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December 14, 2005
I'm feeling charitable tonight, so I'll let ...
... someone else please explain why this and this, columns written by Dennis Prager concerning practical, solid, non-controversial advice for those about to consider marriage should engender either mocking or outright hostility.*
Of course, people are so absolutely mature, thoughtful and both intellectually and emotionally aware that divorce is almost unknown in this country. Dennis just wastes column inches addressing the issue at all.
::::sigh::::
*Ok. I have a few clues about St. Amanda and why she consistently belittles marriage [and non-leftists of every stripe] ...
Posted by Darleen at December 14, 2005 06:33 PM
Comments
Hey, Darleen! Well, St. Amanda et al. are just a little unhinged, obviously. (Yes, I'm being kind - no need to further hinder the already disadvantaged).
Just FYI, the link to Mr. Prager's second article leads to the first article.
Thanks for pointing them out, though: it's nice to see evidence of sensible counselling! (Gee, and what a surprise: it mirrors my experience in 20+ years of very happy marriage!)
-- R'cat
CatHouse Chat
Posted by: Romeocat at December 15, 2005 03:30 AM
Thanks, Cat. Link fixed.
Posted by: Darleen at December 15, 2005 06:41 AM
Let's face it; the Feministas just hate men (we should all just live in happy, utopian communes, and grow kids in test tubes) and Manda-Panda's just mad 'cuz she can't even get a date, let alone married!
Posted by: TalkinKamel at December 15, 2005 07:01 AM
Personally I can't stand Prager's garbage.
Posted by: Carl W. Goss at December 15, 2005 08:51 AM
'Let's face it; the Feministas just hate men (we should all just live in happy, utopian communes, and grow kids in test tubes) and Manda-Panda's just mad 'cuz she can't even get a date, let alone married!"
And right-wing Republicans just hate women.
See how reductive and silly these statements are?
As for getting dates, I don't know what Amanda's up to tonight, but I do know that she's been in a serious relationship (with a man) in the past, and has been asked on many dates. Plus -- and this will really blow your mind -- she's cute! And nice!
But then, I'm a feminist which means that I'm probably lying because I'm bitter and ugly and alone, right?
And, by the way, I wasn't mocking Prager because his advice is particularly bad; I was mocking it because it's obvious, and it's nothing new.
Posted by: Jill at December 15, 2005 01:05 PM
Carl
What did Prager say in his columns that I link that you would deem "garbage"?
Be specific.
Posted by: Darleen at December 15, 2005 01:06 PM
The impressions that struck me most were in the comments fields.
At Feministe, it seemed that Jill at least considered the advice commonsense, as did most of her commentors.
I only read Pandagon and lurk, but I don't bother commenting. That blog is an interesting read but seems rather vile toward anything involving traditional women, I've noticed. I was struck at some of the bitter contentions in Pandagon's comments field, such as "The best friend criterion is just wrong" and the idea that if a woman misses a man when he's away, it implies that Prager thinks women should have no other hobbies outside of their husbands. Makes me wonder what kind of marriages some of these women are in where they believe that the whole thing is based solely on fleeting romantic feelings and never admitting a need for the person.
Then I say, no wonder a lot of those types are the same ones to say, "Don't be a stay-at-home mom if you can avoid it, because he just might up and leave at any time." If you won't marry someone you'd consider a best friend, and don't feel close to them except in a sexual sense, then of course the marriage is weak enough to break at the drop of a hat (or the sight of a pretty secretary).
Then again, I felt that a lot of folks were simply angry that a conservative came out with *good* relationship advice that COULDN'T be mocked. Might have been pure cognitive dissonance.
Posted by: Marian at December 15, 2005 02:01 PM
err..what's the HTML tag for paragraph breaks again?
Darleen says: it's [br /] just substitute the caret tag symbol
Posted by: Marian at December 15, 2005 02:01 PM
Jill---you're right. I honestly can't believe Manda-the-panda,is either "cute" or "nice"; that's certainly not the way she comes across on her blog. And if she really is in a serious relationship, why is she mad at Prager for trying to help others stay in serious relationships, even if she doesn't agree with everything he says? Most of what he says is just basic, good advice, and couples respecting each other. What's so terrible about that?
And if you didn't disagree with Prager's advice, why are you so angry about it? Some of it may, indeed, be obvious, but sometimes obvious things need to be re-stated. "Look both ways before you cross the street" is pretty obvious, but people do need to be reminded.
And if feminists---not necessarily you---aren't often bitter, lonely people, why do they go ballistic over things such as Prager's mild, and obvious advice, as if he were insulting them all personally?
As far the rest of it---read Darleen's post above, where she talks about Manda's paranoia about the best-friend/not-missing him thing. (If she has a "serious" relationship with her new guy, I certainly hope she sees him as more than a boy-sex-toy!) Especially note the last two sentences; she puts it a lot better than I ever could!
Posted by: TalkinKamel at December 16, 2005 07:04 AM
Kamel--You mean my post, right? :-) I was the commentor who talked about that.
Posted by: Marian at December 16, 2005 10:25 AM