The razor's edge

Now that the War On Christmas is ever, the first shots are being fired in the War On Masculinity.

I'm being facetious, as always. Some super-Christians stir that nonsense every year about there being a war on Christmas, citing as reasons a perfectly sensible policy among merchants of wishing customers a happy holiday, rather than a Merry Christmas, and an equally sensible rule against displays of religious symbolism (e.g. nativity scenes) on public property.

That's simmered down now until November. Remember someone defining America as "325 million people in search of something to be mad about"?  Now it's a razor commercial that's got them all worked up!

Gillette has this new commercial on TV that encourages the end of toxic masculinity, and some people are finding that bothersome.

I don't know if that's just a reflexive reaction to a commercial that shows men leering at women and grabbing them without permission.

I know, when you're a star, they have to let you do it.  But for the average man, these things are not all right. The test is to check and see if that sort of behavior is ok when someone does it to your sister...or mother...or wife.  Not good.

The commercial shows men laughing at pantomimes of sexual assault, and kids teasing an epicene kid. Those are examples of bad behavior. But it also shows men being good fathers to daughters, actor and former football player Terry Crews, saying, “Men need to hold other men accountable," and random men breaking up fights.  Those are good things.

There's an old expression: "A guilty conscience needs no accuser."  It seems to me that the men getting their knickers in a knot over a razor commercial that shows boorishness, assault, and ungentlemanly comportment might be showing their hands.

If I see on the news that the police are searching for some guy who robbed a bank or ran over a pedestrian and drove away, I'm not going to start hollering about robbing banks and making bowling pins of people walking down the street should be acceptable. I'm not involved so I don't react personally.

Mona Charen, a conservative writer, said the commercial is valuable because "Some men are behaving really badly — harassing women, bullying each other, and failing in their family responsibilities."  If you can deny those things, then maybe it's time to reassess what you see in society.

Those who find the commercial annoying might be saying that they think it's ok to do the things portrayed in it. I hope not, though. It's never wrong to act like a gentleman.