Rainbow Capitalism, "The Maturity Compromise" and The Lords of War
Also: Harvard goes to Israel … A Real Bad Idea ... J.K. Rowling
I suppose I’m a bit of a nonconformist. I don’t assume membership in a tribe.
The closest label is Libertarian, although I sometimes strain that entry in Webster’s in self-assessment. I’m naturally an optimist, but there’s a lot of pessimism to deal with. I value manners, decorum and goodwill. But occasionally I cast a cynical eye, especially towards those who bastardize our beautiful language and cloud the air with ambiguity and animus (i.e. “Language is violence”)
However, I remain open to new ideas and expanded knowledge. So what follows might surprise some, even myself, in my Quixotic quest for wisdom.
Men’s mental health vs. Rainbow Capitalism
Did you know June was Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month?
Neither did I, until I saw a small poster in my doctor’s office.
Afterward, I did the Google thing, searching for a logo or clipart flag supporting men’s mental health to pin to my Twitter and Facebook profiles. With the help of a friend, I found some, including the doctor’s office poster. Most were dated, and alas, June had passed.
However, I found lots of rainbow flags and splashy movement images. Oodles of them. More than 15 million. And #PRIDE emblazoned across Fortune 500 brands and logos and other large companies.
Even Google Search …
In fact, there’s an entire industry built around it, called “Rainbow Capitalism.”
Next, I did a news search for June. I subscribe to the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. I found lots of advocacy group notices. But no mainstream news on men’s health. Instead, there was daily coverage of technicolor parades. And op-eds. And lighted buildings. And marches. Great awareness.
That is, in The Western world.
I searched these same Fortune 500s for their online presence outside the West — across Asia, the Middle East, and the Baltic states. Scoured the English-translated news, too.
No rainbows. No marches or ribbons. No translations of #PRIDE. Apparently, there’s not much of a palate for such things in Beijing, Cairo or Moscow.
Not much on men’s mental health, either. I know a bit about this topic, having previously explored Men’s Mental Health in a two-part series.
I suppose marketing to a demographic representing an ever-expanding number of identities is smart business. So is championing social justice. And #PRIDE certainly delivers a smashing signal of corporate virtue.
But I think men’s mental health is pretty important, too. After all, there are 3.6 billion of us on the planet. But you’d never know it in June.
Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea
Credit to Substack’s Nellie Bowles’ TGIF column…
New York – Harvey Marcelin went to jail for killing a woman, was released, and then killed another woman. Harvey went back to jail, transitioned to go by Marceline Harvey, a woman, and was again sprung from the pokey. Marceline then was allowed to move into a homeless shelter for women.
Apparently, no one thought it was a bad idea to put Marceline in with women considering this person’s history of killing women. Marceline was a woman now, and New York State policy needs no further proof.
And then, what do you know, the now 83-year-old Marceline killed another woman in the shelter.
Marceline didn’t make quite the national sensation as Demi Minor did, however. Demi, a career criminal who transitioned into a woman, recently used “her penis” to impregnate two female prisoners at a New Jersey women’s prison.
“The Maturity Compromise” — Gun laws and gender affirmation
I note there are some parallels – common ground if you will – in the discussion between two controversial and very disparate cultural topics – gun laws and gender affirmation.
Recently, a bipartisan group of legislators came together to form a list of potential new gun laws. One of the issues they agreed upon was changing the legal age to purchase so-called “assault weapons” (such as the ArmaLite AR-15) to 21.
The rationale was that young adults, especially young men, have yet to arrive at a maturity level – emotionally and psychologically – to cope with disjointed thoughts and urges to make them responsible gun owners. (Dismiss, for the time being, the politically expedient arguments about age requirements for military service, voting, and alcohol purchases.)
I get it. And I applaud the recommendation. Theoretically, the cognitive processes of brain development are not complete until age 25. But the consensus from clinicians is by age 21 we ably can handle right from wrong. So, if you’re not 21, no sale.
Now, is it a non-sequitur to assume the same developmental processes apply to gender dysphoria?
I read that infants begin realizing gender differences at age 2. Fair enough. But what if, like many little tykes, they get confused, or mindlessly assume the opposite of their natal assignment? Are they mature and responsible?
There is a growing army of social psychologists and pediatric clinicians who believe this isn’t a random impulse at 24 months. It means something, and action should begin to affirm these instincts. Like intervention therapy, and hormone treatments to prevent puberty. Eventually, after the affirmation is clearly delineated, it’s OK to start cutting.
Full stop.
If a person can’t be held responsible for possession of a weapon until age 21, shouldn’t life-altering decisions regarding gender be held to a similar standard? Shouldn’t there be legislation to wait for the brain to develop before mastectomy and castration?
Military Aid to Ukraine and the Lords of War
Research has shown that the United States has sent Ukraine almost $54 billion in aid since February 24. Roughly 50 percent of that aid includes direct and ancillary military assistance (weapons, intelligence, training, etc).
European and NATO allies have also contributed substantive amounts of aid, especially Poland, which provided humanitarian support to countless Ukrainian refugees and innocents. The world is eternally grateful.
But has anybody given thought to the accounting of the American arms commitment? Did the Department of Defense send a group of bean counters and quality control experts to inventory these weapons? Where are they going? And, just as importantly, where will they end up in the future?
Did the Department of Defense send a group of its bean-counters and quality control experts to follow these weapons? Where are they going? And, just as importantly, where will they end up in the future?
We didn’t just stroke a check to President Zelensky. No. These weapons came from existing armories, locked and loaded. But it begs a question: Since the U.S. is depleting its arsenal, will it not be replaced? And who profits? Just a hunch, but I’m guessing Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and BAE Systems. Even ArmaLite. (That would be poetic justice, wouldn't it?)
As for the general relief support, also just a guess here, but there’s a big payoff coming to Pfizer, Moderna and Humana, also among the top government contractors in D.C.
War in Ukraine is bad for most but really good for defense contractors. And afterwards it’s going to be fantastic for the Lords of War.
Harvard goes to Israel: Pride and Gratitude
I saw a video recently of a young Harvard student who just returned home to Cambridge from Israel with a group of 100 undergrads. Her speech was a recount of the trip to non-traveling contemporaries in the Harvard Memorial Chapel.
It was audacious, given the current cultural climate.
As I approach my 67th trip around the sun, I have arrived (I think) at one of the noblest virtues … gratitude. At my age, gratitude cannot be underestimated in the search for inner peace.
Here is Julie Hartman’s (Harvard Class of 2022) senior speech at Harvard’s Memorial Chapel. Take a few minutes. Put aside political counterpoints for the time being. Temporarily avoid “whataboutism.” See if you agree with Ms. Hartman’s transcendent message about pride, antipathy … and gratitude.
Finally: A belated Happy Birthday to J.K. Rowling
No other person on planet Earth has done more for Literacy over the past half-century than British author J.K. Rowling, the creator of the Harry Potter series. The series has sold more than 500 million copies
Ms. Rowling turned 57 this past week.
In deference to the late Helen Reddy, J.K., may you proudly roar for another 57 years!
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Jim Geschke was inducted into the prestigious Marquis Who’s Who Registry in 2021.
Jim
Have you seen my other communication
Jim
I believe the mud slinging that occupies our society is exhilarated by the infiltration of social media. Never a loss for attention molding. .