12-20-2020, 07:02 PM
(12-20-2020, 02:22 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote:(12-20-2020, 01:47 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: To me it reminds me of how my boomer cohorts were in childhood. Most were bullies to some extent, or just overly macho guys. I preferred the company of girl playmates for a while at school. They denounced me for this too.
The game is, feel good about yourself and gain admiration by picking on others. Pick on them, oppress them, keep them down. That stokes my own sense of identity.
I had a similar occurrence later on in life. The instructor in a martial arts class accused me of liking to spar with girls. I agreed. Girls would spar soft, they would listen to instructions to stay soft as our style was supposed to. Guys were more competitive. They would fight harder and stronger to use their physical advantage to 'win'.
It wasn't quite the same as what you are talking about, but it seems worth mentioning.
I also remember my cousin speaking of a contest at his school between those who learned the hard 'animal' styles of Chinese king fu, and those who mixed in some softer tai chi. The soft martial artists won.
Worth mentioning indeed.