AskMen, the self-professed “experts” in men’s lifestyle for almost 20 years, say men should give up obsolete skills in today’s modern world. And they place hunting as skill #1 men should ditch “to be the kind of man who’s tops in the near future.” Wait, it gets better.
Ian Stobber wrote the piece called “Obsolete Man Skills You Should Ditch,” for AskMen, telling today’s young (beta) males how to get a leg up on other men when it comes to landing a great woman (or is it officially “partner” now?). Going out on a limb, I bet AskMen’s self-righteous scribe doesn’t have a lot of love for guns or they guys who own them.
Let’s face it, the left in America has declared open war on more than guns. They hate masculinity in general. terming it toxic. But let’s face it, American men – real American men – have lots of masculine traits. Some more than others, of course. It was American masculine men (and women, most fo them more masculine than some of these AskMen types) gave us America’s freedom and independence. Since then, strong men and women have kept our nation free and prosperous for almost 250 years now, frequently using guns, grit and determination.
But AskMen says all that’s no longer needed. Instead, they give us new skill sets that, in their view, will make a man more “manly” in the 21st Century.
The final paragraph of the author’s preamble says a lot. From AskMen.com:
Now, if you want to stay focused on being the coolest guy ever circa the 20th century, knock yourself out! Nobody can make you respect 21st century manliness if you don’t want to. But if you’re at all interested in being ahead of the curve and exploring how to be the kind of man who’s tops in the near future rather than the distant past, then read on to discover which skills are becoming obsolete, and what you should be looking to replace them with.
From there, Stobber tells us “Hunting” ranks as the first and foremost skill “new men” should leave behind. Instead, men should learn how to cook a meal. “Take a cooking class,” he writes. “Or try a meal-kit delivery service”. Maybe even “hunting” for ingredients at a grocery store stands as a hill too high for Ian and his pals to conquer.
I hate to break it to Ian, but those who can successfully hunt, almost always can successfully cook what they kill, too. After all, vegetarian means “lousy hunter” in many languages. Or so I hear.
Obsolete skill #2? Fighting. Instead of learning how to fight to protect those you love, the AskMen scribe suggests learning to mediate. At first I read that as “meditate”. Not that it matters. Both would prove equally worthless if Ray-Ray and his pal Mongo decide they’d like to have some fun with your girlfriend, wife or teenage daughter.
He writes:
Physical fighting literally doesn’t solve anything — it just leaves people angry and bruised, or worse.
What a load of namby-pamby, wooly-headed liberal wishful thinking. Physical fighting gave us our independence from Great Britain. It allowed us to triumph over the Axis of evil powers in World Wars I and II.
Closer to home, here in the real world, criminals understand the use of force. Violent criminals, especially.
In my personal life, I have returned to the gym at least three times a week, and will soon return to twice-weekly Krav Maga classes. I earned my green belt in Krav last year after four years of training, practice and a little sparring.
Already, I have used my Krav to save an innocent teen girl from serious injury at the hands of a violent male intent on repeatedly slugging her in the face. The individual I “restrained” had zero interest in my mediation skills. (Or meditation for that matter.) Without those Krav skills, I might have eaten a knuckle sandwich or two, or worse.
So yes, Ian, you go right ahead and hone those mediation skills and take a few cooking lessons while you’re at it. You’ll make a nice, easy victim for Mongo and Ray-Ray.
Dr. William Petit probably wished he had boned up on his hunting and fighting skills. In 2007, a pair of bad guys broke into the Connecticut home that he shared with his wife and daughters (pictured).
They beat the doctor with a bat, then tied him up as he tried to reason with them. From there, they set about repeatedly raping his wife and daughters. For hours. Later, they tied the two daughters to their beds, splashed them with gasoline, then set them alight. The only survivor was the doctor.
But men don’t need to know how to fight, according to AskMen.
Among the other obsolete skills this guy says new age men don’t need: auto repair (learn computer coding instead), fixing things at home (learn how to decorate), and being a leader (become a collaborator follower!).
I think I saw one of Stobber’s AskMen followers last week. While waiting at a truck stop in Dwight, Illinois, I saw a couple come out of the store to a car with something hanging under the front bumper.
The male half stood and watched as the female got onto the ground and diagnosed the problem. Then she went to the trunk, found a pair of pliers, and returned to the ground while Mr. Millennial stood there watching.
For five minutes she worked under the car in near zero degree wind chills. At that point, I decided I needed to take a pic. Unfortunately for me, she had just fixed the problem and started to get up when I got this photo. You get the idea though.
Yes, this guy must belong to the “new man” fraternity. The one that doesn’t need to know how to do basic car repairs, protect his loved ones or hunt for meat. Not the kind of guy I want as a friend, neighbor or even an acquaintance. Nor the kind of guy I’ll raise my boys to become.
What say you, people of the gun? Do you plan to ditch your guns and hunting skills to learn to cook a better bisque and decorate your home more tastefully?
