B. Hudson

First if you’re new here.. I’m a Guy.  Male.  I’m Married, with 3 kids.

I just got finished reading on Digg.com about the recession hurting women in the jobplace more than men.  And then read all the comments about it. Here is a summary of the comments

1. (standard egomaniac saying women should get in the kitchen.. blah blah)
2. (standard woman response that all men are pigs, and its SO UNFAIR wah wah.. and we have to have babies TOO!!)
3. enlightened folks with actual points..

Group 1.. Really… grow up.  I understand that is what you want, a woman to just hump and send to the kitchen for a sandwich, but those women charge by the hour and are illegal almost everywhere.  So I hope you really make bank to afford such a thing.

Group 2.. SHUT UP.  Your voice is even less of value than group1!!.  At least it should be expected that guys want women to stay home and all that.  I mean why not?  It worked for our parents and their parents… You ladies want a job fine.. go get it I don’t care.

Group 3..  You people should be given riches and be taken care of.  I get SO SICK of the same tired arguments.. here are some possibles from the enlightened group (most go in opposite directions but are still worth noting)

• recession hurts everyone.. not just women
• I’d like to see the day when a divorce will allow a man to stay home with his kids and get paid by the woman. (alimony)
• Women deal with… (glass ceiling reference), some have climbed up but this is at their middle age where they have half the experience of the others.  Making them more of a target for job reductions.  (hey its valid.. and feminist)
• (long rant tuned WAY down).. wage hikes decreased when women joined the workforce as there was basically a double in workers.. Then jobs became more scarce.. it is cyclical and will evolve back to men working and women staying at home as they couldn’t afford daycare services for their kids on the small money they could make in the few leftover jobs.  (its a conspiracy theory of sorts.. but I liked it)
• Some angrier posts regarding how women have it so much easier than men.. here’s a quote

• There are SOOO many programs available to women to enable success it’s almost ridiculous. There are special education programs, entire sectors of the government to over watch and make sure women get a fair shake, womens advocacy groups with a hair trigger to scream foul and garner public sympathy if there is even a HINT of inequality. If a woman is dismissed from a job, she can claim she was released due to her being female, and then all of a sudden she’s not fire/laid off.

  There is a reason why there is the impression that men work harder ( notice I said impression; there are many women who indeed work their asses off ). They have to to overcome the system. If a man lacks skills, there is no/few programs to aid him in getting those skills. If a man gets fired or laid off, there’s no recourse except to find another job. If a man faces any type of harassment on the job, he’s told to suck it up ( sexual or otherwise).

• –He’s valid all day long, militant in his point but its his point..

I could literally go on for days here..  Now here’s my viewon

Equal work for Equal Pay.

– I really don’t see that big a difference here.  .70 for every 1.0 a man makes?  Seriously?  I have worked in the IT field for a while now and before that was nearly a manager in customer service environments and I have NEVER made as much as my wife (until recently).  Ok so thats just me right?  But still.. does this degrade into socio-economic groups?  no.  So the 10 richest CEO’s dollars are being compared to the 10 poorest drive through clerks at McDonalds?  yup.  I don’t know how to tell you this, but bite me ladies. Its darn close, and there’s no statistical way to break this down into those groups and factor out things like “friends of the family”, or just flat out Bill Gates!  Sure oprah has a little money.  Bill could buy and sell her 3x’s a day and still make more on his investments to continue on forever.  People like that cause a statistical skew.  Do men make more?  I don’t know.  I haven’t asked every single guy at every single workplace and every woman that works with him to compare.  Can someone?  no.  In reality most companies require paycheck information to remain private/confidential.  So just blabbing your $$ around could get you fired and then you go from some $$ to no $$.  The closest to accurate figures are from the IRS.  Yeah.. you heard me.. The IRS.  Look its a government agency, and allowed at LEAST a 20% complete and total off the mark bias.  Just because its a government agency.. I mean seriously.  I doubt many people report their income (it is possible, although illegal) or if they work work for cash and not a paycheck, which flies under the IRS radar.    I just have sincere doubts that this is even close to an accurate figure given the information I just stated.

A Woman’s Place

—-Well.  Now I show my true colors.. I DO think a woman’s place is to raise the kids.  I do.  Sue me.  I think the burden and obvious inadequacies of the education system in our country make it obvious that kids need to be learning more at home.  Is this a dismissal of your economic capabilities?  Don’t be retarded.  FAMILY is the most important thing you have.   Friends, they can turn on you… Jobs, well we see them leaving all the time.  Family is all that you truly have.  Its not DEMEANING for you to change diapers and clean the house.. You don’t DO THAT for your HUSBAND… You DO THAT to contribute to your FAMILY.  In old times he busted his hump all day, and came home to dinner.. why?  Because he was a barbarian and would beat you if you didn’t?  Well maybe, but maybe thats how you say “thanks for contributing your part to the family, here is mine..”.  Are people going to take you for granted?? yes.. They do now and they always will (both men and women, jobs and friends, and even your family).. That doesn’t mean your contribution is any less important.  Family is a partnership between husband and wife.  It’s saying ” I’d rather be doing something else, but because I L-O-V-E you I do this to contribute to this entity we created.. a household.. a home.. a family.

I’d go as far as to say men are ill equipped to stay at home and be dads.  Why?  First you don’t stay home with adolescents or adults.. you do so with small children.. and small children need emotional support that, frankly, most men lack the tools to provide.  Would I PERSONALLY stay home?? yes.  I feel as if I “missed something” when I work and am away from my family.

Concluding:  A woman’s place.. well I still say its better at home to help turn that pile of bricks/wood into a home..  but if that doesn’t work for you financially let her work!  Jobs will become more scarce, and if that drives women back to the home I think we’ll see a massive DUMP of crime rates as they drop through the floors..  Massive increases in literacy, and core concepts to children.

I have no issues with women working, I have issue with them saying they have it so hard, when I feel that minorities and women have a huge leg up on me.. A white guy.  Unfortunately I’m not in any seat of power like I hear  all white guys are.. If I was.. I’d probably not care.. but seriously people not all white guys own/run everything..