Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: Commentary

Media Credit: Ted S. Warren, Associated Press Even tough guys can be romantic once in a while, as shown by Boise State running back Ian Johnson after the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. [Click to enlarge]

Guys, listen up. We need to start treating women with more respect. Don't worry, I'm not excluding myself from this group.

Last week, while catching a quick bus ride to Ala Moana between classes, I had the unfortunate experience of witnessing hypermasculinity in action. As I was relaxing into my seat, a clearly agitated young man boarded the bus and plopped down in front of me. I use the word "plopped" not just as an onomatopoeia in this case, but also as an apt description of the man's cognitive state. To use a phrase that I'm sure he would understand, it's like killing two birds with one stone.

The man's emotional ignorance wasn't readily apparent from the beginning (though many women could make a strong argument to the contrary). Instead, it arrived several minutes later, when an absolutely gorgeous young woman sat down beside Walks-With-A-Grudge and tried caressing his troubles away.

Well, Falstaff certainly wasn't going to have any of that. In fact, the more our feminine hero (or Feminero, if you will) tried to console him, the more disgruntled he became. Undeterred, Feminero stepped up her affection, taking the bold step of - wait for it - putting her arm around the man, who made every passenger acutely aware of his amorous intentions by throwing off his girlfriend's arm and declaring, "I'm your boyfriend, not an immature little baby!"

No, not immature. Maybe a different word, perhaps.

Needless to say, Feminero was surprised at the outburst and tried to move away as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Darth Hater couldn't allow his pride to be bruised in front of a bus full of people, so he violently grabbed his girlfriend's wrist and pulled her back into her seat. More frightened than angry, the girl sat, wrist in fist, listening intently to one of the most insulting harangues I've ever heard in my life. Though I attempted to tune out most of the diatribe, I did overhear the "Don't embarrass me"'s, "Why are you acting like this" questions and even the occasional "You're being such a b****."

Continued...

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