My dear dad used to say: “Never a truer word spoken in jest!” on occasions when a quip meant to be seen as humorous revealed just a little bit more than the speaker intended.
I think my wise father would have felt compelled to speak those words again had he happened to read an article by Susie O’Brien, a very well-known feminist journalist who makes a living branding our society sexist and any male celebrity or footballer who doesn’t bow at the feminist altar, a misogynistic Neanderthal.
Susie recently wrote an article about the way many people are deluded when it comes to their assessment of their own driving ability. Every now and then Susie takes a break from bashing men and attempts to write something light and comedic.
There was nothing earth-shatteringly interesting or significant in this otherwise lighthearted piece until I came across these words.
I have always been a little suspicious of my right to be on the road, mainly because my P- plate test was a joke.
I passed, but I shouldn’t have. I followed my friend’s advice and booked the last test on Friday afternoon because she told me all the instructors go easy as they want to go to the pub.
I also made sure I had a male instructor–I was certain it would help at some point.”
I think you can see where this is heading my astute friends.
Let me jump to the chase. Susie makes a catastrophic mistake when she failed to come to a complete stop when facing a stop sign.
That is an automatic fail.
Well it is if you are a young man. In fact, it is if you are a male of any age.
Now read on and heed Susie’s words.
“So, I did what any smart person would have done. I started crying.”
Note how Susie very deliberately wrote person.
I can just see her pausing momentarily over the keyboard and very quickly understanding that if she wrote what she originally intended to write, it would leave her open to accusations of playing the female damsel in distress to manipulate a man and get what she wanted.
O’Brien knows better than any of us that any man young or old, who burst into tears upon being told he had failed his driving test would be viewed with scorn and disgust. He would remain a failure, rest assured, but would also be dismissed with some pragmatic advice about “growing a pair” and “manning up.”
Men who cry when they fail are seen as pathetic losers.
Susie’s very deliberate decision to write person instead of woman indicates that she understands this very well. How disingenuous can a person be? Does she know of any man who uses tears and flirtation to melt the heart of driving instructors and police officers?
She continues:
What will my friends say? They all pay out and make fun of me!” I told him (the driving instructor), sniffing as prettily as I could.
True story. This non-feminist blonde moment had the desired effect. He let me keep driving and let me pass by doing a three point turn in only nineteen moves. My friends thought I was a legend.”
How many non-feminist blonde moments do you think there have been in Susie O’Brien’s life? I would suggest more than a couple.
People like O’Brien throw around the words male privilege and misogynist like confetti at a wedding. I have never heard the term, female privilege, yet it is far more prevalent and visible in our society for those who have eyes to see.
It is subtle, but undeniably real and beneficial. I would suggest all women know this innately, even women as rabidly feminist as O’Brien.
She knew instinctively that a male instructor would treat her far more leniently because she was a female. She also knew her chances of getting what she wanted by turning on the tears and cutie pie face would be drastically increased if the instructor was male.
She was right.
I wonder how many young men were failed by that instructor on the same day? Young men who were just as anxious as O’Brien and young men who, if anything, faced far harsher taunting and humiliation at the hands of their peers.
This is not about driving tests. As my dad knew, this tiny peek inside the mind of Susie O’Brien, made it clear that this woman (and countless women like her), who has literally made a living by playing the role of victim — someone who has been given less opportunity, less praise, less money and less respect by society because she is a woman, knows this is a lie.
Feminism for her, is something that can be turned off and on like a tap, purely for her convenience.
Bill Burr nailed this hypocrisy in this standup routine.
Listen from a round 2:20.
Bill did get the pay gap myth wrong but the rest of his act was almost too true to be funny. I suppose the very best comedy tells the truth in a way that allows the audience to accept it and agree without loss of face or being branded sexist, woman hating pigs. After all, it’s just a comedy routine isn’t it?
Women have played the Susie O’Brien card since humans walked upright. They have escaped parking fines, speeding tickets, being drafted into war, jail time, the cane and strap in secondary school and the fear of being branded a coward for failure to act in a moment of great danger.
They play the Susie O’Brien card when they punch, slap or throw objects at their male partner, safe in the knowledge that the chances of him fighting back are minimal. Firstly, because it goes against a man’s instinct to hit a woman, even when she is hitting him. The second reason is that women know the government and police force have their back.
When the police come knocking and she lets the tears start flowing the man is already a “dead man walking” so to speak. Regardless of the circumstances–if she is crying and bruised or bleeding, the man will be arrested, rest assured.
Such privilege.
A journalist recently wrote an article attacking the sick notion expressed by the police commissioner; the idea that all men were partly responsible for the murder of the homeless woman by a mentally deranged homeless man. I referenced this fool in an article I wrote a little while ago.
It appears that some women do see the light and understand that they do indeed possess a privilege not available to men in times of danger. I will let one person who wrote in the comments section below the article to speak for herself.
Jill:
A couple of years ago I was in a coffee shop early on a Saturday morning. I saw a man obviously high on ice walk past. I thought, “If he comes into the coffee shop, there will be trouble”. He entered the coffee shop and, without conscious thought, I moved to stand behind a male tradie. The iceman soon started to throw chairs and overturn tables. Without conscious thought, I went and hid behind a fridge. All the blokes in the coffee shop, the male barista, and the male pastry cook rushed forward and pushed iceman out of the shop.
That’s when I gave up being a “feminist”.
