The fact that straight white men – including those who should have retired long ago – are mostly in charge of our society is not (as they themselves and also many women believe) due to their superior brains and their superior strength and ingenuity. On the contrary.
The fact that white men think they are automatically entitled to all top positions in politics, in companies, in clubs, and at home, is because they are, well, pretty stupid.
And they are thick-skinned.
There are many things that (old) white men don’t realize.
For example, that women are generally better at leadership and at dividing their attention over several important matters at the same time.
That women are better at detecting and analyzing problems, at finding creative solutions, at choosing the most effective and efficient solution, and at planning its implementation.
That women are less inclined to aggression, violence and to pushing through their own opinion, and that they listen better. That they not only listen to what is being said, but also to what is not spoken aloud.
That women attach less importance to their own position of power, and more to the interests of society as a whole and to maintaining peace and tolerance. That women build bridges, where men build walls. That women negotiate, where men shoot and bomb.
Also (old) white men do not realize that intelligence has nothing to do with skin color. That what they see as inferiority in people with a different skin color or background is the result of their own colonial abuse of power, their own monopoly position and megalomania, and therefore of inequality of opportunity.
Then about that famous strength of the man, which is rather exaggerated.
Men, even if physically fit to do so, would probably not survive a pregnancy and childbirth. As it is, they already barely survive a common cold.
Their strength is dwarfed by the strength of a woman who protects herself or her loved ones from danger.
Their strength pales in comparison to that of a woman who not only has a job or career, but also does the housekeeping, takes care of any children (whom she also carries and gives birth to), manages the organization and administration at home, and perhaps also works on her fitness, a hobby, the garden, or a study.
The average white man is already extremely proud if he thinks he is doing just one of these activities – his job – well.
Men don’t listen, don’t think, don’t see the big picture, are disinterested, indifferent and, well, pretty stupid.
Men themselves are of course very satisfied with what they see as their natural and unshakable position at the center of their universe.
They believe that other people (women, especially young women, people of a different skin color or social or cultural background) are only there to serve their interests. They don’t even notice that this is not a normal situation.
If someone wants to live with the man, they must be willing to submit to him, because in his private life the other also mainly serves as his support – in his daily life, and of his ego.
White men in positions of power almost always have a partner with a caring profession: geriatric carer, kindergarten teacher, nurse, and so on. Exactly the kind of partner that allows them to devote all their time and attention to their career.
The average white man with power is emotionally immature and incapable of taking care of himself.
He can’t operate a washing machine, put a healthy meal on the table, or do two things at once, he never carries money, and is useless in crisis situations, unless someone else tells him what to do.
His partner at home and an assistant at work serve as his personal encyclopedia and calendar, despite his ever-present laptop and phone.
He is barely aware of what is happening in the world around him.
He takes aspirin or sugar to get through a meeting.
In management courses, women outsmart him, as in intelligence tests, in understanding and following manuals, and in recognizing and solving problems, even mathematical ones.
And have you ever looked closely at the white man with power?
Did you see complex thinking, diplomacy, and… strength?
What he mainly emits is overconfidence, a lack of control in eating and drinking, no taste in clothing, arrogance, and well, stupidity.
Men (old, white, straight men) attach particular importance to earning a lot of money, to the attention of attractive women, and to maintaining or strengthening their position of power.
As a result, our main problems, which they have largely created themselves (rampant growth for the sake of growth itself, extreme income inequality, inequality of opportunity, the housing shortage, the arms race, the destruction of nature, global warming, etc.), remain unresolved. Pursuing self-interest simply does not solve the major problems in the world.
Men are, well, a bit stupid.
And they are thick-skinned.
The patriarchy of the (elderly) white man has lasted long enough.
Brace yourself, (old) white man: things are going to change.