Masculinity or, How to Conceal One's Emotions.

So its been a long while since my last blog post; sorry about that.  I thought I would re-enter the blog universe with a trending topic.

In this post I will not only cover the most recent events of mass-murder that is the Santa Barbara shooting, but I am also covering the idea of masculinity and male-based roles in society.

As you may have heard, there was a major shooting near the Santa Barbara area leaving seven people dead, including the shooter, as well as six others injured.  His intentions were revealed through a video posted on YouTube later that day.  In the video, he states that he was still a virgin at the age of 22, which is the main cause of the shooting, and also mentions that he was "perfect" compared to the men girls reject him for.

I can sympathize with the fact that he felt lonely after 22 years of hormonal desires, and that he was rejected constantly by girls.  Being gay, I feel it just as hard to sit back and watch as everyone around you is able to sexually relieve themselves.  However, I won't be the one rampaging through to innocent people's lives due to the fact that I cannot find someone.

Now you must understand that I am a strong believer in social equality.  The main focus is not to mock the dead or undermine those who are depressed, lonely or straight-up sad.  I simply want to state my opinion and my understanding upon this topic.

So what is masculinity?  Most people will say that it is simply a male-quality, and in a way they are kind of correct, as the majority of men do offer it to various extents.  However, it is the idea that we must conceal any emotions.  Modern society has altered and socialized the idea that masculinity is of male qualities.  Webster's dictionary defines it as "of, relating to, or suited to men or boys."

The truth is, that many times men are understood to hold off any emotions, which leads them to violent thoughts, and in extreme cases, violent actions.  The mass shooting was an extreme example of masculine violence; however, there are smaller actions men use on women to assert dominance.  Verbal abuse is another form of violence.  When someone refers to another person as an object, something easily disposable or flat-out "a piece of meat", they are creating a form of verbal violence and automatically objectifying them.  Now I am not saying that women are not guilty of this as well, but I am stating that is more common for men to objectify women.

I hope this post enlightens readers, and if anything, to make them think before they say any objectifying remarks to the receiving party.  I'm going to leave you with a link to a video, which breaks down the ideas behind Elliot Rodger's, the shooter, intentions.  A lot of my ideas come from this video, as you will see.

Until next time!

ELLIOT RODGER: MORE THAN A MADMAN

Gods Among Us

There are two types of people in this world: the worshipped and the worshippers.  Within those who are worshipped, more than half are of athletic ability.  I mean can you blame us, they are popular, good looking, coordinated, fit, the list goes on.  And then there are people like me, lanky, skinny and bookish.  Why am I choosing to write about this? Well I recently found out that the Steubenville Rape Case rapists were recently released from the juvenile detention facilities.  Among research, I found out that Steubenville is most cherished for their wide-spread, popular football team, the Big Red. 
The case was pretty simple, a victim too wasted to consciously make her own decisions, and a group of animals taking advantage of the situation.  Because of the explicitness of the case, I will spare you the details.  I will tell you that there were multiple men, four I believe, that were involved with the events on the night of the incident.  Of these four, only two were prosecuted and indicted.  Many, including me, believe that it was due to the powers of school administration and pride of the town which let the others involved let off.
For me, high school was very similar.  Among our class, the jocks ruled the school with a charming smile and girls around their wastes.  And this topic always bothered me, for it was always athletics who had special perks.  These perks included leaving class early for games, being recognized in front of the entire school for achievements and special banquets held for champions.  However, I took the more artistic side to academic glory.  In high school, I was always know, if known at all, for my drawings and artistic ability.  Unfortunately, I fell short of any glory.  And with the awards I did receive, it never amounted to the pedestal the athletes were placed on.  Don't get me wrong, I am not writing this out of spite or jealousy.  Actually, I ran and swam in high school, which pretty much gave me my 15 minutes of fame in high school by winning the class biathlon during sophomore year, but it always bothered me that I won popularity through athletics rather than something more cultured.
I am pretty sure that if these football players were science club members, they would have received a much harsher and just punishment.  But I suppose it is not only due to the acts of wanting a good football season.  Through other research, I learned that the town is struggling, with only 1800 people.  This football team is probably a key source of income to the town.  Which places another question, why is the football team the largest income to the town?  This is due to the country's highly placed need in sports.
The point I am trying to make is that society puts more effort in our athletic programs instead of education and art.  This issue is what is causing our education levels and test scores to drop amongst world populations.  Rather than watching how gravity affects a falling object, we are watching how a ball is thrown across a field.  We must focus on the appeals to arts and science, as that will allow us to branch into the future.  And among all, stop giving power to those with physical abilities.  We must learn that intellectual abilities are just as important.

In the Beginning

Hello world!  This is going to be my blog about my life.  I don't expect this blog to get much views, not at all for that matter, but I find it a good place to let out and say what I want to say, when I want to say it.  I am not going to lie, there will be swearing and there will be dramas.  But it will be fun, promise.  Also, if you have any questions that you might want to be answered, or an idea that you think I should write about, leave them in the comments below and I will see what I can do.  We are all here to make the world a better place, right?  Alright, that is all I have to say.  Peace and love my fellow Badgers!