It’s not OK to be white, straight or worst of all a Man. Men are at the bottom of the so called Oppression Olympics, where there is a inverted hierarchy of the most oppressed. A race to the bottom, If you are a woman, If you are black or brown and If you are gay, you jump to the top of the Que.

Hence the term “Identity Politics” best explained by John Walker (see video)

Franky Gafney described it in an article titled “Identity politics is utterly ineffective at anything other than dividing people”. In it he outlined the unfairness by asserting that “Straight white male” is an identity I didn’t choose. I mean it wasn’t a decision I had any say in, what sexuality, race, or gender I am. I was born this way. But also, “straight white male” was never something I chose to “identify” as. At various times if you’d asked me about my identity, I might have said “Irish”, “a Dub”, or “working class”, but never straight, white, or male – let alone the arbitrary combination of all three. But people who talk a lot about “choice” and “freedom” chose for me, and decided that’s what my identity should be reduced to.”

John Watters elaborated further on identity politics “Essentially, it elevates certain groups over the remainder of society and by its very existence declares that there is no such thing as justice, since justice can exist only if it is available to everyone. If it is not available on the same basis to everyone, it is not justice”

Jordan Peterson explains ‘the problem with the fractionation by group identity is that it’s endless, there’s no way of insuring equality across groups because there’s an infinite number of groups’.

Even Sinead Redomnd had to concede that “Working-class ‘straight white men’ in Ireland don’t have it easy these days. They never did. They are ignored by a political class that couldn’t care less about them. They should have a say in the decisions that affect their lives, but they often don’t”

I think it’s just as ugly and dangerous as sexism, homophobia or racism, you are judging people or categorising people by things they had no choice in, its basic prejudice.

Some people will argue, where is the evidence for this in Ireland but if we look at the internet usage of young Irish people we can see that if it’s happening online then it’s happening on every device that can access the net.

 

Young People online 24:7

Bart: It’s just hard not to listen to TV: it’s spent so much more time raising us than you have.

The transformation of T.V into the internet has had a significant impact on how we consume media and as Bart rightly says it is hard to ignore because people are being exposed to it for so much more time than anything else.

Joanna fortune in the Irish times writes that “The average teenager will check their social media upwards of 60 times a day, and we cannot underestimate the impact on the developing adolescent brain of being switched on 24:7.” Aug, 22nd 2016.

According to H+A Marketing+PR Snapchat and Instagram are the most popular social channels for Irish teens (96% and 92% respectively). Facebook chases behind at 87%. The top reasons for using social media are for entertainment (57%), to communicate with others (51%) and to keep in touch with family and friends (47%). Interestingly, for 8 – 12-year olds in Ireland, for the 45% that use social media, YouTube accounts for 78% of this usage and Snapchat falls behind at 57% and Instagram at 41%.

To have dignify the Naysayers with a response to the challenge that mainstream media is dying, dead or in a terminal condition is laughable. To think that newspapers are still going to be around much less relevant in the next ten years is antithetical to my logic. My worries are with the unstoppable growth of technology. This kill or be killed nightmare is playing out in real-time online. Young people are embroiled in a fight to the death online and the normalising of rape, murder and betrayal is creating a new breed of Frankenstein. It is only a game for now and they are only computer simulations but what happens when the games cross the uncanny valley and the nightmare becomes all the more real.

The Marginalisation of the Male

The biggest and bluntest object that is used on me to quell my opinions was thrown at me by my lecturers. They vitriolically state that ‘yes but that hasn’t happened to you and there is no evidence for that in Ireland’. What they fail to realise is that just because it wasn’t me this time doesn’t mean it wont be me next time.

Patrick Freyne captuerd this nicely when he stated “You’re not supposed to analyse masculinity,” says psychoanalytic psychotherapist Ray O’Neill. “Once you start questioning masculinity, you’ve already become unmasculine.”

John Watters asserts “The endgame of modern feminism is the total destruction of men and the civilisation built mostly by men”. he goes on to clarify this with “Equality is impossible. No two people are alike. No two men, no two women, no man and woman. Everyone has different strengths, needs, desires, talents, etc. If you try to impose equality, you extinguish all justice, all creativity and all freedom

James Behan of Mens voices Ireland offers some “Men also make up the majority of the homeless and the vast majority of those injured or killed in workplace accidents. Almost all of the so-called ‘3D’ jobs – dirty, difficult and dangerous – are done by men. The recent decline of traditionally masculine industries such as construction, along with the falling behind of boys and young men in education, has resulted in Ireland having a so-called ‘reverse’ pay gap of 17% between childless men and women aged 25 – 44″.

There is a war going on, the age old battle of the sexes and to be fair if I was a woman I would be a feminist or if I was a black person I would be Black lives matter advocate. Being that as it may I am not a women nor am I black, I am a straight white male and the fact the I cant say that I am proud is a testament to history and the current cultural climate. I cannot be proud so I must carry the shame of past generations. Literally paying for the sins of my father, unable to set down this emotional baggage.

Many men are running for cover and virtue signalling, attempting to take the high ground. Conventional wisdom tells us to outflank the enemy and take the high ground before the high ground takes us but how do we accomplish this?

Communication is the key and germane to this is the concept of responsibility for the messages lying with the sender. So it is my responsibility to ensure that I get my message across clearly. My message is that it is only through free and clear and accurate communication in public sphere of conversation. Without the looming threat of a me to witch hunt or your thoughts and ideas being mischarachterised. The free exchange of ideas, idea sex, to be able to vehemently disagree with someones opinion or political belief but to at the same time take the time to listen and attempt to understand their point of view and what they are saying.

It is only when we refuse to communicate that we are doomed to failure, that is always the last thing to come before an attack in a war and so this is why open lines of communication are vital.

You ignore any section of the population at your peril much less the Straight white male segment. What is one to do? Well, conventional wisdom would suggest that you fight fire with fire and do as they do. Play your part on your team to the best of your ability with all of the advantages and privilege that your side enjoys.

I mean if you look at it how did society get here? How did straight white men come to rule the world? Is it that they are hard working intelligent and persistent? No it must be because they lied, stole and oppressed the rest of the world. ” me thinks the lady doth protest too much and this seems rather convenient! this type of thinking is regressive and alienating. 

John Waters “Essentially, it elavates certain groups over the remainder of society and by its very existence declares that there is no such thing as justice, since justice can exist only if it is available to everyone”. 

 JFK wrote “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” In clarification straight white men are not just gonna sit around and take this kind of crap we have a long history of settling old scores and hell will not have any fury like a straight white man scorned. Come at me bro do you even Lift!