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We tried having a 'Men's Shed' in our town, but I think it got shut down by a bunch of harpies. That negative experience aside I think it is fine for men and w

We tried having a 'Men's Shed' in our town, but I think it got shut down by a bunch of harpies. That negative experience aside I think it is fine for men and women to spend time apart if it is voluntary. When a member of the opposite sex, even one, is in a group of the other sex then the atmosphere changes. I don't have a better way to describe it, but unsurprisingly it suppresses some activities. I think what I hate most, and I really do mean hate, about the left is how they have damaged something which used to be much stronger, which is male friendship. They associated male friends with homoerotic implications because gay sexuality is their fixation. There is nothing wrong with being gay, I support all forms of civil liberties for gays including marriage, I voted for it in the Irish election recently even though I had to visit 4 polling stations to get it in properly. Nonetheless I believe also that platonic male friendship has suffered badly in the last few decades for no good reason. Gay sexuality does not threaten male friendship, but the politically motivated and constant insertion of it into everyday life, especially through the media has been destructive. Many many men have not evolved a deeper friendship because they were afraid of being sniggered at as homosexuals, and I think that is wrong. If you read books about generations gone by it is obvious that many men had much deeper friendships than they do today. Today those sorts of friendships are not really possible without stupid irrelevant discussions about sexuality.

internaut 10y ago
LOL! Somebody has just gone through my entire post history and downvoted all of it. I don't care about internet points jackass. Many men feel the way I do about this. Making who you fuck the main part of your identity is as pointless as making your race the main part of your identity. This is a valid opinion and I'm sticking to it unless somebody has a good argument for why I'm wrong.
- sctb 10y ago
  We've asked you before not to do this—please stop.
smurph 10y ago
I agree that male friendship has suffered a lot over the past few decades, and the decline of overtly exclusively male organisations for adults probably has something to do with that. The only real exceptions I can think of are athletic leagues and religious activities. Basically you can play in a men's soccer league or go to a men's bible study and nobody will think it's odd or sinister, but joining an overtly male only social club will probably be viewed differently. I wonder if the guys in this article would have just joined a local lodge of some kind 50 years ago and been happy with that.
- tptacek 10y ago
  You could just try sending a dude you want to get to know better a Facebook or Twitter DM suggesting a beer or two. I don't know. Maybe the "harpies" are after the men hanging out at bars where you are. That trick seems to work pretty well for me.
- internaut 10y ago
  That's what it is. It is creepy to be hyperaware of male socialization but then to be ok with women only gyms and yoga classes. Most young men aren't interested in Church or the GAA (sporting organization) today, which leaves basically the pub, not a healthy environment in some cases, as the remaining place a male could make new friends. Here I'll suggest something controversial (on HN) but obvious. I don't believe men have the same kind of friendships most women do. This is because for many woman in society they have a stronger connection to their family. Friendships for men are something more, they require them in order to build cooperative things like companies. The fact is that the majority of risky enterprises are created and led by men. I don't need to put in caveats as legally required in California /s, it is so and has been so for millennia. Several famous entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley have said that the best people to start a company with, are people you have known for a long time beforehand. That can only mean a friend or close associate. My question would be: Why on earth are we surprised at a decline in new business creation when the basic link that makes it work, friendship, has been under strain for decades?!
jubalfh 10y ago
> We tried having a 'Men's Shed' in our town, but I think it got shut down by a bunch of harpies. happy is a place where the mythical Greek creatures dwell, and where they have enough good sense to shut down questionable establishments > I voted for it in the Irish election recently even though I had to visit 4 polling stations to get it in properly I call bullshit. Everyone here knows it was a referendum, not an election, and everyone here knows where they're supposed to vote regarding the homosexuality scare, it's the right and conservatives you have to thank for, not the left.
- makomk 10y ago
  Harpy's a rather unpleasant term to use, sure. On the other hand, at least around where I am Men's Sheds is a program that was created to tackle social isolation amongst elderly men, and the reason it's gendered is because the problem it's solving is (possibly because elderly women already have a bunch of gender-specific options). Given that, I can understand why someone wouldn't be terribly happy with people who campaigned to block it based on the fact it's aimed at men.
- internaut 10y ago
  > I call bullshit. Everyone here knows it was a referendum, not an election, I meant referendum. > and everyone here knows where they're supposed to vote I didn't receive the card in the post that enables you to know which polling station to go to so I had to visit the nearest ones by process of elimination. > regarding the homosexuality scare, it's the right and conservatives you have to thank for, not the left. I am fully aware that the right, specifically the Christian right has persecuted homosexuals in the past. However today it is primarily the left that are manufacturing moral panics. > happy is a place where the mythical Greek creatures dwell, and where they have enough good sense to shut down questionable establishments It was nothing more than a woodworking cooperative, not a cabal of sinister intrigue against the sisterhood.

internaut 10y ago

LOL! Somebody has just gone through my entire post history and downvoted all of it. I don't care about internet points jackass. Many men feel the way I do about this. Making who you fuck the main part of your identity is as pointless as making your race the main part of your identity. This is a valid opinion and I'm sticking to it unless somebody has a good argument for why I'm wrong.

sctb 10y ago
We've asked you before not to do this—please stop.

smurph 10y ago

I agree that male friendship has suffered a lot over the past few decades, and the decline of overtly exclusively male organisations for adults probably has something to do with that. The only real exceptions I can think of are athletic leagues and religious activities. Basically you can play in a men's soccer league or go to a men's bible study and nobody will think it's odd or sinister, but joining an overtly male only social club will probably be viewed differently. I wonder if the guys in this article would have just joined a local lodge of some kind 50 years ago and been happy with that.

tptacek 10y ago
You could just try sending a dude you want to get to know better a Facebook or Twitter DM suggesting a beer or two. I don't know. Maybe the "harpies" are after the men hanging out at bars where you are. That trick seems to work pretty well for me.
internaut 10y ago
That's what it is. It is creepy to be hyperaware of male socialization but then to be ok with women only gyms and yoga classes. Most young men aren't interested in Church or the GAA (sporting organization) today, which leaves basically the pub, not a healthy environment in some cases, as the remaining place a male could make new friends. Here I'll suggest something controversial (on HN) but obvious. I don't believe men have the same kind of friendships most women do. This is because for many woman in society they have a stronger connection to their family. Friendships for men are something more, they require them in order to build cooperative things like companies. The fact is that the majority of risky enterprises are created and led by men. I don't need to put in caveats as legally required in California /s, it is so and has been so for millennia. Several famous entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley have said that the best people to start a company with, are people you have known for a long time beforehand. That can only mean a friend or close associate. My question would be: Why on earth are we surprised at a decline in new business creation when the basic link that makes it work, friendship, has been under strain for decades?!

jubalfh 10y ago

> We tried having a 'Men's Shed' in our town, but I think it got shut down by a bunch of harpies. happy is a place where the mythical Greek creatures dwell, and where they have enough good sense to shut down questionable establishments > I voted for it in the Irish election recently even though I had to visit 4 polling stations to get it in properly I call bullshit. Everyone here knows it was a referendum, not an election, and everyone here knows where they're supposed to vote regarding the homosexuality scare, it's the right and conservatives you have to thank for, not the left.

makomk 10y ago
Harpy's a rather unpleasant term to use, sure. On the other hand, at least around where I am Men's Sheds is a program that was created to tackle social isolation amongst elderly men, and the reason it's gendered is because the problem it's solving is (possibly because elderly women already have a bunch of gender-specific options). Given that, I can understand why someone wouldn't be terribly happy with people who campaigned to block it based on the fact it's aimed at men.
internaut 10y ago
> I call bullshit. Everyone here knows it was a referendum, not an election, I meant referendum. > and everyone here knows where they're supposed to vote I didn't receive the card in the post that enables you to know which polling station to go to so I had to visit the nearest ones by process of elimination. > regarding the homosexuality scare, it's the right and conservatives you have to thank for, not the left. I am fully aware that the right, specifically the Christian right has persecuted homosexuals in the past. However today it is primarily the left that are manufacturing moral panics. > happy is a place where the mythical Greek creatures dwell, and where they have enough good sense to shut down questionable establishments It was nothing more than a woodworking cooperative, not a cabal of sinister intrigue against the sisterhood.