May 18, 2012

"Our whole society is based on... making women nod."



Video found after a search for "making women nod" — which I knew was a longstanding Bill Maher theme — which I got the idea to do after writing about Barack Obama saying 51 times in "Dreams From My Father" that people "nodded". It was probably a meaningless writerly tic from a neophyte writer, but perhaps it's significant. Whatever you think of Maher, listen to the montage about  the emasculation of men as manifested in the behavior of making women nod. Then think about the agenda of the Democratic Party, their asserted pacifist position in the so-called War on Women, their mascot "Julia," and things of that sort.

62 comments:

MadisonMan said...

Sad, but true.

Althouse, you've had a very productive day of blogging (Are you nodding?)

ndspinelli said...

The War Against Boys by Christina Hoff Sommers is a must read for any parent w/ a boy who is in grade school. I wish I had read it when my son was in school. When I taught school I did a lot of substituting. In high school there's a decent mix of men/women teachers. Middle School a few men but not enough. Grade school, virtually no men. Just normal boy boys, who would hopefully grow up to be a man's man, are under assault. The stats show feminism has helped girls do better and more now go to college. Sadly, over the corpses of boys. It's a travesty. We see the results of male dominated organizations[Secret Service, Catholic Church] and it's ugly. I submit US public schools are no less ugly. We need balance in all aspects of life.

ndspinelli said...

Oh, and I detest the smug Maher, but he's correct on this issue. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

MadisonMan, I agree, a very good post. Maybe she's taking testosterone therapy.

Henry said...

It's the Republic of Nice. Florence King beat him to it.

chickelit said...

@Nick:

In German, verb "to nod" is nicken.

Amartel said...

Hey everybody, did he make you nod?

What a whiny little bitch, this guy.

DADvocate said...

Wow. That's enough to make me like Maher, almost. He's dead on. Reminds me why I have virtually no interest in remarrying.

And, of course, you get snotty responses like Amartel's which show how we got to this place. How dare a male complain!!

Salamandyr said...

While there's an element of truth to some of what he's saying, it is, as usual, perverted by his own biases. We men call our wives on the phone to talk about trivial things, because we like them.

ndspinelli said...

chicelit, You are always a wealth of knowledge.

Salamandyr, Please qualify "we men". My bride and I love each other very much. However, being an uber introvert I HATE the phone. And, my bride understand I won't call to chat. Just like I understand she doesn't like other things I may like. The understanding didn't come quickly, it took time.

D.D. Driver said...

Best part of the video.

Michael Moore: "This is why men are having heart attacks...."

Female guest I don't recognize: "Yeah. That's why!"

Scott said...

The old-timers in Alcoholics Anonymous sometimes call newly sober alcoholics "pigeons" because they bob their heads in agreement with whatever the old-timers say.

Wince said...

Maher used to pose as a libertarian.

Breitbart called him out on it.

Salamandyr said...

Ndspinelli,

Granted, not everyone calls their wife to say "I'll be home in five minutes" or "Yeah, we're just taxining on the runway now" (the example used by Maher). But those of us who do aren't doing it for the reasons stated by him, namely that we're "pussies" or "whipped". We're doing it because, dammit, we like our wives and wanna share things with them, or maybe we're just counting the minutes until we can be with them again.

Maher speaks like someone who has never been in love so he he supposes the emotion doesn't actually exist.

edutcher said...

If you're a metrosexual wuss, it may be true.

If you have to step up to the plate and get it done, it's not and most men still have to get it done.

Invictus said...

I generally despise Maher and disagree with him on most issues, but he's dead on with this one. Not only was it funny at times but it definitely has been my experience and rings so true.

Because of the the last 40 years of feminization of our society, emasculation of men/boys, and punitive anti-male divorce laws, to paraphrase DADvocate, I have no desire to remarry.

John Althouse Cohen said...

Maher has used the image of nodding (and clapping) when describing how political ads operate on the electorate in general. It's not just about women.

Anonymous said...

Salamander,
A husband calling his wife to chat or update her because he likes her Is a wonderful thing to hear a man say. And Spinelli, your wife understanding your phone issues is equally heartwarming. A good marriage is with the couple really LIKING each other is what makes it all worthwhile, besides child rearing.

X said...

Bill Maher's whole career is based on making women nod. don't know why he's bitching.

ricpic said...

Women are such bitches precisely because of the men who turn summersaults to make them nod. Stick to your guns, men. Women will be so grateful.

MadisonMan said...

your wife understanding your phone issues is equally heartwarming.

My wife lets the phone ring and ignores it. I will answer the phone whenever it rings (and I do mean whenever, although I've gotten better). We are two very different phone people.

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

"a meaningless writerly tic from a neophyte writer"

You're kidding, right?

You don't actually think Obama wrote 'Dreams . . . " do you??? Come on, Ann. You DO want to be taken seriously, don't you?

Amartel said...

DADvocate, he's not a male, he's whiny little progressive who puts everyone off marriage. Were you liking his devilishly dead-on contempt for women when he was trashing Palin and Bachmann? Maybe look at this in terms of whiny little progressives v. the rest of us instead of female v. male. Works for me.

Anonymous said...

Maher IS a whiny little progressive, but he is also right on the "women are more evolved in all matters, at all times" topic.
Anyone who knows more than 12 people is aware that there are sensitive men and loutish women out there.

rhhardin said...

My boss's instructions, after this or that complaint by somebody to the authorities, "Well, don't talk to women."

samanthasmom said...

So what? Be grateful your mother didn't abort you. Because she could have, and there were probably some days when she wished she had.

Dante said...

When I grew up, the women used to hang out together during the day, raise the kids, gossip, and all that business. Now if they are stay at home, they are pretty well isolated. The reason women are pestering men with their hormonal probles is that they don't have the social support system anymore.

Carol said...

I finally got to watch it - LOL! He's right. But it is really a rather pathetic situation, that men would do anything. Is it to get laid like the other guy said? that's even worse. I thought you all could handle that yourselves as necessary. It's got to be more about money..jobs, position etc.

Something is terribly wrong. But then feminist in me says this is just MORE condescension!

Patrick said...

I don't carry a cell phone.

When my wife attempts to control me (24/7/365), I tell her to fsck off.

We have shout out loud arguments about every two weeks. We're still together after about 10 years. That said, I am about ready to eat a bullet.

Patrick said...

Oh, and by the way, prostitutes are easier than wives: you pay them to go away, and they do.

Stuart Dean said...

I think Bill Burr has taken this sort of critique to a higher level. Check him out if you are not familiar with his work.

Kirk Parker said...

"The War Against Boys by Christina Hoff Sommers is a must read for any parent w/ a boy who is in grade school. "

I nod in agreement.

The Sanity Inspector said...

I liked what Fred Reed once said: "In a world without men, civilization would last until the oil needed changing."

rhhardin said...

Armstrong and Getty interviewed old friend and personal financial advisor host Clark Howard a while ago.

Their first question: So, is it cheaper to get married or just get a prostitute.

Molly said...

I have seen this exact same post by "Patrick" before (here? most likely, but maybe somewhere else) and I think with the same immediate follow up post.

That doesn't mean it's wrong. But it's weird (to me).

And I like Salamanyr's post. But as in many cases, a person (Maher) can make a point that is correct in the aggregate, without that point being correct in every single case.

Patrick said...

Dear Molly:

Not from me. Those were originals, and individuals.

All the best,


Patrick
--

Patrick said...

Dear Sanity Inspector,

I miss Alan Coren.

All the best,


Patrick
--

Patrick said...

Dear Molly,

You're awfully anonymous, especially given your public accusations. I, by comparison, am hanging it all out, even for your anonymous (and unsubstantiated accusations).

Just sayin', bitch.

All the best,



Patrick
--

SteveOrr said...

This reminds me of Norm MacDonald. He said he didn’t like telling jokes that made people applaud or cheer. He said if they were cheering, they weren’t laughing.

A laugh is more involuntary & probably a more sincere way of agreeing with something. That’s why humor is such a potent political weapon.

The best part of Maher’s rant is early in the video. He draws a laugh from a single audience member. Maher points him out & says “There’s a guy who knows what I’m saying”.

Pay attention, Amartel. He was laughing, not nodding or cheering.

The Crack Emcee said...

Fear of a Crack planet:

I'm a guy who pretty much tells it like it is, without regard to how any gender (or political party member) may "feel" about hearing the truth, and I've been repeatedly dissed for the name of my blog, repeatedly called a misogynist, repeatedly attacked as crazy and/or bigoted, and faced multiple attempts (by men and women alike) to make me ashamed of being who and what I am:

A strong charismatic male in a NewAge world.

I'm told I should be humble, show humility, accept what others know is really my fear (Hi, Meade!) and look for a good woman who'll fix me right up, because - obviously - being a strong charismatic male in this beat-men-down-and-demoraliuze-them-if-they-don't-meet-our-master's-standards environment is a pathology that can only be solved by having a woman around to "help."

Yeah, help ignore, or deny, or even destroy reality, all so she and her girl/gay/metrosexual friends can feel better about themselves in my presence.

Sorry kids, but your identity issues are your problem, and any attempt to make them mine will be met by this stern warning delivered like a foot in your ass:

This Is A Man's World.

The Crack Emcee said...

After saying feminine values are now the values of America, Maher continues by saying, "Sensitivity is more important than truth, feeling are more important than facts,..."

And you guys wonder what's wrong with this country? Look there. And you think a guy like Mitt - with his hidden love for the con man's "religion" - is going to save you now? Do any of you really understand this issue, as outlined here, or don't you?

The only group Maher gives credit to are "steely-eyed realists," and that ain't Mitt Romney.

"Steely-eyed realists" don't join or stay in cults - he, and women, do,...

Eric said...

Maher used to pose as a libertarian.

There was a time in the '90s when it became unfashionable by people on the left to call themselves "liberal", because they felt the term had been demonized by the right. That's why you see so many people calling themselves "progressives".

Mahar drifted to "libertarian" because they were socially liberal and would let him do drugs. But he ignored the whole minimal-government economic side, which most libertarians consider an integral part of liberty.

Personally I wish leftists would stop describing themselves as "liberals". They're not liberals as the word is traditionally defined or as it is still defined in other English speaking countries.

Eric said...

My boss's instructions, after this or that complaint by somebody to the authorities, "Well, don't talk to women."

Welcome to the law of unintended consequences. All those years of diversity training have drilled one thing into men (especially white men): While at work don't associate with women any more than you have to.

I'm sure being viewed as a legal liability is a big career booster.

Bob Ellison said...

Just more identity politics from a master of the form.

SukieTawdry said...

The male of the species is smarter than the female. His brain is bigger. His left brain is more developed. There's a reason there's no female Shakespeare or Einstein or Beethoven or da Vinci. Feminists tell us it's because women through the ages have been oppressed and denied education and opportunity, but that's just avoidance of the realities. Men are brainier and more prone to genius.

That's okay, though. We females are plenty smart enough and we have other, shall we say, advantages.

horsemann said...

all men, go here and learn the crimson arts heartiste.wordpress.com

William said...

If Maher would just pay the agreed price and maybe tip a little extra, most of his problems with women would be over.......Men have historically mistreated women, but one must admit that if women had been treated fairly prior to relatively recent times, the human race would have died out.

el polacko said...

misandry is rampant in our culture. watching five minutes of tv advertising will tell you all you need to know about that: men are useless, dumbass, overgrown children who must constantly be looked after by a superior-in-all-ways woman.
meanwhile, there are many guys who have given in to societal expectations and are too willing to accept the role of the hapless dope.
a co-worker of mine once explained his plan to me, now that he had a good job and a house, to 'get' a wife. he didn't happen to meet someone special who changed his life nor had he made a good friend with whom he fell in love so they decided to live together or anything like that. he just put it out there to his friends and family that he was 'ready' and they fell all over themselves to hook him up and chain him down. they pretty much lined them up and he picked one. now he makes all the moves that maher refers to in this clip. maybe he's happy...i dunno...but he appears to be more defeated than joyous and i see a lot of other guys just like him. they aren't so much in a relationship as they just 'have' a wife to point to for acceptance by the group. he can joke with the other guys who are in his same situation about how 'the wife' is driving them insane...but it's no joke.

Segesta said...

Maher makes insightful and hilarious points, but the irony is that the conservative women that he hates so passionately are probably the ones that would play the fewest games, and "let the man be a man."

So there's a deeper pathology going on here, and it's with the deeply unlikeable, physically repulsive Mr. Maher.

David R. Graham said...

Created miasma. No man is a pussy and no lady is a bitch. Maher is an actor.

minimus said...

Listen to James and Luciano.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ksq-niTGII&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Mike H. said...

Minimus, a keeper.

lowercase said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
viator said...

Leave it to Maher to bemoan the fact that American society doesn't have enough narcissistic individualism. But you could compare and contrast ethnic groups for some insight. Many black American males resemble the mustangs he so admires. On the other hand Asian Americans have the lowest divorce rates and rate of single parenting in the US. They must be a good example of the pussy whipped men he is talking about. How is that working out for these respective groups of people and their children?

Anonymous said...

DADvocate: And, of course, you get snotty responses like Amartel's which show how we got to this place. How dare a male complain!!

Complaints about someone's insensitivity to your opinions/feelings/group don't really work all that well in the context of this thread.

So she thinks Maher is a whiny little bitch. So what? Can't you think of a more manly, forthright way to express your opinion of her opinion than "how dare you not vailidate my feelings!" What the hell do you want, a "safe space"?

We did not get to this place because of "snotty responses".

And no, that doesn't mean "shut up and suck it up".

Anonymous said...

el polacko: mis-leuco-andry is rampant in our culture. watching five minutes of tv advertising will tell you all you need to know about that: white men are useless, dumbass, overgrown children who must constantly be looked after by a superior-in-all-ways woman and wise saintly "minorities".

FTFY.

Joe said...

irony is that the conservative women that he hates so passionately are probably the ones that would play the fewest games, and "let the man be a man."

Not my experience; they just play different games which still don't "let the man be a man" except only in a crude macho--he does the heavy lifting--sort of way.

(Some of the most vile criticisms of men I've heard were when I went to [a conservative] church. That hypocrisy was one reason I stopped going.)

Anonymous said...

That clip reminded me that Maher used to actually be politically incorrect. He's anything but that now.

kmg said...

Women will believe *anything* that makes them feel good about themselves.

If any man wants to use this knowledge to improve his success with women by 100x, pickup artists have finely tuned tactics to do this with great efficiency.

Women will believe *anything* that makes them feel good about themselves. This is also why 'The Life of Julia' won Obama the election.

kmg said...

Salamandyr, Please qualify "we men".

He meant 'we beta males'.

Men who are actually attractive to women (unlike Salamander, who was merely selected by a woman to be her provider in return for very little), usually say very few words to women, and never about appeasing small-talk.

kmg said...

DADvocate, he's not a male, he's whiny little progressive who puts everyone off marriage.

Social conservatives have done just as much, if not more, to turn men off to marriage.

Social conservatives are merely feminists with a vaguely Christian packaging around them.

Read Dalrock's blog to educate yourself on how much the church is doing to disincentivize men from marrying.

http://dalrock.wordpress.com

kmg said...

Men have historically mistreated women,

No they haven't. You have been brainwashed.

Every single human society would promptly send 50% of men to die gruesome deaths on the battlefield before any woman's life was placed at risk. This made sense, since the number of women determined the number of babies, and the few surviving men were all that were needed.

But men died in battlefields, in shipwrecks, and in mines, while women tended to children and the kitchen. Wanna trade?

No, women were not systematically oppressed.

Feminists never give a straight answer on the 'wanna trade?' test, proving this point.

kmg said...

(Some of the most vile criticisms of men I've heard were when I went to [a conservative] church. That hypocrisy was one reason I stopped going.)

I strongly, strongly agree. Conservatives have done just as much, if not more, to destroy the institution of marriage in America.

'Gay Marriage' is merely the way conservatives avoid doing what would actually save marriage - hold women to the same standard of conduct as men.