What would you do?

A "machismo" even in my life? Well theres 2:

My mother was in the hospital dying of cancer. Everyone left the room, I stayed and she died in front of my eyes and I did not cry. I went to her funeral and held her hand, even said goodbye...again I did not cry.

I was told my father was dying of terminal cancer and I drove 12 hours with my step-brother to his bedside. The doctor asked me if I wanted to touch his hand, I declined. 4 hours later everyone left the room for lunch. It was 11:30, I stayed. I looked at him (he was in a coma) and said "I know what you're waiting for" I grabbed his hand and he let out his last breath in front of me. He died at 11:34 am on August 19th. 7 years and one day after my mother. I was holding his hand. I did not cry. I went to his funeral and burial (he was cremated) and again I did not cry. I would assume I'm a person with very strong emotional coping skills to go through this.

 

but did you want to?
I really don't think you can assume much about females until you actualy are one.

 

I think that this whole argument is a little ridiculous. As far as women breaking down while shots are being fired; you CANNOT guarantee that every woman will do that. There will be some men and women who will freak out when there are bullets coming at them from every direction. There will be both men and women who will continue to fight. My brother can vouch for this because he fought in Iraq (I wish he never had to do that). But until you see every woman in combat, you can guarantee nothing.
As far as crying goes, I have cried maybe 3 times this past year. And only one time that I can remember were tears actually falling from my eyes. The other times my eyes just became watery and I wanted to cry. I don't view this as an emotional strength though. I see it as a weakness because all of that frustration is building up inside of me and I need some way to release it. People just have different ways of coping. But I don't think you can say one group of people are emotionally stronger than another. Emotional strength is viewed differently, and people are individuals. I could say that men get angry more easily and therefore are emotionally weak. But I have no way of knowing how every man acts. And I also know many women who became angry. It's just pointless

 

Very wise, tfou!

 

Which is it?

Jimaan one page ago



“I'm not saying that babies are being manipulative,”



jimaan a few pages ago



“certain people use crying as a deliberate means of manipulating other people; children do this constantly”

Not that it matters....

 

(italics mine)

You GUARANTEE? Tell that to all the womyn who have been in combat. How can you "guarantee" a womyn would break down and reuse to go through with the order? You can't.

Men are more "equipped" to handle a larger load of emotions. Your ideas are a large LOAD......of something else.

 

Thanks for clarifying my point. If you've ever observed children, you'll notice how often they start crying if they want something, the parent says "no" and the child stops crying on a dime, or, they start shrieking louder and harder in an effort to get what they want.

But when I say "certain people," you know I just don't mean children.

 

An instinctual response during a brief moment of chaos is not an accurate assessment of what a person is capable of doing under a protracted combat situation. Your analogy is therefore redundant.

As for your comment on Iraq: are you serious? First of all, many of the men who are there are not so keen on the war, either; so your allusion to the fact that women have more of a conscience is pure bull.

 

I have to agree with you. In the past women have proven themselves effective in combat situations, namely for the Soviet Union during the Second World War. We tend to adhere to these false myths of woman's innocence and inability to hurt or kill, but under the right conditions, women can be trained to be effective killers.

That said, I still think that men are better suited for being combat soldiers, which I find to be quite unfortunate.

 

I think you're just trying to be argumentative with this reply. You say you disagree with Brown and with this reply you defend his remarks. The Russian hero story is not an analogy to anything, and not redundant to anything, both of which are ridiculous IMO to say. It is a hero story with a female as the hero. Period. You denegrate the memory of that three-day horror story (not a brief event) by your response. You shouldn't dare tell this hero she can't be an effective combat soldier. I'm not kidding with my Iraq comment, although I didn't mean to imply with my Caps button that women have more conscience than men, just emphasizing the point.

We want to change the role women can play in the future, not perpetuate the myths of the past. If you want to perpetuate myths, just know you won't find anyone receptive in the Women's Issues forum on Hipforums. We're too progressive and smart for that.

Anyway, we've gone off topic here.
What would I do? I agree with one of the posters who says talk to your bf and tell him you don't want a bf who would bait you under the guise of somebody else's comments. Tell him you want to know how he feels about the comments and about the issue. It's an important issue and could affect your relationship now that he might be in combat.

 

it sounds like he was just joking but if he wasnt then what a disgusting comment to make and an iggnorant attitude. in isreal everyone, men and women, are required to serve 2 yrs in the military before they can go to college i believe. i think it is a really good rule that promotes patriotism and discipline and respect for everyone.

 

Killing innocent people is patriotic and respectful? *scratches head* Sorry, I don't agree with that one at all. I'd be damned if someone told me I had to serve in the military in order to further my education.

As far as what I'd do with the orginal topic at hand? Well, let the guy believe what he wants to. We women know better than that.

If your boyfriend really has the attitude that men are soooo much stronger than women, I'd consider showing him the door, because he needs to show more respect for you. It shouldn't be a competition. As women, we don't feel the need to have a pissing contest in order to show how "strong" we are.