Slight Regression, but a Larger Cultural Point

I know that I promised MITW would be less scandal oriented, but I swear this story is relevant.

Last night at the bar, I was bantering with a pretty blonde, and she had what my brother likes to call an "Orbiter". This man, like an asteroid or small moon, was caught by her gravitational field. Orbiters do all the things boyfriends do but get no sex, and more importantly no respect. This young woman threw out a particularly demanding whine at the fellow, and out of reflex I responded "dude, she is not hot enough to treat you like that". Everyone around me, and I really do mean EVERYONE looked at me like I had spat on the pope. For the next hour or so, a good friend of mine who is otherwise a cool dude kept badgering me to apologize to her because, and I quote "She's a big deal man. Well connected here".

To steal a line from R.S. McCain: Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot?!?

Seriously. Firstly, this is Fredericton. It's a small town, where everyone knows everyone. This young woman is well connected? That's really quite odd, as some of my friends are local business owners (including the owners of the club). Hell, my landlady brought the freakin' Premier of the Province to my birthday party! I know what well connected is. Whenever I hang out with well connected people, they introduce me to others of their kind. IE "Hey, Morgan you should meet XXXXX. He's the local RCMP section chief, good guy." Not once, in almost five years, have I been introduced to this young woman. She's not a person of interest in any way that matters. She is simply a beautiful woman, which segues nicely into:

Morgan's Third Law of Party: Beautiful Women Have Easy Lives. Cheerfully Correct This Whenever Possible!

That's right. I made this young woman's life just a little harder with a smile on my face. Anyone who ever got picked on in highschool can tell you that on the scale of emotional violence, my comment ranks somewhere around "Sorority Pillow Fight". So when she reacted with an almost overwhelming level of hostility, I understood what my friend was telling me. For your ease of understanding, "She's well connected" translates to "She's the queen bee; you may never get laid in this town again". Fair. The price I pay for my ideals.

I promised you a wider cultural point, so I will give it to you. Our society has adopted the Classical Greek philosophical addiction to beauty to a degree beyond all reason. Beauty earns a degree of tolerance unheard of by others. Celebrities at nightclubs (this generation's iteration of artists in Salons) get lenience directly proportionate to their beauty. Everyone's horror at my behaviour came from the cultural reaction that things that are beautiful are to be respected or obeyed.

Time to wake up, gentlemen. Despite my disdain for the Bible, I will quote it by saying now that we are men it is time to put away childish things. Respect is earned by BEHAVIOUR. I am no iron-willed stoic. I will admit that I like pretty things. I'll admit my baseline tolerance is a little higher. However, the death of masculinity is tolerance for poor behaviour. Children behave badly in public. Dogs ruin furniture. Beautiful celebrities get drunk and flash everyone. And it all gets tolerated because they're so cute/beautiful. Bite it. If you can't harden the %@$# up and discipline people who need it, don't expect to last long in a conversation with real people.

I. Will. Not. Apologize. For. Being. Right.
Pretty girls, you have been warned. I am a real man. Earn my respect by being a real woman.