V-Day, Misogyny

I keep forgetting that my parents occasionally read this blog. Which isn't too much of a problem, except when I title a story "I Became a Counselor So I Could Tell Rape Victims They Asked For It", which, on reflection, is a bit of an alarming title for a completely unrelated piece of fiction if you don't know the title is actually stolen from the title of an Anal Cunt song.

Other Anal Cunt song titles:

"Everyone in the Underground Music Scene Is Stupid"
"I Got Athlete's Foot Showering at Mike's"
"Sweatshops Are Cool"
"I Ate Your Horse"
"Domestic Violence Is Really, Really, Really Funny"
"Dictators Are Cool"
"Deadbeat Dads Are Cool"
"Being Ignorant Is Awesome"

Which all lead to a call from my mum the other night, and a lecture about why I shouldn't be a misogynist. Personally, I think that being a misandrist, tends to balance out any misogyny pretty damn well. I don't really see a tendency towards hating on womenfolk in my writing, except maybe when I talk about my love life, and, even there, any negative things I say about dates or partners or etcetera seems like an equal condemnation of myself, right?

[By the way: you should probably read those Wikipedia links even if you know the definitions of misogyny and misandry]

You should also realize that I'm laughing as I write this. The idea that I hate or dislike anyone based on their sex is pretty damn funny to me.

Actually, just as a guide for further reading; it's important to keep in mind that any criticism I write aimed at a person or group of people is intended to show my belief that those persons or people are capable of being better than they are currently. Also, any time I use a broad generalization, specifically the words "always" or "never", you shouldn't be taking me seriously.

In non Ben-Hates-The-World related news, Chicago's in the middle of the first big storm of winter, I saw Ira Glass do a reading last night, and I'm visiting my grandparents for Valentine's Day. [Interesting Fact: they stay at a Conservative Jewish nursing home, so the home calls it "Love Day". I think there's going to be Old People Dancing and other Special Events, and I imagine I'll end up telling Elizabeth about it Thursdayish, and she'll make a little awww sound and call it "cute".]

Hm. And there's no one in the office except me today, which means I really shouldn't be wearing any pants. Also, I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I usually try to spend one week out of every month without caffeine or booze or anything else that makes life worthwhile, and it's going pretty damn well so far. Nights are sort of slow, but I've been drawing stuff on my walls, so that's good. I've got a date with a bartender on Thursday, and I think we're meeting at a bar, so I'm not sure whether I'll cut the No Booze restriction short for that night.

Shit, I've been typing lots of words.