Links from the Blogroll
We haven’t done one of these in awhile.
Patrick at Popehat takes a look at the latest frivolous-in-a-reasonable-world anti-McDonald’s lawsuit (a claim of emotional distress because the plaintiff’s daughter too-often asks her mother to buy Happy Meals), and especially at the media coverage thereof, which fails to mention the critical fact that the plaintiff is a government employee whose job it is to ensure Californians eat their broccoli.
Speaking of Popehat, we should all be interested to learn that one of Brazil’s biggest and most notorious drug lords is also one of the world’s greatest connoisseurs of fine art. Fine art featuring Justin Bieber, that is.
FLG presents his latest theory: that men are happier because they simply care a lot less, on average, about what society thinks of them (whether or not they should).
one of the world’s greatest connoisseurs of fine art. Fine art featuring Justin Bieber, that is.
So he’s one of the world’s greatest connoisseurs of the null set? Right up there with the Zen masters, I suppose.Report
Indeed.Report
That popehat link was really interesting. The ridiculous beyond frivolous lawsuit made me want to run to McD’s for a Quarter Pounder or four. The snarky fear mongering about the gov forcing people to eat veggies ( without any actual , you know, proof) and booga booga OMG she works for THE GOV made me want to give out free asparagus to people on the street while wearing a george washington costume.Report
It’s not that she’s a government employee that’s a problem. It’s that she’s a government employee who sole job is as an advocate for vegetables and the like. This means she’s far from just an ordinary person, but instead someone with a peculiar set of motives that should be disclosed in coverage of the story. She’s essentially an activist playing the role of a class action plaintiff (and thus a stand-in for all mothers of three-year olds in the state); adding the fact of her specific job quickly destroys the notion that she is at all representative in any meaningful way. There’s something else here, too, which Patrick gets at, and which is actually a factor in favor of the California government: clearly, this woman is angry that California as a whole (as opposed to just SF) has refused to adopt the policy for which she is advocating in her position; having failed to persuade her employer, she has turned to the courts to do her job for her.Report
FLG presents his latest theory: that men are happier because they simply care a lot less, on average, about what society thinks of them (whether or not they should).
We need to raise awareness for societal awareness.
That there is gender disparity in societal awareness is vestigial patriarchy.Report
What’s particularly funny about this comment is that I *do* believe that the difference is a product of the historic power imbalance between men and women. Men have historically had the ability (or more ability than women at any rate) to become independent enough (and sometimes powerful or wealthy enough) that they don’t have to rely nearly as much on the approval of others to get by and be respected.Report
The problem that I have with this take is that, historically, I only go back to 1972.Report
I think FLG hits the hammer on the head, for the most part. It took me too long to see the connection appearance (wherein female peer pressure far exceeds male standards), fashion (wherein “good-looking” clothes seem to be designed to be only for the dedicated by being extremely uncomfortable or unflattering on all but the most perfectly-sculptured women), and household cleanliness.
None of this is to say that men don’t care or that they don’t care about some really stupid crap, but our spheres of giveaspit seem to be much narrower, in the overall.Report
Trumwill,
I think it can be argued that this giveaspit seems to decline markedly as males get older. As an employee in the golf industry who gets to work with a much higher-than- average-concentrated, older-aged set, it has been my observation that self-awareness about appearance seems to get more numb with men as they age. Most of the women though still seem to want to look polished, no matter their age. That’s my two anecdotes worth.Report
Bieber!?
I never believed it before, but now I’m compelled to, drug lords really are evil.Report