Which men have inspired you?

notnotnotfred · 2013-11-04T15:42:11+00:00

Smedley Butler - earned the Medal of Honor, twice.

Sylvester Stallone - wrote Rocky & made production contingent upon him being the star in it.

(Kennedy, MLK, Jr., and Reagan.) - although I'm stuck with the sanitized propagandized notions of each.

grandparents. The old wrinkly guys, who have long taken up "unmanly" stuff like "art" & "reading" & "gardening" but whom you slowly learn were total badasses back in the day. - (this is true of grandmothers and grandfathers)

demiurgency · 2013-11-04T17:34:03+00:00

I just watched a great bio-documentary this weekend:

Jiro Dreams of Sushi: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1772925/

I wanted to post this to /r/mensrights but it's not strictly a men's rights issue. However, when you listen to Jiro talk about his work ethic, of mastering his craft every day for over 65 years, it provides one of the best counter-stories to the feminist narrative I have ever heard. This is what the real history of men has been: not privilege, but diligence, patience, and humility.

2013-11-04T20:53:48+00:00

My granddad, for one.

He joined the army at 23, spent his career as a physical training instructor before being assigned to the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV or just "The Team") and shipped out to I Corp on the HMAS Sydney. While there, he was awarded the Bronze Star with 'V', Silver Star, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. The Silver Star was for the actions that got him killed.

I never met him, he was killed 14 years before I was born, but I can't help admiring him.

I also admire Alan Alda. His mother was very mentally ill, and he overcame polio. His autobiography, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, is great reading.

All the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Long Tan, too. The odds were something like 20:1 against them, and they pulled through. It certainly wasn't a picnic, but they did it. Bob Buick in particular has my admiration. After criticism over his killing of an enemy soldier who was never going to live anyway, he wasn't afraid to speak up and tell his story in All Guts and No Glory.

daulm · 2013-11-04T17:05:02+00:00

Richard Feynman is one of my favorite people to learn about. His joy of learning and his ability to see through cultural bullshit is inspiring to me.

Artector42 · 2013-11-04T17:29:37+00:00

My dad. He was great. He raised me and my siblings with love, labored for 39 years and fought cancer for 8 years (and kept his mustache through 3 rounds of chemo). If I could be half the man he was, it would be more thani could hope for

Tiiimmmbooo · 2013-11-04T18:05:47+00:00

My father. His back is in rough shape so he can't work and can barely do much of anything without being in pain and having to rest. Just the fact that he is able to continue to do things with me like hunting and fishin, while in so much pain, really inspires me to keep my head high when things get rough.

achshar · 2013-11-04T18:21:10+00:00

Can it involve fictional men? If yes then definately Tony Stark. I think for obvious reasons.

If real people then people here are going to hate me for this but Justin Bieber. No I am not his fan, nor do I listen to his music. I want to be an entrepreneur. And people like him are a striking example of how to become very popular/rich very quickly. He did so many right things to come out on top. And is relatively scandal/drug free. And is a huge brand and is actually investing his money in technology companies which shows he is thinking of the long term, after the stardom has faded away. In that sense yes, he has inspired me.

BrambleEdge · 2013-11-04T20:42:08+00:00

You know when you walk around on the streets and see men sweeping the streets, cleaning snow off of roofs, building houses, mending roads, maintaining the railways.

When you fill your car up with petrol, and think of the men on the oil rigs, the men working in industries to keep us a technologically advanced society, etc...

I guess you could say, your everyday man who is doing his utmost to keep his loved ones comfortable while he defies poor weather, hazardous environments and arduous, strenuous work that will debilitate him. The common man, who selflessly does what no-one else will, without even expecting any sort of gratitude for it, only to be maligned as an oppressor, but still keeps doing it without being consumed with hate and disdain for the sexist bigots who continually make his life harder.

They are an inspiration.

raptorrage · 2013-11-05T05:56:07+00:00

My dad. He's not perfect, but he grew up with a dad that never told him he was proud of him, and he made sure not to do that with his kids. He's always told me he loves me and would do anything for me.

My best friend. If I need him, he's there. I can talk to him about anything and he can tell me anything.

My boyfriend. He's a big, bearded, hairy, masculine guy who loves being held and has the biggest heart out of anyone I've ever met. He's a kind, gentle person to everyone, not just me

Jonas Salk. He came up with the vaccine for polio and didn't patent it so that it remained affordable. His work saved countless lives.

Louis Pasteur. He figured out how to pasteurize things to keep food safe. He also figured out a vaccine for rabies. When a little boy was bitten, he acted boldly and decisively to give the untested vaccine to him, and the boy lived

lokidemon731 · 2013-11-06T04:30:26+00:00

My brothers and my boyfriend. Great men imo. Robert Downey Jr. is a personal hero of mine. And Nelson Mandella.

2013-11-04T19:27:17+00:00

Asimov, Ellison, Feynman, Watson & Crick, Astronauts in general, and my dad.

Jeez, apart from my dad, all of these folks have been linked to misogyny.

crombi · 2013-11-04T19:54:30+00:00

Neil deGrasse Tyson. Never had a father when I was a kid so I am a bit sad that I was already in my mid twentys when i "stumbled" upon him.

VoodooIdol · 2013-11-04T20:29:29+00:00

Isaac Asimov - few men in history have accomplished as much in their life as this man did. He wrote literally hundreds of books (468, to be exact) on subjects from science to history to science fiction to mystery, mathematics, religion, and more. He had 2 children, and was an excellent father to them, all the while teaching, writing, and being a political activist. What a fucking amazing man.
Hugh Hefner - this man nearly single-handedly redefined modern sexuality. He helped change the way we view women and their sexuality, and he did it in some of the most repressive times this country has ever known. He worked tirelessly on his magazine, putting nearly the entire thing together from layout to journalism in the early years, and would look himself in his suite for days on end (sometimes weeks) to get it to print. He has always been on the cutting edge of technology (especially in the realm of audiophiles), and (at least in the 60s) had exquisite taste in interior decorating. He was a champion of the modern Victorian man, and always believed that there was nothing wrong with being a man.

Nomenimion · 2013-11-04T22:24:13+00:00

The Founding Fathers.

elebrin · 2013-11-04T23:28:51+00:00

I suspect that "My Dad" would be a good answer here but I never knew him as a man. He died before that was a possibility.

I look up to the example of my Mother's Father. He wasn't the best man ever, he was very cold and difficult to talk to and get along with. He was a pilot in the Air Corp, the direct predecessor to the USAF. He lost a lung in his late teens to an accident, but never let it keep him down. He raised five kids with his wife and worked two jobs the majority of his life to support them. He was a bright man, he was an Electrical Engineer by trade but he worked as a college campus security guard at night. His family never went without. He would be gruff, yell, berate, and treat them poorly in some aspects but he gave them everything he had until the day he died.

There are a few others too: I'd be lying if I said Bill Gates isn't on my list. He did what everyone said he couldn't do and for that alone he is worthy of our respect.

People that take no quarter in their lives, that stand up and do "it" whatever "it" is.

Pecanpig · 2013-11-05T02:08:39+00:00

Vladimir Lenin.

If The technologically backwards and behind Russian Empire could turn into the most technologically advanced superpower in less than 20 years then there's hope for change in the west. (and I like the idea of proper communism, and an awesome beard)

2013-11-05T05:43:26+00:00

Penn & Teller.

Dudes are funny, talented, will speak their mind, and stick to their morals.

Super_delicious · 2013-11-04T16:48:04+00:00

My uncle. My aunt was in an abusive relationship before she met him and had five kids. He dated her and fell in love with her and my cousins. He not only took in those kids but he adopted all of them. Now they've happily married and have given a good life to all the kids. Ones married with a couple if kids, ones in the military and ones currently in college. He's one of the best men I know.

rightsbot · 2013-11-04T15:26:17+00:00

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moonphoenix · 2013-11-04T20:52:14+00:00

Steve Vai. See the video for "Crying Machine" The fascination for music I saw on him that video really affected me. I may or may not be good at playing guitar like him at some point in my life, but I sure hope the enthusiasm and the fascination sticks with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t4JxHiRmj0

Enjoy some Vai.

SkarnkaiLW · 2013-11-06T21:16:32+00:00

Seconding Smedley Butler

Ludwig von Mises - mostly for standing his ground and standing for intellectual honesty. Intellectually demolished scientific socialism in 1920, kept his native country from going that way after WWI, and was hated and hunted by the Nazis.

Norman Borlaug - Wikipedia alone should explain why. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug

Fr. Maximilian Kolbe http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/kolbe2.htm

Ignaz Semmelweis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis

The great philosophers: Kant, Socrates, Aristotle, Aquinas, primarily. (have issues with Plato, not familiar enough with moderns to separate wheat from the chaff).

The "White Death" Simo Hayha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4

Others, but that's a good short list I think.

Edit: decided to add a few more: Andrew Carnegie, James J Hill, Lysander Spooner.

Title	Which men have inspired you?
Author	FallingSnowAngel
Upvotes	10
Comments	29
Date	November 4, 2013 3:24 PM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1pvmug/which_men_have_inspired_you/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/which-men-have-inspired-you.1159666 https://theredarchive.com/post/1159666

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