I grew up in the southern rural part of NJ.  Everyone I associate with hunts, shoots, fixes cars, knows how to weld, has cut their own fire wood, has poured concrete, knows how to pilot a boat, can start a brush fire on a drizzly morning, has eaten something they killed themselves, and thinks nothing of grabbing a rifle, shotgun, or handgun to dispatch some wild animal that's hanging around too close to the house.  I realize that I'm very fortunate. We don't have to dress up in tactical gear and drive to the range with our guns hidden our trunks to spend half an hour acting manly.  Maybe we're a step above cave dwellers but we're resourceful, self reliant, independent cave dwellers that don't have to pretend to have feelings.

 

I lived for about 10 years in central NJ after college.  I always felt like I was the only guy in the whole county that knew how to do anything for myself.  I always wondered why everyone else was so content to depend on others for every little aspect of managing their own lives from calling the super to unclog a drain to taking a taxi 5 blocks to work.

 

I've been back in my rural, manly world for the last 15 years and I had forgotten how un-manly parts of our state really are until a few days ago.   My wife has been shopping for a car.  She found one she really wanted to see and it was in Princeton so I took a day off to drive up to Princeton and see the car.  We ended up liking it and buying it but this meant spending half the day at a dealership dealing with lots of different "men" to get the deal done at the dealership, the bank, a late lunch at a restaurant, and a little shopping.  We were both struck by the high levels of estrogen that seemed to be flowing through every one of the "men" we met.  It's not something I can't clearly put into words but if I was in a fight for my life, I'd want every one of the "men" we dealt with on the other side of that fight. 

 

I feel for the actual men on this forum that aren't lucky enough to live in a place where men are expected to act like men. 

 

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein

 

 

 

Maybe youre hogging up all the "man" from the rest of us.

Welcome to Libtardia

And if anyone posts that paula cole song I call for an immediate ban.

Hopefully it won't come to this. But as the times get harder, you will notice more people doing more for themselves. I just can't stand to pay some ridiculous price, for something I can do at a third of the cost. I have already done my own landscaping and plan to put vinyl siding on my house this summer. In between, I have been restoring my 67 Camaro...;0)

Princeton might have been one of the worst places in nj to go to look for "manliness".  It is home to one of the most prestigious learning centers in the northeast, which lends itself to people who would rather read a book than start a fire.  The people who live there mostly work for the university, in finance, medicine, or are business owners.  All of which spend far more time worrying about whatever job they have than mastering how to live independent of civilization.

 

Personally I live in central NJ and can start a fire in any weather, can forage for a meal if necessary, and can do basic maintenance on my car.  I can pilot a boat, and if the law permitted could dispatch a wild animal on my property.  I cannot weld, or do major maintenance work, but that is just a function of not being trained to do so.  

 

We live in a state that yearns for people to rely on the government, but there are plenty of people who do not.  

Here here!

As a man born and raised in WV.....I can attest to this attitude in central/northern NJ. Only one of my Central Jersey friends was on the same level as me when it came to being self sufficient, and that was only because his dad raised him to be. 

Most guys I know cannot hold a hammer properly.  Its a sad world.

It is MHO that any man capable of doing all of the things mentioned is becoming a THREAT to a society that exists on a belief system that doesn't allow a man to protect himself or his family.  There, I said it!

 

NJ needs to give an enema to Trenton, to relieve itself of all of the SH!T laws that are being considered.  Pretty soon self reliance will be completely outlawed!

 

Dave

A man that can do all sorts of SHIT, and I'll try to weld something if I have to..........

Most guys I know cannot hold a hammer properly. Its a sad world.

I have met a few people who didn't know what a hammer was. Watching somebody try and use a hammer that never has, now that's funny. I can weld it, it will hold, but it's going to be ugly.

Here, here, OP... I totally agree... I know so many guys in my age group (early 40's) that don't even know how pick up a screwdriver and do the simplest of tasks around their home, let alone protect themselves or their family or know how to survive in a SHTF scenario.  I grew up learning to how rough it, being in the outdoors, shooting, hunting, doing construction, plumbing, electrical, mechanical work, etc... and will be passing all those skills down to my son as he gets older (he's only 6 yrs old now), just like my dad did with me.  Not enough men are passing down these necessary skills to their sons anymore... and it's pretty sad.

Most of us men in the area aren't walking through town wearing camo, especially on the weekend as that's tourist time. We're hiding outside of town in the surrounding countryside cutting our own lawns and turning our own wrenches. While your observations may lead you to draw those conclusions, you didn't scratch the surface... ;-)

Because the last generation of parents were pussies to their kids. The current generation of parents are even worse especially if it's the currently trendy and hip two moms or two dads type of deal.

But yet Duck Dynasty is a very popular show. So maybe Men have a chance

Because the last generation of parents were pussies to their kids. The current generation of parents are even worse especially if it's the currently trendy and hip two moms or two dads type of deal.

 Bravo +1

Princeton is bad, but it's hard to rival Manhattan for least manly locations. When the highest goal is to be in a doorman'd apartment, something is wrong. Tell people you're from Jersey (not Hoboken, jersey City) and they look at you like you're an alien. Being there Monday thru Friday for years, I'm finding myself not even noticing the wimps anymore, but rest assured, we are outnumbered.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

have you checked the state house annex?

Sadly, I wholeheartedly agree with every comment posted here. All are too true, and mirror what I've been saying to myself for years. The feminization of man has been progressing for decades in America.

 

I found these links through Google. Seems like there are a lot on this particular topic. All funny and somewhat true.

 

http://nstarzone.com/F.html

http://dailycaller.com/2010/08/25/skinny-jeans-john-wayne-and-the-feminization-of-america/

 

 

 

 

Princeton is bad, but it's hard to rival Manhattan for least manly locations. When the highest goal is to be in a doorman'd apartment, something is wrong. Tell people you're from Jersey (not Hoboken, jersey City) and they look at you like you're an alien. Being there Monday thru Friday for years, I'm finding myself not even noticing the wimps anymore, but rest assured, we are outnumbered.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Agreed. Got to get them eyebrows plucked, nails manicured and hair just so.

I grew up in the southern rural part of NJ.  

 

Where I grew up is almost the opposite- large city in North Jersey. But I learned most of the same things as you (except for the fire wood). My father and grandfather were machinists. My grandfather was also a bullfighter as a young man in Spain. One uncle is an upholsterer and another does armed security for freight lines overseas. 

 

Most of my friends growing knew how to fix cars, stuff around the house and we all know how to handle ourselves when things get real. I learned to hunt/outdoors survival only later on.

 

The point being, it's  more about your influences than your location. Having the right men around growing up is the key.

 

Because the last generation of parents were pussies to their kids. The current generation of parents are even worse especially if it's the currently trendy and hip two moms or two dads type of deal.

^exactly

Actually, living up here in Brgn cnty surrounded by the not so manlys not such a bad thing. I've made a lot of money over the yrs as a contractor doing the "manly" jobs all the Wallstreet types cant do or were more than happy to pay good money for others to do. Its called trickle down economics and we should be greatfull forthat. Having said that it is indeed sad how many peeps around here dont even mow there own lawn, such as my neighbors across the street with 2 teenage boys. I've tried to install a sense of self sufficiancy in my 2 adult kids and as a testemant to that my daughter knew better to ask me to install the window ac unit in her room last night and did it herself.

Most guys I know cannot hold a hammer properly.  Its a sad world.

 

Not only can I hold a hammer right, I screw real good too. 

Its really sad what passes for a "man" these days. Im only 25, the pussification of america is RAMPANT in my generation.

If you've seen the movie, American Psycho, what is your opinion of those wall street type guys in the movie?  Paying someone to do manual labor would be expected amongst their peers. 

 

Car repairs, dry wall, sweating copper pipe, plumbing, etc. can be very intimidating if you've never had someone show you how to do those things or if you have the belief that it takes a lot of training to learn those skills. 

http://www.boysadrift.com/

 

 

Car repairs, dry wall, sweating copper pipe, plumbing, etc. can be very intimidating if you've never had someone show you how to do those things or if you have the belief that it takes a lot of training to learn those skills. 

Attempting when they are intimidating is what makes the man.  There was nothing I wouldn't attempt when I was younger and the only way to REALLY learn is from your mistakes.  We didn't have YouTube how-to videos in my day either.

, I'm finding myself not even noticing the wimps anymore, but rest assured, we are outnumbered.

 

 

I'm ok with being outnumbered by wimps....Natural selection will run its course if/when the shtf.

 

 

Because the last generation of parents were pussies to their kids. The current generation of parents are even worse especially if it's the currently trendy and hip two moms or two dads type of deal.

 

Sad and true....it's only getting worse.  Lack of discipline = Sissafication!

 

Proverbs 23: 13-14.

"Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

 

 

 

I don't think it has so much to do with where your raised, more what you make out of live.

 

My dad was never a "handyman" I got a job pumping gas in high school and learned cars from the mechanic, I got a job working construction and learned the trades. I bought myself an old Harley and learned how to fix it.

Just a lot of libs with a bunch of Jersey sprinkled on top

My dad volunteered in both WW1 and WW2. He was wounded during WW1 -- accidental (now called "negligent") discharge that nicked his femoral artery so given the state of the art of medicine in the WW1 era, he was lucky to have survived. After Pearl Harbor, he lied about the extent of his injury (his femoral artery was ligated, so he couldn't walk long distances), volunteered again and was eventually promoted to Major.

 

I don't think he was a wuss.

 

His tool set consisted of one screwdriver and one pair of pliers. Seriously. The first time I cleaned a 1911, I realized dad never could have cleaned one. He would have handed it to his first sergeant.

 

My late FIL was an engineer. He did everything himself. When he was in his late 80s he was still climbing 30 foot ladders and mowing the lawn causing my wife no small amount of angst. Was a Captain during WW2.

 

There are all different types. I'm just sayin'. BTW I was 15 when dad died, so I was a complete a-hole and didn't even begin to appreciate what he had done.