Funny how masculinity is a dirty word. I thought this might be a men are evil vid, but when she managed to refer to viagra less than a minute in, I felt my suspicions confirmed. I did however listen to the rest of it. Bottom line is politicians want votes, tough on crime gets votes, and women vote more than men anyway, and more frequently raise crime as an issue(if you can believe pollsters). I would humbly suggest that she quit buck passing and consider the fact that women vote for that stuff so stop calling it macho.

Oh and macho language to advertise viagra? Only viagra adds I recall involve old people in a hammock or a guy with a really big grin getting off an airplane.

I think you're confusing two very different terms. Masculinity is the expression of male-ness, which she does not criticise in any way shape or form. Her definition of macho is toughness, which as she describes, is not an effective form of discipline, whether it be as a parent or with criminals. She notes that when she was a kid, toughness was looked down on and was not seen to be an effective means of problem-solving.

She's not down on men at all. She's talking about violence and violent communication and saying that this does not resolve violence.

Yeah I listened to it again, its safe to say I overreacted and had a prejudiced expectation going in. I know better than to post online after a long day Upvote for the thought provokey-ness.

Kudos to you, for bothering to watch it again, moondonia.

Machismo is the problem? More male politicians than ever are feminized weaklings.

The real problem is leftist sympathy for criminals and murderers. Endless second chances for the irredeemable.

The only way to "heal" a child rapist or gang scumbag is with death.

I'm a radical masculinist. Forget incarceration, I kill and eat anything or anyone that I feel detracts from my chosen lifestyle.

@persephone
If (I'm not in favour of putting two words together and, tadaa, a new concept) there's "macho politics" there is "macha politics" as well, of which Liz Elliott does not (explicitly) speak. I know "macho" is most common, but ends with a masculine -o.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

I would agree that there is a macha politics. Female politicians seem to put on the tough guy stance even more than male ones.

^ Made me think of Margaret Thatcher, and a quote i thought i half remembered about her once not recognizing her daughter at a party. Instead I ran across this old article which I'll read fully tomorrow, but skimming it, i picked up on descriptions of her as Macho and Tough which might be interesting to reflect on in the context of the vid.

Just a few observations,
(1) Civilized society cannot exist without rule of law. There are bad people out there. As comedian Richard Pryor said after his first performance at a prison, (paraphrased) "I went in there thinking all these brothers were being discriminated against. After hanging out with them, all I can say is, thank God for prisons."
(2) There is a big difference between violent and non-violent offenses. We have become so politically correct, we can't seem to tell the two apart. So, we take up prison space with Martha Stewarts. (Now that she's out, I live in constant fear.)
(3) People who commit violent crimes are dangerous and not easily rehabilitated. Read Richard Rhodes' book "Why They Kill." While it's a little too black and white in interpretation, (he discounts the role of mental illness in producing violent behavior....something I disagree with), I think it effectively argues that good people rarely become violent because of circumstance. They become violent because they were brutalized as children, usually by their own parents or guardians, a process he calls "violentization." They become what they know and experience.
(4) If you want to reduce violent crime, get kids out of abusive families. And let's not let someone's social state serve as an excuse for it. Being poor does not give license to terrorize and beat the s*** out of your kids, and it doesn't cause it either. And lastly, as Richard Pryor pointed out, keep habitually violent people behind bars

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Some really good points there to be sure snoozedoctor. I agree that abuse during childhood is a primary cause of violent adults. "The child is the father to the man".

It's not black and white on how to fix this. Simply taking kids away from their birth parents is not the solution IMHO. Having kids shuffled around between foster parents does not create secure adults.

It's the poor and mariginalized that are having the most kids these days - it would be better to try and help at that end. Free birth control for all would be a good start.

Amen brother!

If I had to define macha politics or behaviour, it would be when women who feel like they don't have any real power, use manipulation and subterfuge to get some kind of control. I come from a long line of women who behave this way, so I've got lots of personal experience of this.

I think this kind of behaviour is worthy of discussion, especially in the area of family relationships and workplace politics.

It does not really apply to the situation being discussed in this video, which is the current government's approach to discipline and crime, especially in the U.S.. I don't think you could say that this is not a macho approach. The psychology behind campaigns and policies is, show 'em who's the boss(the toughest). Even campaign slogans reveal this attitude. Tough on crime. Tough on drugs. Tough on delinquents.

That's not to say that women aren't also capable of behaving in a macho way. Thatcher is a great example. In male-dominated circles, like politics, women who want to get to the top, often choose to grow a pair and that pair can end up looking bigger than those of the men around her. This video doesn't talk about this issue, because it's not pointing the finger at either male or female politicians. It's saying that the tough approach is failing us.

Seems I just coined "macha politics" here on the sift
And another 2 new concepts:
"mariano politics" and "mariana politics"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianismo
All four exist. But indeed machismo is relatively dominant these days. Not sure about the macho/macha ratio.

She also referred to "viagra" (interestingly ending with a female -a), which is a Male sexual dysfunction drug (a PDE5 inhibitor). The Female drugs are not yet popular
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Female_sexual_dysfunction_drugs
and not referred to.

This clip also reminded me of Michael Moore's Norway clip:
http://www.videosift.com/video/Michael-Moore-Norway-Too-good-for-SiCKO

Have found the time to read the article and re watch the vid. The Marianismo link is interesting too.

I agree that the message of the vid is that the tough approach is failing us, but like snooz i think crime is a ore complex issue, especially violent crime. It raises questions about the inherent value in toughness as a strategy, and I think the "war on drugs" is similar, in terms of polititons seeking to be seen to be touch about that issue, and yet i consider it to be a failed policy. In part because its both unrealistic and dehumanizing.

I'm not sure I have any personal experience of this in family relationships though. Or if i have, i've just not identified it as such. I've more awareness of passive aggression.