Be careful how you treat people on your way up…
…you’ll meet them again on your way down.
It is reasonable to suppose that many rude people believe they are superior to those to whom they are being rude.
A person you would label “sexist” is not necessarily a rude person. One can be courteous without being Feminist.
“…many men who stare, catcall, or grope, would do that only to women who are alone or with no men around. Because those are the situations where they think it is OK to do so.”
OR…
…because they know it is unacceptable and don’t want any witnesses.
Women do tell me about things that have made them uncomfortable. I don’t doubt that what they are telling me is true. I do, however, have my own ideas regarding the fundamental driving forces that instigate the behavior that causes that distress.
There is men’s experience of sexual access to women as a scarce resource. It is not an excuse. I am simply reporting my observation of an experience that men share. Your belief that there is an abundant supply of sexual access to women available to men does not correspond to men’s actual experience.
The expression “muchachos serán muchachos” expresses recognition of that reality. It does not excuse unacceptable behavior.
Also, men do not experience the same level of discomfort and distress from being catcalled or groped by women that women experience when those things are done to them by men. That might explain why some men seem to minimize women’s distress. They tend to equate women’s level of distress with their own.
Those are the fundamental driving forces behind the behaviors that men display in their pursuit of women. They succinctly account for the motivation driving those behaviors. They are the Occam’s Razor (La navaja de Occam) explanations.
I can’t imagine why your mother and grandmother would find your English deficient unless they expect perfection. You make small mistakes here and there and sometimes phrase your thoughts unconventionally. But I can clearly understand everything you write, and that is the standard by which I rate you as excellent. You appear to clearly understand the comments I write, judging from your responses to them. If I needed to have a document translated, I would consider you qualified for the job.
