How many of you celebrated International Men’s Day last Sunday (19)?

The Government sponsored Cayman Islands “celebrations” comprised a Men and Boys church service at Savannah United Church on Sunday.

Rooster 101 had a roundtable at 7:30am last Friday and there was a Family Day at Kings Sports Centre on Saturday 18th.

Wow.

How much effort was put into that?

Whilst The BIG DAY was mentioned at St George’s Anglican Church that was it. However, at Elmslie Church the DAY was not mentioned at all.

Men’s Day did not even get a Government Minister telling us how we need MEN.

So what is the point of it when it passes by with barely a whimper? Don’t MEN matter? Why is the media mainly silent about it? The LGBTQ make sure EVERYONE know when it is their day for celebration. Celebrities galore line up to say how wonderful they all are.

Mary, the mother of Jesus is revered. But Joseph? There isn’t even a mention of when he died in the Bible. He is only mentioned further on in the Gospels in passing and not by name. Jesus was “that carpenter’s son”.

Why did anyone bother to mark an International Men’s Day?

David Walsh, Chairman of Voices Ireland, writing in The Journal.ie asks the same question. He answers the question by saying:

“One could list at great length the many problems that afflict men today, including the male suicide epidemic, the paucity of resources for male victims of domestic violence and the falling behind of young men and boys in education. However there is one fundamental factor related to all these problems that men encounter: there is a lack of mainstream acceptance of systemic men’s issues which is compounded by the absence of male advocacy groups with a broad remit to make the case at political level and the level of the media.
“Men have endured a bad press for a long time. When a leading UK politician like Andrea Leadsom can say that men should not be hired to do childcare as they may be paedophiles, collective guilt is being applied.
“There is no other group in society which is collectively blamed for the poor behaviour of a small minority on such a regular basis. The reductionism evident in blaming society’s ills, from workplace harassment to terrorism, on ‘toxic masculinity’ is a clear example of how lazy thinking and glib talk typifies the current debate on men’s issues.

“Why has there been such a dearth of male advocacy?
“Historically, men have had no issues organising as trade unionists, or in groups dedicated to protesting against inequalities faced by minorities based on their race or sexuality. This is not the case for men’s advocacy.
“Such advocates are typically met with contempt when attempting to add a discussion of men’s issues to the national dialogue on gender equality. Such negative attitudes may well be a factor in why many men are so reluctant to come forward.

“John Waters has written eloquently for many years on the plight of fathers arising from the family law courts. His topic is “The attack on fathers, the attack on family”.

“Are there any signs of hope?
“A film “The Red Pill” was made by acclaimed director Cassie Jaye about the Men’s Movement. Jaye began her film expecting to expose men’s advocates as nothing more than misogynists, but soon found herself challenging her own assumptions so much so that she now rejects the feminist label.
“Jaye’s experience inspires hope because it demonstrates that even deeply-held convictions can be relinquished if we are only willing to countenance ideas that challenge those convictions with an open mind. This is what International Men’s Day should be about. Not just a celebration of men’s contributions and of masculinity, but a day to acknowledge that men also have serious issues to be addressed.”

To read the whole article go to: http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/opinion-why-do-we-even-need-an-international-mens-day-3702135-Nov2017/

And what did I do to celebrate International Men’s Day?

I joined a Men’s Group and sang. There were other groups, nearly all women, but the consensus was the Men gave the best performance.

So there we are my female readers. That opinion came from all the women there and they outnumbered the men ten to one. It was held in a church, you see.

Men. Who said, “women are the weaker sex?” It probably was a man. But this is what Mahatma Gandhi said about that:

“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man’s injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man’s superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self-sacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her, man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with woman. Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart than woman?”

This from a man who was married at 14 and “immediately started ill-treating his, gentle, little wife. He would check her movements and even choose her friends for her.”

But when he grew up, he always condemned child-marriage and fought against this evil practice.

I wonder what he would have thought of celebrating an International Men’s Day? Would we all have to wear a blanket? There’s a thought…