I urge everyone to watch this segment on the status quaestionis of MEN in these USA. For decades there has been an open war on boys, men, masculinity. This has had devastating effects on society at large and on the Church in particular.
The guy he interviews in the second part of the video was great.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
on ROME 24/4– Day 30: Let there be LIGHT!: “Why, if life was the result of random events, is there such order in everything that exists? And why, if…” on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “In this day & age, religious rituals are quaint and unnecessary. But the secular rituals people have for sports games…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 30: Let there be LIGHT!: “Linguine Marinara con Gambieri tonight. In your charity please pray for me. it appears that i will likely be fired…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 30: Let there be LIGHT!: “Father, may I ask in which church is venerated the beautiful image of St. Joseph in the holy card that…”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “remember this?: …The Pope turned to the beggar and said, “Would you hear my confession?” The beggar replied, “but I…”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “Thank you Fr. Z. kissing the hands that serve me my Lord. Not that I would ever be Pope (God…”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: ““monstrance says: 19 April 2024 at 1:31 PM Thank you Fr Z. Then there’s the scene of Pope Francis violently…”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “Wonderfully done, Father. Thank you.”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “Fr Z I have three things to write about here. First, Ss.Trinita looks stunning. I have, when in Rome, many…”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “It isn’t a humiliation for us to behave with decorum. It also isn’t humiliation for us to behave with humility.…”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “Here in Vancouver, Filipinos are the heart and soul of the archdiocese. We would not have full churches without them.…”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “Dear Father, thank you for addressing this question and bringing in the additional context! Your line “It is wrong for…”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “How paradoxical that the Judas liturgical mindset isn’t the one WITH the kissing, given how Jesus was arrested!”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “Thank you Fr Z. Then there’s the scene of Pope Francis violently ripping his hand away from the faithful attempting…”
on ASK FATHER: Kissing the priest’s hand in the Latin Mass v. the liturgical spirit of Judas. Wherein Fr. Z rants.: ““That’s just a remanent of an imperial court…” Sold! I’ll take a double order, please!”
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A Daily Prayer for Priests
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since Sat., 25 Nov. 2006:
“If you have your children in a school and they talk about equity, diversity, inclusivity, white privilege, systemic racism, any of that you take your children out of the class. They are not being educated; they are being indoctrinated.”
If we don’t profess responsible parenthood in the pelvic we won’t get it in the pedagogic.
” It [the self-mastery, the right and lawful ordering of birth demands] arouses in them a consciousness of their responsibilities. And finally, it confers upon parents a deeper and more effective influence in the education of their children.” HV #21
I have greatly enjoyed listening to some of Jordan Peterson’s YouTube videos over the last year. He has it nailed down on what’s happening to men in our culture. I’ve seen him essentially come to tears discussing it. He has been talking with young men as a behavioral psychologist for years and has a valuable perspective on what’s going on in their hearts and heads.
4 of my 5 young children are boys. They are homeschooled and this issue is part of the reason.
His book, 12 Rules for Life, An Antidote to Chaos, is a great read for anyone who wants to make sense of the direction our society is careening toward.
In chapter 7, “Pursue what is meaningfull (not what is expedient)” Peterson actually lays the blame of totalitarian thinking at the feet of the Protestant re-thinking of Christianity—without actually saying so explicitly. I would love to see someone way smarter than I look into this (subheading “Christianity and its Problems” page 185)
Fr. Z. thank you for this. I have seen this over and over across years in education. I can tell you with absolute certainty that this is the case, boys are diminished and girls are elevated. Last year I was in one elementary school where “leaders” were sent to a program to learn more leadership.
At the next assembly, it was impossible to avoid the fact that there were about 12 girls in the program, and two rather soft and plump boys. No boys wanted to be leaders? All wore t-shirts that said “I am an agent of change”. Our kids are being indoctrinated in our public schools. I’ve watched as girls have been “empowered”, and the change in our kids is positively disconcerting to watch. You can see it the most at the upper levels. At a high school recently, I watched a game similar to volleyball being played. The girls absolutely dominated. They walk like boys, they have “swag”, and they are aggressive, even, in your face, with the boys. The boys have retreated, being told any form of assertiveness is aggression, they are often doormats for the girls. If you tell a boy his masculinity is a bad thing, eventually you will deprive him of it. This all makes these kids easy pickins for the lies about LGBT, with which they are full on board. I have 12 year olds proudly tell me they are “transqueer”, in front of their peers. These kids are already messed up, in terms of full confidence in their own femininity and masculinity, and are being disengaged from any prior opinion about the sexes (now called “gender” by most everyone).
I would not have my child in a public school today unless I could ascertain with all certainty that they were not being indoctrinated, and Mr. Peterson is totally correct about what to look for, but there is more. The very atmosphere of the school today is a problem, it is so pervasive it must be said it is everywhere in the school. Masculinity is BAD, in the same way that the message is received that America is bad and anything foreign is good (unless it’s European, then it might be bad.)
Children in many elementary schools can no longer play games like tag on the playground, and there are constant admonitions that “someone might get HURT”. No boys can roughhouse or wrestle, that would be an office visit. Any act of physicality in boys is quickly addressed in negative terms. This is a bad thing for boys to exhibit, but girls, not so much.
Most teachers are women. It is a female dominated field. In my experience women have bought into this mindset, perhaps without giving it much thought, but the effect is the same.
There are now special “programs” in schools and other activities that children get that parents may not even know about. We have things now like “Crazy Hair Day”, that gets children used to the weird or different as a good thing. I’ve seen programs designed to get students to “sit with students you don’t know” at lunch. We have things like “Twin Day” where two students are to dress alike for the day. For an extra dollar there can be three of you. (?) All these activities have a “purpose”. I’ve seen “groups” be formed where an adult (not their teacher) leads a “discussion” about topics parents probably don’t even realize they are talking about. Do parents look beyond it and see what the elites are trying to bring about? I doubt it. But there is a goal. Most parents are asleep and believe that pretty school with the happy kids and nice classroom means their child is in good hands. In reality there is a progressive mindset at work at all times, and the goal is to indoctrinate children into it. It works beautifully. And in this environment boys are told they are by definition bad and girls are told they are by definition, good. What else would we expect to happen?
Sorry for the rant, but this is one I’ve watched unfold for years and parents may not have any idea about it. If you want your boys to be boys and your girls to be girls, your public school may very well be working against you.
Not to mention:
* Abortion destroys fatherhood. Reproduction is the most male thing a man can do.
* The strange god of perversion (homosexuality, gender dysphoria, LGBT alphabet soup.) dominates the public square
* 10.6 million women in the U.S. are using birth control pills and void into unfiltered water systems. We are drinking lots of female hormones.
I first heard of Jordan Peterson through his Channel 4 interview with Cathy Newman a month or two ago. If you haven’t seen it, it’s on YouTube with the title, “Jordan Peterson debate on the gender pay gap, campus protests and postmodernism”. His calm, clear responses to Cathy’s incessant vicious attacks are impressive. He must have been giving her his clinical psychologist bedside manner.
I’m about halfway through his new book (12 Rules for Life). So far, it’s worth reading. The psychological advice in it is frequently helpful, although he does get into religion, and his theology isn’t much good. Seems to me that he has read a lot of psychology of religion books and hasn’t discussed religion with enough well-informed, faithful Catholics (or Christians, for that matter). He needs more good Catholic peers.
Kathleen,
J. Peterson actually puts his finger on why the boys-competing-with-girls paradigm is a disaster, and it goes along with what my husband has said for years: when boys compete with girls, they can only lose. If they win, they just beat a girl, which sucks away a bit of their soul. If they lose, they got beat by a girl, and never get to live that down. The logical conclusion is not to step into the arena with a girl at all.
This is why girl altar-boys is always a bad idea. No young boy worth his salt wants to compete with girls, so as we can observe almost everywhere, the boys just drop out.
And where women succeed in male dominant fields (like Naval Aviation) it is not because they have been change agents who bring a fresh female perspective to problems, but because they learn to behave more like men to succeed. There are exceptions, but this is the rule.
My son came home from elementary school last week after a nice snowfall. I asked him what he did on the playground that day, and did they have any snowball fights. He said snowball fights are outlawed, and he is not allowed to even make a snowball and throw it an inanimate object. So I asked him if he went sledding on the sledding hill instead. He said the hill was off limits because it was too slippery and somebody could get hurt.
Of course the school couches this in terms of legal liability, but it is nothing of the sort. This is the same district that, when I attended back in the Dark Ages, had three recesses a day, and now has about 15 minutes total recess, full stop.
The war on boys is real, and it is stupid, and it will be devastating.
The good news is that I had a lovely snowball fight with my son and his buddies down the street AFTER school, and then we went sledding and played f-yer-buddy while doing it, which is a not-very-nice term for plowing into each other and knocking each other to Kingdom Come on the sledding hill.
Honestly, if moms have to do these things for their sons, rather than have the boys learn this stuff from friends, we may be doomed. I will live with bumps and bruises rather than let my son become a neutered nancy-boy, courtesy of the public school system. (Not a lot of chance of that happening, since Dad is a pretty manly man….)
Well, there are a lot of undocumented statistics in the first half of that, with really no way to assess the quality of the purported data. The second half seems like warmed over right-wing pop psychology, finished over with a thin veneer of academic authoritarianism.
Peterson’s major fault is that he presents unproven theories as being established facts. There was no mention made here that the peer review hasn’t gone very well for this theorist. But who in their right mind would expect Tucker to give equal time to ideas that run counter to his own hard right commentary which is basically little more than a desperate pandering for ratings.
If it’s true that male hormone levels are falling (which we don’t know for sure, since he did not source his data) there could be an number of reasons, some of them being environmental; but then the hard right doesn’t want to take a look at what is going on in the realm. What about global warming, increases of CO2, depletion of the ozone layer, recently designed toxins in soil and water, and antibiotics and hormones in food?
As a side to this, what about the hormonal loading in the environment? As I understand it hormones are not metabolized; they pass through the body, are not processed with waste water, and join the water table. And how does the purported decrease in testosterone comport with the clearly observable earlier onset of puberty; and this is seen in both sexes.
At any rate, Peterson’s theories make for an interesting starting point; but it’s hardly settled science.
On a mildly related note, security in schools is becoming bothersome. I started a college Trig course today; I decided to stop by my instructor’s office after class, simply to see where it sits. Judging by the reaction from the lady I passed, …I’ll have to plan on several minutes of waiting and bureaucracy before I even say hello. When taking my original undergrad degree, I recall simply walking through halls and corridors to find the right spot. Evidently that’s frowned upon now. I don’t remember staff being so prickly about finding a professor’s office before. ….Saddest thing is, the state forbids anyone from being armed inside a school, with the possible exception of a security guard. So much for a welcoming environment!
the demasculinization of men has unfortunately allowed some men (of various ages) to hide behind that phenomenon as an excuse to not rise to the occasion and be men
They remain self-centered, little boys
I’ve noticed that many of the younger priests seem to be sporting beards, and I think it’s not only a grooming decision, but it’s some kind of statement or spirituality around masculinity.
I’ve also been noticing that I’m running low on my Barbatus Beard Balm, (https://catholicbalm.co/beardbalm/) in the “chrism” scent. Shea Butter, Almond Oil, Beeswax, Cocoa Butter and Essential Oils (in this case, Balsam).
The Detroit Groom Corktown grooming oil is running low, also. See, I’m a lot more traditional that you might think! [Beards are not traditional for diocesan priests.]
“The beard signifies the courageous.” – Augustine
(Could I have learned about Barbatus on this site?)
I posted this on a blog of an Anglican priest that I admire for his Christianity and humor about Peterson, he thought that Jordan was a bit “wispy and not christian enough”
quote “me”
You have to give Peterson credit, he told the Canuk gov SJWs where to go. from memory “this is not about what descriptives to use but the government forcing me to use certain words”
https://youtu.be/SiijS_9hPkM on gender pronouns
on men
https://youtu.be/NX2ep5fCJZ8 on the meaning of life for men
Yes we older folks know this instinctively but to hear someone express it clearly to young sjw skulls full of mush is great, it is interesting that 80+% of his audiences when live and even more online are men, young men, He is saying things that the Catholic CHURCH should be saying but doesn’t have the B—S anymore, and the Anglicans cannot say it for it cut it’s own b—s off, owner of this site excluded of course. His insights into women in business, equal pay and equal opportunity are so true yet they make sjws heads explode, it’s priceless
Give the Man credit for the backbone to speak the truth
end quote
PS frjim, I sport a beard, too lazy to shave and in my profession “dairy farming” it is warm in the winter, but I keep it really short. I will keep the quote from Augustine handy, thanks
Has it occurred to anyone that one major effect of the war on boys will be that the war-readiness of the American fighting man may be jeopardized? One day soon many – most – may simply not be up to the job.
@ Marion Ancilla Mariae II, I have thought about that very much for more than a few years now. Not only will an American fighting man be jeopardized but a man who has the innate sense of protecting the weak and preserving freedom, true freedom. What happens when the weak and untrained in virtue steeped in a culture of emasculation is asked to fight? Well, it sure won’t be pretty. I am sure if forced, because what man in an efeminant state will volunteer, anyhow, if forced to fight, will for the most part, not fight with honor. Protect the weak? He is the weak. Fight for truth? What is truth to him when it is different for everyone and subject to how one feels at the moment?
Yes, I too have been worried about this for a while now. Praying, as there is hope.
” [Beards are not traditional for diocesan priests.]”
Maybe not, but a few of them seem to be promoting it as a kind of “spirituality of masculinity” thing [You wrote that before. I think that’s a stretch. ]
… I think it is something they are picking up at retreats in Larchmont.
[I think they don’t have a clue as to what the former dress standards were for diocesan priests and they are going along with present day trends.]
FrJim4321 says,
Peterson’s major fault is that he presents unproven theories as being established facts. There was no mention made here that the peer review hasn’t gone very well for this theorist. But who in their right mind would expect Tucker to give equal time to ideas that run counter to his own hard right commentary which is basically little more than a desperate pandering for ratings.
One of the reasons I’ve spent most of my life with the thought of St Thomas is that he never understates the opinions of those who disagree with him to create an easy target. In fact, there are times when he grants their premises, then shows their conclusions don’t follow. It is the work of a man in love with Truth, not just someone promoting one ideology while undermining another.
I know nothing about Peterson. I also seldom watch Carlson or any of the news channels. The few minutes I’ve seen him, however, he has often had people with opposing views as guests.
When I was growing up in the 1970’s the message of the age was Men Bad, Women Rule. It wasn’t till I started reading the blog of fellow SSA Catholic Joseph Sciambra a few years ago that I realized what a pack of lies I’d been sold by everybody from secular TV to the Catholic media such as it was. And got angry. And am still angry. And am getting angrier because the women’s ordination mob and the queer-positive mob look to be ramping up to take full control of the Church. And nobody in a position to do something about it wants to do anything about it.
frjim4321 wrote:
“If it’s true that male hormone levels are falling (which we don’t know for sure, since he did not source his data) there could be an number of reasons, some of them being environmental; but then the hard right doesn’t want to take a look at what is going on in the realm. What about global warming, increases of CO2, depletion of the ozone layer, recently designed toxins in soil and water, and antibiotics and hormones in food?”
There is no primary genetic reason why male hormone (you mean, testosterone – are there any other?) levels are falling, but there are plenty due to environmental factors, most specifically, the over-production of estradiol precursors in things like PBa in plastics. How many citations would you like? Would ten be enough. The far right and the far left are both aware of the problem.
Now, what nobody (as in nobody) knows is if there are epigenetic factors related to the modulation of male testosterone generation.
The Chicken
I don’t know about the spirituality thing, but I do think there’s something to the masculinity aspect. Something that is very much a signifier of manhood is the ability to grow a beard – it comes with being a bloke and age. I have one because it makes me look older, and I’m relatively senior at work compared to my age. (And I like having one)
I also think that it’s partly about self image. When I’m playing competitive sports and gaining muscle, and wearing a beard, and have shorter hair, that makes me feel more “grown up” – I.e. More masculine.
Need to think about it more, but I like the idea.
I am amazed how many men today cannot change a tire, jump a car, work a weed eater, or make simple home repairs. I am glad I had a dad show me how to do these things. He showed my brothers too.
On that note, it is sad that shop classes have been eliminated at many junior high and high schools. This was a good place for boys to learn “masculine skills” that are valuable. School administrators argue that shop is too expensive, too risky, too hard to find teachers, or “oh, it’s only for the slow kids” (yes, that was an argument at my old high school) . These administrators need to go back to the basics, roll up their sleeves, and take the tie off.
I remember being in 8th grade (early 1980s) and shop filled up fast. (Sidebar: Home economics filled up fast for the girls, and this was public school – do they still have that?) In shop, we had fun drafting, building, etc. , and learned how to use tools. Skills for life. I learned a few of these skills in Scouts too, and I still countersink screws.
I can confirm at the collegiate level that things could not be worse in the area of gender ideology. And if you have a TV take a look at the new shows that are being produced. They all involve stupid, weak men who need supervision by the strong woman character. And for many years now in crime shows we have been given the impression that to be a judge in our legal system you must be a woman.
Interesting video and insightful comments. Two commenters raised a good point about masculinity and combat effectiveness. Well, here’s just one anecdote, this involving restrooms on warships, among the many anecdotes about the “gender-neutralization” of the military that really ramped up during the Obama years.
As the Navy Times and many other news outlets across the political spectrum have reported, the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, has no urinals- restrooms are all toilet stalls. According to Obama’s (infamous) Secretary of the Navy Mabus, this “design feature” allows for male and female berthing areas to be easily switched as conditions necessitate.
However, as noted by many current and former sailors, (including believe it or not military and civilian restroom design experts who are quoted by name and company in several news articles), a stall requires twice as much space as a urinal, a flush toilet uses three times more water, a stall is less sanitary than a urinal, and on average it takes twice as long to use a stall rather than a urinal. Then, of course, ships pitch and roll when at sea…yet another good reason for urinals.
In the news occasionally (I’m not making this up) there is a report of some crackpot group in Europe or the U.S. that smashes urinals and shrieks “Men must sit down!” True, the groups and incidents are few. Though for whatever reason, the US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier was deliberately designed to be less combat effective. So, certain Congressmen and Congresswomen controlling the defense budget, certain Navy personnel, and certain defense contractors, just provided an odd supervisory task to Chief Petty Officers on board that carrier.