Spread 'Em, Jesse!

I've been mulling over a post on the epidemic of male loneliness, but I think I can address this aspect of it without running on too long.

Some liberal Xers tutted over Fox News pundit Jesse Watters here.  I chose this moment for a screenshot because it shows Watters's legs spread wide under the table.  No disagreement from me, of course: his rules are laughable.

One commenter wrote, "I think a lot of these men have had it enforced into them their whole lives and are afraid themselves of being seen as lesser for not following these 'rules', which also includes making fun of men who don't participate in these behaviors".  This is probably true, but it only raises the question of where those rules came from.  People love to blame customs they dislike on religion, but there's nothing in the Bible about milkshakes, straws, or crossing one's legs.  Even if there were, such taboos would be human inventions, like every other religious teaching.  People observe those rules selectively anyway, even or especially when they pay them lip service.

But I noticed that all the mockery was directed at Watters.  He deserves it, but so does Tim Walz, Democratic governor of Minnesota and Kamala Harris's erstwhile running mate.  The clip which prompted Watters's posturing showed Walz doing some posturing of his own, claiming that he "scares MAGA men with his masculinity" and "could kick most of their a** [sic]!"  I approve of Walz on many matters, and was glad to see him emerging from the shadows to attack the MAGA right, but adopting the same harmful and stupid standards of manhood as his opponents is not the way to do it.