Quote: (04-15-2013 05:31 PM)soup Wrote:
No, Tuth is right, and there are plenty of other civic jobs that are just as masculine or more. Firefighters and policeman are the most romanticized. That's why little kids want to be them.
In truth, most cops are assholes. How do I know? A few of my friends who I used to be in bands with became cops and the tell me the whole force is fucked. I have dealings with cops who are complete morons.
I respect that someone needs to keep the peace, but let's not put these gangs up on a pedestal (and yes, they evolved out of gangs).
Go watch Serpico and you'll get a sense of the history of the 'greatness' of the force.
Yes, but why are these jobs more romanticized? It's because these roles intersect male strength with traditional masculine values. Sure, street pavers and construction workers are doing manly work---but their roles don't require any real adherence to traditional masculine values like courage, brotherhood, honor, protection, etc. The effectiveness of the police forces and firefighters, at least in theory, are dependent on these values.
I completely agree that cops/firemen---especially cops---are greatly pedestalized in ways that are dangerous and counterproductive, but I believe that's at least partially a side effect of living in a sick, misandrous society that has precious few outlets in which to acknowledge, affirm and praise traditional masculine values. I believe that American police forces have become almost as predatory as our financial elite in their own way, but that part of what keeps us from pushing back is that they're one of the few outlets let through which we can laud masculinity. This is very dangerous because our freedoms are being eroded by the day and it's part of why I believe that taking on feminism and making it safe to openly value the masculine will make it easier to take our freedoms back from too-often corrupt cops.