The Diary of A Simple Man

"Black men are dangerous. They're bestial, unable to control their base desires. Every one of them wants to rape white women. We'd be better off without them."

Disgusting, right? Nothing anyone could say publicly in this day and age, unless they were in the White House. It's something you might hear in the 1920s or '30s, but certainly not today.

Now take out two key words:

"Men are dangerous. They're bestial, unable to control their base desires. Every one of them wants to rape women. We'd be better off without them."

Suddenly it's something anyone could say in a magazine, newspaper, TV, or on social media. A little extreme, perhaps, but perfectly righteous.

And all I did was take out " black" and "white".

People rarely realize that they're being bigoted. When it's common opinion, it just seems like common sense. It's not until times change that people realize what they did and (some become) ashamed of it.

I believe that in time, it will be recognized that men have become an acceptable target for discrimination that those same people would NEVER think of directing against a racial group, for example.

Unfortunately most so-called "men's rights" groups are fronts for white supremacy, MAGA, and fascism. But that doesn't mean that men aren't actually discriminated against in some real ways.

The presence of a Y chromosome doesn't make a human being a monster. The lack thereof doesn't make someone an angel. Women can be abusive just like men. We aren't that different.

I've been abused by women, badly. Date-raped by a woman. Stalked by women. I've never done anything to a woman. Nonetheless I'm constantly called a potential rapist, molester, deadbeat Dad (although I had to raise my son solo when his mother abandoned him)...it gets to me. It gets to me really badly.

I've only ever tried to treat everyone as a human being worthy of respect until they proved themselves otherwise. And yet when I spoke up to say women can have the same flaws as some men, I'm immediately mocked, sneered at, and hit with the "Not all men" trope - as if that proved something somehow. It's bullying coupled with utter self-righteousness. And I just can't take it any more.

But my only option is to run away. Because I WON'T join one of those men's rights groups. Still, I'm angry.

We took a vacation this week. Left on Sunday morning and drove to the White Mountains in New Hampshire to pick up our friend Jordan, then drove the three of us to my parents' house in Maine. It was about 8 hours drive in all, with a stop at The Common Man in Hooksett for apple cider doughnuts.

 Jordan got us to get out of the house and try some new places, which was good. We stopped at a place called "Bull Moose"; they sell CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Rays, including used ones. The selection was really impressive.

We also went to Damariscotta and shopped at Reny's, which is an amazing little department store; the prices are really low, and the whole place feels like stepping back into the 1950s. Went to their separate clothing store and got some stuff, too. Found that the library's used book store had moved to a much larger shop that was hard to find, although it was an easy walk from the main street downtown. 

Had lunch at the general store there, which was lovely. They had excellent sandwiches, and I was really pleased to see flyers about Gaza. 

For dinner we went to Dunton's Doghouse a couple of times, but also once to Moody's Diner. I'd been there long before, but I remembered it as being about a two-hour drive north; when I looked it up, it turned out to be only 34 minutes away! We LOVED the food there. Sebastian and I both got the meatloaf plate with mashed potatoes and gravy, and steamed carrots. Absolutely yummy! The waitress got me the last slice of gingerbread, and Sebastian had chocolate cheesecake. EVERYTHING was great, even the lemonade.

The ice cream store in downtown Boothbay isn't quite as good as it used to be, sadly. It's been under new management for a few years now, and it's not quite the same. But still not bad.

We gambled on a pizza place on the docks downtown. Sometimes they've been great, but more often they've been horrible. The last time we went I got sick as a dog from their food. But this time they were good. Not delightful, but certainly acceptable.

I got up at 6:20 one morning to get to Farm 23. That's a bakery that makes amazing croissants and coffee. Other pastries as well. They open at 7, but there's a guy who goes there sometimes first thing in the morning and buys up all of their croissants. Fortunately he didn't show up when I was there!

Found a great Chinese restaurant in Bath, and another branch of Bull Moose a little further south. There was a book store too, but I didn't get there in time. We hit several game stores in the area, and another couple of them on the drive back to the White Mountains.

It was really cold the first night; the bedrooms are all on the second floor, and there's no heat up there. So I bought a blanket at a thrift shop the next day, a nice warm one. But it warmed up a little the rest of the week.

We went into the town leatherworker's shop, a man who goes by "Tigger". Sebastian had lost the loop from his belt, and I needed a few more holes punched in mine. He did all of that for us and refused any pay! And he did a really beautiful job of it, too.

We're definitely going up again this summer.

 Widget died early this morning, 3/31/2025. Many tears here today.

 Sebastian found Widget's missing fang a few weeks after he lost it. It's far too late to have it reattached, of course. But truth to tell, I didn't think Widget would still be alive by this point.

He was terribly feeble and his fur was patchy even 6 months ago. His fur is still terribly patchy, but he has rallied and seems to have a lot more energy. I can't really explain that, since he actually is quite old. But it's good to see him eat!

Sebastian: Do you know which country is the worst one for a cat with a dental problem?

Me: No, what? 

Sebastian: Japan. Because there's only one cat dentist in the whole country. 

Me: So what do they do for cats with bad dental problems? Chop them in half with a catana? 

 Still staying off of Reddit. I'm thinking I should probably delete my bookmarks for the site.

I've slept way too much today. Fell asleep on the couch after work. Now I'm wondering if I'm going to have trouble sleeping tonight!

 You know, I'm really sick of the stupidity of political discussions online.