An article I shouldn't read

[pasithea]

Okay, I had to abort after only one page of this 5-page article.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/men/article6992299.ece

Perhaps it is meant as humor or sarcasm or something but I confess it FAR too closely matches my view of men and heterosexual relationships and it just fills me with the kind of contempt for humanity that makes me want to find some way to get a rocket to the asteroid belt so I can shift a few massive rocks to send them crashing down on the Earth in hopes of obliterating mankind.

If this is really truly what you people are like, please do the entire planet a favor and either evolve or die out. I really have a low tolerance for such pathetic simian behavior.

If this article honestly is not you, congrats and thank you. This article has literally upset my stomach. :/

Comments

[yetanotherbob.livejournal.com]

Part of this to keep in mind is that these are british journalists. I'm reminded of John Cleese, who commented that they're "Rather sad creatures". This article is pretty much standard link-baiting, taking some stereotypes and pop-science, sexing it up (Pun not intended) in order to drive outrage and increase advertising revenue sales. To give you an idea of how vacuous this article is, it later delves into the 'sins' of men secretly enjoying porn, or secretly being gay. However, let's set aside this tripe to address the underlying claim.

Yes, there's evolutionary reasons for men to cheat (Spread more genetic code). Yes, testosterone increases sex drive. Yes, some people play the part of the stereotypes. But it's noteworthy that stupidity is equal-oppurtunity, and these comments apply regardless of gender or orientation.

Furthermore, these environmental factors should not matter. While genetics might have a heavy hand in programming, what matters is act, not thought, because we do have impulse control. Whether or not I "want to shag [my wife's] best friend" due to some obsolete wiring is irrelevant. If I do such, my inability to control such impulses has no valid excuse. If I resist such theoretical urges and do not act such, then any claim about my morality based on errant thoughts would be prosecuting thought crimes.

I tend to avoid such articles because they do drain faith in people. The problem is that there will always be lows, things to get outraged about, things to make one hateful, but that really doesn't help. But they do you a great disservice in that they can blind you to the things that people do that are beautiful, that make use of potential, that help each other, and that which redeems this species.