This is another study that gets a “duh” on my obvious meter, but it’s interesting to read the analysis.
The issue of why men start wars has been investigated in a series of experiments by Prof Mark van Vugt of the University of Kent. They reveal that conflict is part of male bonding.
(I think alcohol has a lot to do with it, too! – ed)“We all know that males are more aggressive than females but with that aggression comes a lot of co-operation,” Prof van Vugt said yesterday. While male co-operation lies at the heart of democracy and leadership, and men work better in hierarchical groups than women, it is a double-edged sword.
But what about women?
We hear a lot about beautiful dead girls in the US media. Here are some that we haven’t heard about much. Their smiles haven’t been plastered over the supermarket tabloid press, and they’re not likely to be. One of the reasons is that they don’t fit the popular stereotype of beautiful-woman-as-helpless-victim. Another reason is that many people still haven’t focused on the reality of women in the military. Even here on DKos, I see comments about “sons and fathers” who have been killed and maimed. Almost NO MENTION of women in the military.
I guess women don’t mind getting sucked into guy’s messes, or else they would have used their votes to keep us out of some of the less palatable wars (including this one) in our history. It’s a shame though that we need to use such a destructive mechanism just to get people to rally together.
This is another study that gets a “duh” on my obvious meter,…
Same here.
And all the more so since I’ve just finished reading a couple of non-fiction books about the Crusades:
The Templars by Piers Paul Read
The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople by Jonathan Phillips
[ I don’t know why I got on a historical non-fiction jag… I’m reading 1491 by Charles Mann, now…]
Aside from warfare, the males do not usually co-operate, the professor said.
“Aside from warfare – and competitive, team sports – the males do not ususally co-operate…” is how I would put it. 🙂
Don’t forget that these studies are carried in the USA, that is the most agressive and beligerent country in the world.
Women rally behind violence, too: emotional violence. Any blogger who’s had to face coordinated Gorgonoid sororities of flamers will attest to that.
>>Don’t forget that these studies are carried in the USA, that is the most agressive and beligerent country in the world.
From my somewhat close-up view of the Muslim radicals, I think it is the same for them.
al Qaeda is a “boys club” in the extreme. It’ all men, all the time. With this male homoerotic cult figure at the top.
But the homosexual component of al Qaeda is not swishy like we associate with gays in the west. It’s macho — a little forced for sure — and these guys are tough.
What I say must sound a bit nutty but I’ve been in a good position to watch these guys long before 911. I’ve seen very little written on this subject but informed people over here don’t usually disagree with the gay side… especially in the madrassas.
It’s not unprecedented. Lot’s of people acknowledge that pirates, for example, were vicious and also commonly gay.
Don’t forget that these studies are carried in the USA, that is the most agressive and beligerent country in the world
I think it’s obvious that we’re not the LEAST aggressive and belligerant country in the world, but I’d be fascinated to see the metrics and data you use to make your determination that we’re the MOST aggressive and belligerent. I think you’d have to be really creative, for instance, to find any country that hits higher on the berserkometer than israel.
#4. and lets not forget, a big part of Muslim male anger at the west is about the way that Western women refuse to be second-class citizens and “flaunt” their sexuality. There’s some wierd sexual psychosis going on there.
#6. Muslim male anger at the west is about the way that Western women refuse to be second-class citizens and “flaunt” their sexuality.
Most Muslims view this almost exactly opposite of what you say. (no surprise, I guess)
They think that western women are made second-class by the way we sexually exploit them.
My dear xrayspex,
do you need more proofs? Just read a history book and see what the USA have done in the last decades. Let’s list some:
1) what are the USA doing in the middle west for decades? Do you really believe that the USA is defending the world against terrorism or defending world freedom? Do you think the USA would have any interest in the middle west if there’s no oil? If the USA wants to free the world of dictators why not to attack China? It will be interesting to see a battle against a 1,5 billion people population.
2) The USA produces all kind of weapons and sell them to the same people who today is fighting against the USA.
3) who sold the nuclear technology to Iran, which today is a dangerous power in the middle west?
4) who trained and supported Bin Ladin’s group with money and weapons for decades?
5) how many people have guns in the USA? Do you know someone that owns a gun?
6) look at the videogames and movies produced in the USA: death, guns, war, etc.
Just look around you. Turn on the television and watch. How many fights, guns, shots and agressions you see in an hour?