Women Abusing Men

As a society, we often talk about domestic violence.  Most often, it features men who abuse women.  Women speak out incessantly about the many atrocities they have suffered.  Unfortunately, I think it is just as common a problem the other direction, only we don't talk about it. 

Why?  Why is it an expectation that a man may not defend himself against a physically violent woman?  What are they supposed to do?  Take it?  Huge double standard, if you ask me.

First and foremost, men don't feel a need to talk everything to death.  Nor are women strong enough to inflict the drastic physical injuries men are capable of; therefore, the abuse is not as visible.  Plus, many women know how to play the "victim" in a manner that puts most top-notch actresses to shame.  Unfortunately, I have known a few women with these capabilities.

Then there is the issue of ego.  It is far more humiliating to be a man whose woman has "smacked" him around.  There really ARE a lot of men who will not hit a woman, no matter the circumstances.  I figure, as a woman, if you are dumb enough to hit someone much stronger than you, be prepared for what may come back.  Chances are, you can't handle it so don't go there.

When a man shows up at work with bruises and cuts, it is an automatic assumption that they were fighting with another man.  Maybe it was their significant other who put those marks there.  Men can turn it into a bar brawl and be a hero, if only for a moment.  Because it is still cool for men -- especially young ones -- to fight.

Do you know any men whose women are violent towards them?  I have known a few, some just in passing.  I've seen effects of female abuse.  It's not so different from a woman who has been abused.

Society needs to quit being blind.  Women are abusers, too.  No more blaming it completely on the man.  After all, it takes two to tango.

Employment Insurance (EI) vs. Foreign Workers

An interesting news story last night got my brain working.  Here in Canada, certain provinces have unemployment in the double digits.  Some of these provinces are hiring foreign workers to pick fruit, etc., in the summer due to the fact many Canadians think these jobs are beneath them.  Not to mention, they have a higher income on employment insurance than if they accepted one of these temporary positions. 

The part of this story that got me thinking was the government wants to "force" Canadians to take these positions so the unemployment numbers go down.  Is this a wrong expectation on the part of the government?  Not really.  People who are on EI are generally first to complain about foreign workers taking our jobs.  Yet, they are also the first ones to refuse a job because it doesn't pay as well as the EI they are receiving. Or because it is physically demanding.  Or, in their minds, demeaning, in comparison with the education they have.

Now, I have been in this boat.  It is extremely difficult to take a job that pays less than the insurance benefits you receive.  Particularly when you have a family to feed.  However, I do believe that Employment Insurance will make up the difference between a lower paying job and the claim you are currently on.  I could be wrong.  It has been many years since I asked these questions.

Basically, I think those collecting EI should have to work some of these temporary positions, with the expectation they will be "topped up" on their income if the job does not pay as much as the EI claim they are currently on.  Or, they could do other jobs -- such as keeping garbage picked up out of ditches, gutters, and parks -- that no one else has the time to do.  This is, to my way of thinking, also true of people on welfare.  There are many people collecting this social benefit who are perfectly capable of working but have many excuses why they do not.

Let's quit feeding another country's economy and feed our own.  Keep the money here.  In these tough economical times, isn't that an important thing to do?

People's Belief System

Ever wonder why people think theirs is the only correct belief system?  Especially Christianity.  I was raised in a good, old-fashioned Baptist church, with the solid belief that no one else's religion or opinions mattered.  We were steeped in right and wrong, black and white, with no acceptance for the general differences that make people interesting in the first place.

Christianity, itself, is a mockery of what the bible tries to teach.  I have come to believe that the bible is a history book.  Take from it what you will, but do not be brain-washed in the nastiness that is "Christianity".

Here is a perfect example of the hypocrisy of Christianity:  love thy neighbor as thyself.  Okay.  We all understand that statement, religious or not.  It boils down to simple human kindness.  The hypocrisy lies in the fact that so-called Christians feel it necessary to jam their beliefs down their neighbors' throats because their belief system is the only one that is right.  They judge their neighbors incessantly for real or imagined sins.  Many won't allow their children to play with a sinner's child because they don't want their children to question the correctness --or lack thereof -- of their beliefs.  Christians feel they are better than others and look down their noses at people who do not believe exactly the same as they do.  Of course, this behaviour is excused because God does not expect perfection, only the attempt.  Ergo, it is not hypocrisy.

In my many experiences, Christians are the most unaccepting people on this planet.  They are the reason there is racism (that goes back to the days of the Old Testament).  Blatant unacceptance of homosexuality, unwed mothers, divorces, and "sister" wives, to name only a few of the more prominent social issues.

My opinion of religion is it excuses one's bad behaviour:  the drug addict who blames the devil for putting them there (rather than acknowleding their own poor choices) and Jesus who saved them from it (again, nothing to do with their own inner strength and desire for a better life).  The one who starves on the street because Jesus didn't provide them a job (get off your ass and find one?).  The believer who allows a child to die because their regligion doesn't allow blood transfusions (seriously, you'd rather watch your child suffer when there is such an easy cure?).

This is not to say that the Bible doesn't contain many good life wisdoms.  It most certainly does.  The one I try to live by the most is "Do unto others as you would have done unto you".  This statement falls into the category of "karma", if you will.

I have turned my back on all organized religions, for the amount of evil they contain.  I believe, simply, that I must be kind to others.  I'll help you if I can.  If you are desperate for food, I will do my best to give you some.  Money?  Sorry -- lending money to friends is a sure death to an otherwise good friendship.  Need a place to stay? Okay.  For a short period of time.  Who knows when I may need all of these same kindnesses?

Am I a good person all the time?  Absolutely not.  It is what it is, but I try, without judgement, with kindness and acceptance.