, to say the least, so watch a discussion show where men of varied ethic/racial backgrounds could all be together in the true spirit of BROTHERHOOD, and discuss any of a number of issues, in a SANE, MATURE, RESPECTFUL manner.

No name-calling, no baiting, no disrespect whatsoever.

And, if we CAN'T AGREE on a given topic, we can, at the very least, AGREE to DISAGREE.....with RESPECT for one another's opinions, with NO animosity displayed.

Life is FAR TOO SHORT, my friends, and it would be SHEER WASTE to shameless squander our lives on hatred and intolerance, instead of celebrating friendship, tolerance, and the TRUE meaning of BROTHERHOOD.

Religion, race, sexual orientation, political leanings.......why not, instead, focus on what we all have IN COMMON, instead of putting our differences (often superficial) into the spotlight.....as I just said, life is FAR too short, to waste it on distrust, dislike, and disrespect......

 

Chances are that you're preaching to the choir, reverend. And while I'm at it, what is the true meaning of brotherhood?

 

My personal definition of "brotherhood" is simply treating another fellow as YOU wish to be treated; as long as he is treating YOU with respect and dignity, you simply do the same for him.

Be a SINCERE friend (NOT a "fair weather" friend), be a GOOD listener, and LEARN from the other guy, as he will certainly learn from you.

IMHO, I think far too many are racists/bigots is that they actually have MORE in COMMON with "the outsider" than they realize, and that scares the crap out of them.

I'd sure as hell rather have FRIENDS of many races and religions than ENEMIES of many races and religions........that's just me talking, here.............

 

That's rather idealistic, isn't it? My protege often speaks of this and asks a lot of questions I feel are rhetorical since he should know the answer to why we can't get along with each other all that much. I do like his solution to this "problem:" We should suck each other off and do it often so we can really do some serious male bonding. Humans have always been more about riffing over that which makes us different than reveling in that which makes us the same; The Golden Rule is some really idealistic stuff - do unto others and all that which is fine until someone gets it into his head to do unto you before you can do unto them; all it takes is for one disagreement to squash any sense of brotherhood but, sure, I'm willing to see where this goes...

 

KD23:

"Brotherhood".............

Think today of the families that have, literally, been torn apart in recent months, due to the current political situation in our nation?

I've heard of family members literally disowning their siblings, parents, etc, due to all this out-of-control shit that has now infilterated every aspect of our lives, thanks to MAGA?

I REFUSE to talk about politics with ANY family member (for obvious reasons), accept one cousin and a niece.

I simply go nowhere near the subject, and know I am the better for it.

I CAN, however, REALLY "open up" (regarding politics) to a retired (phone) buddy of mine, whose political leanings are exactly like ours....talking with him, I KNOW that I am NOT in "enemy territory".

Am I an idealist?

Yes, it would indeed seem that I an, however, I found my open-minded views and ideals greatly shaken over the years; yes, these days, I DO tend to be far more jaded than I once was, HOWEVER, in the deepest part of my sould, I still yearn for what I KNOW, realistically, can NEVER be........TRUE brotherhood in today's insane, screwed-up, society.

I often wonder what Dr. King would think of all this toxic "MAGA" fallout, if he were still with us?

Truly tragic that he was gone for so many years, when Obama was elected as our Commander-in-Chief........what he would have felt!

 

Further.......

Since my long-gone grade-school days, I have always greatly enjoyed of reading about great heroes (and folk heroes) from our country, as well as others.

Even then, race or color meant nothing to me; it was the CHARACTER and the COURAGE of many of these great men, who lived so long ago, that mattered to me.......some people just seem to be so obscessed with a person's color or race that it becomes all-consuming, a truly dangerous situation, for ALL involved............

 

Thinking back.......

Going to a Catholic school during the 1960s, our nuns and teachers were quite enthusiastic on teaching us not only about the then-current civil rights movements, but also, the Catholic missions in Africa, as well as other diverse locations throughout the world.

Here, I found myself not only wanting to lean more about what was going on here at home, but also, learning about the different parts of the world where Catholic missions were then located.

The iconic 1966 movie "Born Free", and the fascinating books by Joy and George Adamson, not only greatly interested in African wildlife, but also, to learn more about its peoples, cultures, and rugged landscapes (and, of course, it's railways!)

I immersed myself in reading about ancient cultures throughout the world, each book taking me on another great adventure!

Despite the many colors, races, and creeds of so many different people worldwide, I found myself thinking of these diverse men as friends, and, yes, BROTHERS.

We kids were also then greatly inspired by all the now-iconic folk singers and folk songs songs that were then very popular; I still recall clearly a line from one song:

"......there is only one people.....we are one in the same......."

Cannot, for the life of me, recall the song title (or even who sang it!), however that one line influences me STILL to this very day, and I feel I am a better man because of it........

 

Another "pro-brotherhood") folk song we kids learned (for the guitar masses then in vogue), listening to a record and reading the lyrics off a mimeographed sheet, was the fast-paced (intro sounded a LOT like Flatt& Scruggs "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" from 1967's "Bonnie & Clyde"!) was "To Be Alive"........this is what I still remember:

To be alive!

And feelin' free!

And to have everyone in our fam-il-y!

To be alive!

And feelin' free!

Oh, how great it is!

To be alive!

I STILL get "good vibes" when I recall this fast-paced, uplifting song, some 57-odd years later!

 

The political situation here; the global political situation because of what's going on here; how it all works for or against you own personal views and values and your "perfect world" things while knowing that not only do we not live in a perfect world, but we will also never live in one and, man, that's a bummer. So, you craft your personal environment and beginning with surrounding yourself with people who... meld with you from your own "yes people" to those few people allowed to argue with you when you say the sun has risen and they insist that it hasn't - then y'all go out to dinner and continue the fussing over whether or not broiled steak tastes better than grilled steak.

I've sat back and have watched the world around me and particularly how it conflicts with who (and what) I am as a person. I have the values my parents and grandparents taught me as well as a lot of history; I have the values I had to create in order to fit into the social framework, well, as much as I had to since, as you know, there's something about me that doesn't exactly fit into that framework. My parents raised me to be colorblind; my grandparents insisted that in my social interactions, I have to stay with my own kind and do not trust white people - and a thought that, at the time, was rather warranted but it didn't make sense to me because I understood that there were good and bad people and the color of their skin didn't mean anything when it came to this and, honestly, their somewhat racist mindset bothered me but I understood that when they were growing up, they were much closer to the horrors of slavery than I would ever be.

Then, I learn that there are three things that should never, ever be discussed in public: Sex, religion, and politics. For a bit of time, I didn't know why you shouldn't talk about these things but I "hung around" enough adults to learn quickly why you didn't talk about these thing (and especially if they'd been drinking) and little did they know but they were helping me form and revise the values given unto me to reflect the level of realism that, I have to say, my bisexuality reveal to me. Learning that you can, in fact, talk about those three things without a fight starting and, yep, we can agree to disagree because we live in a country where everyone is entitled to their opinion and freedom of speech is the law of the land.

Like you, I read about the great men and women of the past and those emerging in the present; I learned some stuff about the world that, even today, I'm not really happy about but "different stroke for different folks" is some real-world shit that I had to incorporate into my expanding worldview until it became clear - or clearer - that I needed to get my nose onto the grindstone and not let religious and political bullshit keep me from doing the things I had to do - and when they got in the way, find a way around them because the alternatives can be quite unpleasant.

The world would be a better place if we could learn to get along better than we do now; we've improved a little but it's not enough, not when political strife continues to fuck shit up; not when religious dogma continues to control the way things are supposed to be and coloring everyone's perceptions in an unrealistic way. We are, indeed, one people, one species but one that, from the early days of our existence, has been controlled by the fear of the other or if you're not like us, you're against us and, well, look at the opening scenes of "2001: A Space Odyssey" to see what I'm talking about. I have better things to do, better thing to think and worry about.

 

EXCELLENT, thorough, open, honest, "no bullshit" response; THANK YOU for taking the time (yet again) to share so many of your views, honest opinions, and many life experiences here with us......QUITE educational, too, I might add!

 

Do you wanna know when you can really appreciate being alive? It's when you die and they bring you back and if that doesn't give you a great deal of clarity about life, I don't know what will. I've listened to a lot of kumbaya music over the decades and they're right when they say that the world would be a better place if (add all of the things the song says will make it better here); so many songs with very powerful messages that one can take to heart and to even live by... in a world that doesn't much give a fuck about pie-in-the-sky stuff because the world has always given dreamers a rude awakening and concepts of utopia are more myth than realistic since, you know, we can't get along with each other all that much.

I can't point to just one song as being so inspirational - there are quite a few of them. Stuff to make you feel good so you can go out into the world and do what you gotta do and, hopefully, without the world kicking you in the crotch.

 

KD23:

"Kumbaya"?

Man, I TOTALLY forgot to inclde a mention of this one.....oh, man, how did I slip up on this one?

In fact, many, many years ago (when I still attended Mass) when we sang "Kumbaya", I always imagined I was George Adamson on a safari, attending a Sunday service in a small African town (yeah, I know, my imagination NEVER lacked for original material!)

Being so greatly in love with wildlife and the lives of "unconventional" men) George Adamson, to this day, is one of my greatest heroes.

He loved his life of working with lions and, living far from civilization in his later years.

How ironic, that this man worked with lions (and other wild animals) for most of his life, only to be brutally murdered by HUMANS.

In fact, during an interview many years ago, he was quoted as saying (this was in the late 1980s, not long before his brutal murder):

"......man is the most destructive of all animals on this planet......look at how he is destroying our world.........."

( I shudder to think what Mr. Adamson would think if he saw the sorry state of the world today).

So interesting......and how very ironic.......that for all of the powerful and memorable folk songs (and other "love-thy-brother" songs we all knew so well) of the 1960s, and all the talk of "peace" and "brotherhood", that, today, we now here of brutalities in our everyday news that would have made front-page news back then, but now are often "filler" , back on page 10.

How did all of that "quest for brotherhood and love" suddenly evaporate like an early-morning mist?

Well. I can start with the senseless gunning down of JFK, MLK, and RFK.........the cowardly shitheads were popping off our "good guys", our heroes, our champions one by one, and today, well, need I say more?

All we can do today, as individuals, is to try to keep the legacies of these men alive......we'll never see the likes of any of them again, but how much we DID gain by their forward-thinking and courage.......and be BETTER men because of their legacies!

 

I've read quite a few sci-fi books that says humans are a virus, which I thought was an interesting way to look at human behavior.

 

KD23:

Odd that you mentioned this......

Recall in the 1968 sci-fi blockbuster, "Planet Of The Apes", Cornelius (my favorite character!; recall, he was an archeologist and also, a historian!) reading from the "Sacred Scrolls" to Taylor.....

".....beware the beast Man, for he is the devil's spawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport, or lust, or greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to posess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home.....and yours. Shun him, for he is the harbinger of death......."

Truly frightening, when you think of how far we've sunk as a society, since the film premiered in 1968.

How ironic, too; in 1968, both MLK and RFK were gunned down within a few months of each other, and violent riots were rocking a number of US cities............

 

Just was thinking.......

It would seem that it takes the SAME amount of EFFORT to reach out to someone as a BROTHER as it does to degrade another with BIGOTRY......so, hell, why do so many totally ignore this simple fact, and just FINALLY allow their minds......and their hearts......to OPEN?

I will always maintain that "the sins of the parents", as well as "peer pressure" have a great deal to do with this.

I thank the Lord every day that my mother raised me to be color blind..........

 

"Brotherhood"........

Amazing.......and sad..........that the true meaning of this simple (yet profound) word is indeed so totally elusive to far too many, today in 2025...........