Reading through a 2011 post by a woman who quit because she "didn't need the grief" I was thinking about why guys keep editing despite it. And it occurred to me men are taught to "take the pain", "pretend it doesn't hurt", "man up".
In the ongoing discussion of civility on Jimbo Wales talk page I brought that up in one of the several threads on the topic. Wonder if they'll be a lot of wailing? Or a little soul searching??
CM
On Wed, Aug 6, 2014 at 1:21 PM, Carol Moore dc carolmooredc@verizon.net wrote:
Reading through a 2011 post by a woman who quit because she "didn't need the grief" I was thinking about why guys keep editing despite it. And it occurred to me men are taught to "take the pain", "pretend it doesn't hurt", "man up".
While I readily admit that that is the kind of bullshit masculinity I was raised in, as a Wikipedian I persevere more in the "nil desperandum" sentiment that has sustained so many of my fellow Quakers and Wobblies to persist in the face of persecution and even murder. You do the right thing, and keep doing the right thing as long as the breath is in your body, because it is the right thing to do.
On 8/6/2014 2:34 PM, Michael J. Lowrey wrote:
On Wed, Aug 6, 2014 at 1:21 PM, Carol Moore dc carolmooredc@verizon.net wrote:
Reading through a 2011 post by a woman who quit because she "didn't need the grief" I was thinking about why guys keep editing despite it. And it occurred to me men are taught to "take the pain", "pretend it doesn't hurt", "man up".
While I readily admit that that is the kind of bullshit masculinity I was raised in, as a Wikipedian I persevere more in the "nil desperandum" sentiment that has sustained so many of my fellow Quakers and Wobblies to persist in the face of persecution and even murder. You do the right thing, and keep doing the right thing as long as the breath is in your body, because it is the right thing to do.
Definitely a "higher consciousness" response. As I just wrote on Jimbo Wales page in reaction to another women editor who detailed the same experiences I've had editing in controversial areas (and put in a box on my Carolmooredc user page called Changing Wikipedia's "Mad Dog" Culture:
I totally agree with your experience, since I also edit controversial topics. I was watching two male dogs on the each side of two neighbors' fence the other day who spend at least an hour a day patrolling their side and peeing on each others' pee. A visiting female dog came up to the fence and started to pee and they both went nuts and scared her off. Here some yell CUNT or other obscene words (in a perfectly innocent fashion, of course) to scare off women. Luckily for them women choose not to reply with words that would wither their kilts in a second. (Tempting as it might be.) We seem to forget that humans have both an upper brain (the cerebrum) which is relatively rational and a lower brain (the brainstem and cerebellum) that deals with automatic and unconscious functions. I like to think that humans can choose not to act like dogs automatically peeing all over territory they think is theres and driving out any females. Of course, that's more difficult in a culture that is riddled with patriarchal and violent attitudes and entertainment, teaching young males and some females to act like mad dogs. It would be nice if Wikipedia was a place that totally transcends - yes for weeks at a time - the lower brain "mad dog" modus operandi. (end) ========== This really is the meaning of "consciousness raising". Us oldsters from the sixties and seventies were very much into transcending the big bad lower brain. (Tim Leary being an arch advocate of it.) Now science acts as if it's all one big brain with little male and female sections. See even wikipedia's human brain article.
The powers that be don't want us to know that we don't have to be violent barely conscious autamotons willing to live, work, kill and die for them, and other wise happy to get a meager paycheck, stuff our faces with junk food and watch tv.
The word "self-actualization" which was our mantra is now a joke word. It's like we're living in a "hip" version of the 1950s all over again, but with lots of rules and regulations to enforce political correctness and give all power to the politicians so they can keep most of us - and especially the young males - living barely above a lower brain level.
Yes, we old hippies did know something :-)
CM
Awesome post Carol +1
I'm re-reading Jittberbug Perfume right now, in fact. (with a character inspired by Mr. Leary).
-Sarah
On Wed, Aug 6, 2014 at 4:55 PM, Carol Moore dc carolmooredc@verizon.net wrote:
On 8/6/2014 2:34 PM, Michael J. Lowrey wrote:
On Wed, Aug 6, 2014 at 1:21 PM, Carol Moore dc carolmooredc@verizon.net carolmooredc@verizon.net wrote:
Reading through a 2011 post by a woman who quit because she "didn't need the grief" I was thinking about why guys keep editing despite it. And it occurred to me men are taught to "take the pain", "pretend it doesn't hurt", "man up".
While I readily admit that that is the kind of bullshit masculinity I was raised in, as a Wikipedian I persevere more in the "nil desperandum" sentiment that has sustained so many of my fellow Quakers and Wobblies to persist in the face of persecution and even murder. You do the right thing, and keep doing the right thing as long as the breath is in your body, because it is the right thing to do.
Definitely a "higher consciousness" response. As I just wrote on Jimbo Wales page in reaction to another women editor who detailed the same experiences I've had editing in controversial areas (and put in a box on my Carolmooredc user page called Changing Wikipedia's "Mad Dog" Culture:
I totally agree with your experience, since I also edit controversial topics. I was watching two male dogs on the each side of two neighbors' fence the other day who spend at least an hour a day patrolling their side and peeing on each others' pee. A visiting female dog came up to the fence and started to pee and they both went nuts and scared her off. Here some yell CUNT or other obscene words (in a perfectly innocent fashion, of course) to scare off women. Luckily for them women choose not to reply with words that would wither their kilts in a second. (Tempting as it might be.) We seem to forget that humans have both an upper brain (the cerebrum) which is relatively rational and a lower brain (the brainstem and cerebellum) that deals with automatic and unconscious functions. I like to think that humans can choose not to act like dogs automatically peeing all over territory they think is theres and driving out any females. Of course, that's more difficult in a culture that is riddled with patriarchal and violent attitudes and entertainment, teaching young males and some females to act like mad dogs. It would be nice if Wikipedia was a place that totally transcends - yes for weeks at a time - the lower brain "mad dog" modus operandi. (end) ========== This really is the meaning of "consciousness raising". Us oldsters from the sixties and seventies were very much into transcending the big bad lower brain. (Tim Leary being an arch advocate of it.) Now science acts as if it's all one big brain with little male and female sections. See even wikipedia's human brain article.
The powers that be don't want us to know that we don't have to be violent barely conscious autamotons willing to live, work, kill and die for them, and other wise happy to get a meager paycheck, stuff our faces with junk food and watch tv.
The word "self-actualization" which was our mantra is now a joke word. It's like we're living in a "hip" version of the 1950s all over again, but with lots of rules and regulations to enforce political correctness and give all power to the politicians so they can keep most of us - and especially the young males - living barely above a lower brain level.
Yes, we old hippies did know something :-)
CM
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