The Larceny of Masculinity

“I don't believe in pessimism. If something doesn't come up the way you want, forge ahead. If you think it's going to rain, it will.”― Clint Eastwood

It’s an obvious statement for me to say to you that I’ve seen a lot of changes in the world since I was a kid in the 1980’s. 

Sure you’ve heard this type of statement from your elders over the years and people usually snicker and brush off such a statement without any further examination of such a statement. However, given the current state of affairs with the weak, pathetic, and fragile infiltration of Marxists into our society, examining such a statement right here and now is more than warranted and way overdue. 

Weak men only exist because of a culture and society that has told them that it's ok to be weak and that strong men are somehow toxic, hence the term toxic masculinity. Aside from that term toxic masculinity being an oxymoron, the assumption of the meaning from those who coined the term is that strong men are somehow toxic when in reality it’s been the steady growth of weak men within our population over time that are toxic and dangerous within society, particularly when it comes to those that are in positions of power. 

So to be clear, what exactly does it mean for one to be strong or weak? 

Well the truth is that strength and weakness both parallel in terms of the areas in which one may possess an area of strength or weakness as it relates to their individual attributes. 

When we hear the words strength and weakness many people would assume we’re solely talking about physical strength or weakness. Sure physical attributes certainly qualify for identifying how one may be strong or weak and as a professional fitness and strength coach I can certainly attest to that, however strength and weakness go far beyond the physical nature of someone who may be strong, or lack strength in certain areas of their lives. 

True strength comes from within and that inner strength involves that of the spirit and one’s own intellectual toughness, and moral character. In my view much of this inner strength is present within most all of us, but is something that is similar to a garden that has either been nurtured for growth resulting in more inner strength, or its soil has been deprived, or neglected, of what is necessary to produce a fertile foundation of inner strength. 

When that soil has been deprived then the individual grows up looking outward for certain protections, assurances, and what they may perceive as something of a safe environment. However, keep in mind that looking outward, at least in the context of the physical human world, is a recipe for disappointment as this creates an environment where a weak individual seeks some sort of dependency from other people, entities, or organizations in the physical world. 

Now I want to be very careful here when I mention the word dependency as I don’t want this to be taken out of context. 

First of all, for the purpose of this explanation I’m primarily talking about everyday able-minded and able-bodied adult men that currently live and work in society. At least at this point I hope they are working, but there are those that fit this classification that aren’t working for various reasons. 

Perhaps some of those reasons involve the fact that they are currently suffering from the completely unnecessary economic climate that was created by weak men that lack principles, character, and integrity. After all, as we can observe in many cases weak men can typically exhibit tendencies towards destruction.

Therefore, it could mean that they lack that inner strength I’m talking about which results in the lack of discipline, focus, and grit which ultimately can lead to destruction. The point is that given what I’ve just outlined here as to the explanation I’m talking about the able-minded and able-bodied men that lack inner strength and intellectual toughness. 

This concept of inner strength and intellectual toughness has been something that has been stolen from men in our modern day culture. In fact, I would call it the larceny of masculinity. 

The Lack of Empathy Resulting In Weakness

“Walk a Mile in His Moccasins”--Mary T. Lathrap in 1895 (Source: AAA Native Arts)

That quote is actually the title of a Native American poem by Mary that was obviously based on the concept of empathy. Now I do believe in this message as empathy is without a doubt a sign of strength. 

Here I’m going to read the poem in full…

Pray, don’t find fault with the man that limps,
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the moccasins he wears,
Or stumbled beneath the same load.

There may be tears in his soles that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
The burden he bears placed on your back
May cause you to stumble and fall, too.

Don’t sneer at the man who is down today
Unless you have felt the same blow
That caused his fall or felt the shame
That only the fallen know.

You may be strong, but still the blows
That were his, unknown to you in the same way,
May cause you to stagger and fall, too.

Don’t be too harsh with the man that sins.
Or pelt him with words, or stone, or disdain.
Unless you are sure you have no sins of your own,
And it’s only wisdom and love that your heart contains.

For you know if the tempter’s voice
Should whisper as soft to you,
As it did to him when he went astray,
It might cause you to falter, too.

Just walk a mile in his moccasins
Before you abuse, criticize and accuse.
If just for one hour, you could find a way
To see through his eyes, instead of your own muse.

I believe  you’d be surprised to see
That you’ve been blind and narrow minded, even unkind.
There are people on reservations and in the ghettos
Who have so little hope, and too much worry on their minds.

Brother, there but for the grace of God go you and I.
Just for a moment, slip into his mind and traditions
And see the world through his spirit and eyes
Before you cast a stone or falsely judge his conditions.

Remember to walk a mile in his moccasins
And remember the lessons of humanity taught to you by your elders.
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave
In other people’s lives, our kindnesses and generosity.

Take the time to walk a mile in his moccasins.

Now it takes a wise individual to point to the significance of empathy as Mary does in both the title and body of her poem here regarding the message that one should take the time to try and gain understanding of others and their life circumstances without being quick to pass judgment. 

This is completely accurate and is truly a sign of a strong individual because an individual that possesses this ability is someone who has learned and accurately grasped the concept of human nature…which is that we’re all flawed because we are simply human. 

To understand and more importantly to take the time, energy, and effort to understand means that one is striving to build on that inner strength I was talking about earlier. For either you or myself to do this we must both invest the time and energy to do so and putting in that investment, in and of itself, requires effort and effort in this way always results in strength. 

This is what it means to fertilize that soil in the garden, whereas to not put forth the effort means that one would be neglecting that soil in the garden which results in weakness and destruction. 

Now you might be sitting there and thinking Brandon, aren't you passing quick judgment onto those Marxists that you say are weak without understanding what they may be dealing with in their own individual lives? By making such a statement am I demonstrating a lack of empathy? 

I would say no that I’m not passing quick judgment, not in the least. I can say that because the entire ideology of Marxism is one that subverts the very nature of individuality and there is clearly a segment of men within our society that have adopted this ideology and actively work extremely hard in promoting, advocating, and embracing it within the fabric of our nation and institutions.  

This is not a statement of judgment, but rather a sound substantiated observation of reality. After all, in society we must all agree that there are clear social agreements on what we all should consider to be objective in terms of what is right and what is wrong. 

For instance, it is simply wrong to advocate and actually participate in the destruction of private property, the burning of cities, and the harassment of innocent people under the false pretense of so-called injustices, especially when said injustices were proven factually to be a complete lie. We’ve seen this over and over with organizations such as BLM and Antifa with their terrorism of innocent businesses, cities, and individual citizens. 

To accurately sum this up you don’t have to look any further than the Kyle Rittenhouse case. In my view this particular case perfectly illuminates the venomous and weak ideology of Marxism as to me this ideology was completely the central component on display in this trial. That’s not difficult to see now as we can look back and reflect on society’s emotional reaction towards Rittenhouse during that time. Looking back at this case many people including the Communist Administrative State Media (ASM) were calling for this young man (Kyle Rittenhouse) to be destroyed before the evidence was ever even presented. 

In fact, the jury was feeling immense heat from the corrupt ASM and they were drumming up the heat to pressure the jury into potentially making a decision that would have completely destroyed an innocent man. In fact, I can personally recall many people on my personal Facebook feed calling for him to be locked up, or even executed, before the court date ever came to pass. 

These Marxists really showed their true colors to me and as a result fueled my desire to bury their incompetence and to expose their weakness and lack of empathy with the birth of this podcast and blog. Additionally, it may surprise you that I happen to know some of these Marxists personally. However,  I had no idea they were lacking so much empathy and were so weak in their character until they showed themselves and demonstrated their worldviews on their social media when I was following this particular case. 

Regardless, I have a long memory and my goal is that others will read and/or listen to this episode and be reminded of those same types of people that they might have been surprised to discover on their social feeds as well. 

Let me ask you, is that sentiment of calling for one to be imprisoned, or executed, consistent with our legal system in the belief that one is Innocent until PROVEN guilty? Additionally does that attitude demonstrate empathy in the very least?  If you can’t answer these questions then you’re part of the problem. The answer should be a loud and convincing NO. 

If you still want to ignore reality and reject the notion of empathy then let’s take a moment to highlight the overwhelming facts of the Rittenhouse case. 

First of all, the prosecution against Rittenhouse was quick out of the gate to accuse him of chasing down Joseph Rosenbaum and fatally shooting him in the street along with shooting  another guy. 

With this accusation the prosecution was looking to throw the book at Rittenhouse on several charges consisting of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and first-degree attempted intentional homicide. (Source: CNN) 

The prosecution’s narrative totally collapsed when their accusations of what Rittenhouse had allegedly done were completely dismantled once FBI aerial drone footage was presented to the court that clearly showed the complete opposite of what the prosecution was alleging against Rittenhouse. 

Upon viewing the footage, among other video footage taken at ground level, it was clear that Rosenbaum was hidden in a parking lot that Rittenhouse had run into at which point Rosenbaum started following Rittenhouse as he ran away. Furthermore, there were two other individuals with Rosenbaum that were in pursuit of Rittenhouse which was the opposite of the testimony from the prosecution. (Source: CNN)

As Rittenhouse’s defense attorney Mark Richards pointed out Rittenhouse had acted in self-defense demonstrating how Rosenbaum was actually the aggressor along with the other two guys making up a mob that was in pursuit of Rittenhouse, not to mention one of the other mob members Gaige Grosskreutz was armed with a firearm while the other guy Anthony Huber was chasing and hitting Rittenhouse with his skateboard. 

Fortunately, after all the dust had settled Rittenhouse was exonerated, but not before his reputation and name had been drug through the mud by the corrupt ASM and all the useful idiots that were willing to take the bait and run with it. 

You see among the ASM and all of their enablers you have a clear view of how a lack of empathy and an overwhelming epidemic of weakness has infected our society at large. This lack of empathy and weakness resulted in a lot of destruction. 

It resulted in the destruction of Kenosha Wisconsin on that night with the incident involving Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum, it resulted in the destruction of Rittenhouse’s reputation and name, and it resulted in the further erosion and destruction of our current American culture that has already been infiltrated by the destructive ideology of Marxism. 

In addition to this many of those who were calling for the destruction of Rittenhouse were young men in our culture. In my view this case highlighting those claiming Rittenhouse had committed an injustice were themselves advocating for the greatest injustice of all which was the execution and/or imprisonment of an innocent man. 

To make this even worse one of the major details of the case that the media conveniently failed to report on was that Rittenhouse had a medical kit with him and was tending to injured people in the area. His possession of the gun was for personal protection only which is exactly what he used it for in the situation that night in Kenosha.  

To me this case clearly highlighted the lack of empathy and the theft of masculinity within our culture at large. With everything surrounding the Rittenhouse case we witnessed a major symptom of the larceny of masculinity. 

Enter Stoicism 

If you’re not familiar with the term Stoicism it essentially is a philosophical approach to one enduring hardship or pain without display of feelings and without complaint. 

Stoicism was one of the dominant philosophical systems dating back to the Hellenistic period in Athens and is basically composed of three different parts. 

These three parts include physics, logic, and ethics. Within this model all three of these parts work together in an interconnected system. (Source: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) 

To illustrate this in a more simple way the ancient stoics used the analogy of comparing each of the separate components to an egg to explain the three interconnected parts of physics, logic, and ethics. 

In comparison to the egg the outermost layer involving the shell would be the logic followed by the next component of ethics being the following inner layer of the egg, and ultimately the physics would involve the innermost part of the egg, or the fertile field. You probably noticed this sounds familiar to my garden analogy that I referenced earlier on. 

In a nutshell, or more specifically in an egg shell, the purpose of the stoic philosophy is to utilize the practice of the discipline to become more virtuous and to attain wisdom. Thereby, we should lead a good life so the overarching goal is to discern with logic, to nurture the crop or the egg white, which in turn according to the ancients is assumed to nourish the yolk.  

Now keep in mind that the stoic philosophy, at least in my view, is not a religion, but rather a disciplined way to approach life and how to deal with the decisions, hardships, successes, shortfalls, and trials of life. Many in Christian faith have also been stoic in their approach to day to day life behavior and discipline. For some this comes more naturally and for others it takes a lot more work. 

So what about when life delivers difficult circumstances for people? Did the ancient stoics believe in fate? 

What stoics would look to call fate they more identify as working out of the rational and predictable. The concept of fate is more viewed as a series of decisions and actions that have been made over time. In other words, every event that occurs in the world is the result of a previous series of events that preceded the event(s) in question. 

As such the thought of the inescapability of this sequence of events leads to concerns about the action and moral responsibility of individuals and how they should lead their daily lives. 

Now that to me is as about as powerful and logical an explanation to major events occurring in life as I’ve ever heard. In fact, we’re seeing that very thing happen throughout our cultural, political, educational, health, and economic landscape right now. 

Think about the chain of events that have been encouraged and have led to the loss of empathy in our culture due to the destruction of the family structure. Think about the infiltration of weakness within the men of our culture with men being told that masculinity is somehow toxic and not acceptable. Think about how there’s been crimes as serious as treason committed by politicians who have resided in Washington D.C. for decades without having been held accountable for anything meaningful whatsoever. Finally, think about the fact that Congress has literally not passed a balanced budget since 2001. 

I’m not making any of this up. This is all substantiated and documented, yet every single one of these issues exists because of the precedent of doing what was wrong instead of what was right has been able to flourish because of the epidemic of weak men that lack the testicular fortitude to do what real men should do. If masculinity were present in D.C. then we would have men making the necessary decisions politically so that our country would not be in a total free fall towards Communism as we’re seeing right now. 

The Wrap Up 

In short, we are all human and as humans it’s perfectly natural for us to be weak in some areas and stronger in others. However, when weakness itself is seen as a virtue in our modern society then you can count on a society where there will be a precedence of bad decision making and actions taken by men in power that will nurture an environment into a snowball of total destruction without escape. 

The only way to stop it and to reverse course is if we use our individual agency to intervene in order to disrupt the cascading cycle of weakness and the larceny of masculinity across every landscape concerning politics, culture, economics, education, and with our individual health. The bottom line is that we’ve created a culture of overly emotional and weak men. 

We have already created a society where decisions are made out of fear and emotion rather than exhibiting the discipline to temper those emotions with a more stoic approach. Because major societal decisions are made out of emotion this only perpetuates a continuous cycle of one bad policy after the next. Furthermore, it also signals to those who desire power more than anything else that those people making decisions out of fear can more easily be controlled. 

The question is are the men that recognize this in our society going to have the testicular fortitude to pushback, or has the larceny of masculinity already ceded control of our society to the Authoritarians once and for all? 

If you’re interested in my personal answer I’m pushing back as hard as I can by creating this very blog and podcast. I just need your help in helping me to push harder.

I hope you enjoyed today’s article/podcast.

If so I hope you would choose to support this platform as part of the patriot economy as well. Be an Emissary of Freedom and help to push this piece out to your friends, family, and coworkers.

One way you can do this right now is by joining me and giving me a like here on Public SQ. This platform is directly tied to the support of a freedom first movement by allowing you to line up your purchasing power with businesses that share your values.

In order for BOTH you and me to influence and strengthen our society we must not stay idle so please make sure you hit the subscribe and share buttons here below.

Spreading messages like this one is how we influence our culture and I need your help in order to do it.

Also listen to this episode here on…

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Tune In

Pocket Cast

If you like this podcast and the message please take a moment to give it a Five Star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the Spotify platform.

Also to connect with me please make sure you join me here on Twitter, Facebook, GETTR, and now Substack’s new social media called Notes.

Stay strong. Stay focused. Stay active.