1063 – “A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.”

-Vito Corleone (Played by Marlon Brando) in The Godfather

960 – “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others.”

-Martin Luther King Jr

809 – A Poem by Octavio Paz With Translation

 

Hermandad

Homenaje a Claudio Ptolomeo

Soy hombre: duro poco
y es enorme la noche.
Pero miro hacia arriba:
las estrellas escriben.
Sin entender comprendo:
también soy escritura
y en este mismo instante
alguien me deletrea.

-Octavio Paz

Brotherhood

Homage to Claudius Ptolemy

I am a man: little do I last
and the night is enormous.
But I look up:
the stars write.
Unknowing I understand:
I too am written,
and at this very moment
someone spells me out.

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779 – “Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventures Science.”

–Edwin Hubble

440 – “Man is literally split in two: he has awareness of his own splendid uniqueness in that he sticks out of nature with a towering majesty, and yet he goes back into the ground a few feet in order, blindly and dumbly, to rot and disappear forever. It is a terrifying dilemma to be in and to have to live with.”

–Ernest Becker

386 – “[Man] cannot remake himself without suffering. For he is both the marble and the sculptor. In order to uncover his true visage he must shatter his own substance with heavy blows of his hammer.”

–Alexis Carrel

381 – “The common man or women, whether they are Israeli or Palestinian, Protestant or Catholic or Iraqi or American, the common man just wants to live in peace and justice in a clean environment. When we look around the world and see that that is not the case, we know the will of the majority is not being listened to, that’s the first sign that our system is broken.”

–Woody Harrelson

375 – “I was born black. I’m going to die black. I’m a black man before I’m anything else. The fact that I’m a police officer is a job that I do. It’s an oath that I took. I swore to uphold laws. I swore to protect your rights. I swore to protect you when you can’t protect yourself. So while that is a part of my responsibility, being a police officer does not make Curtis Davenport who he is.”

–Sgt. Curtis Davenport of the Atlanta Police Department

Note: I believe  that Sgt. Davenport provides an interesting perspective as an African American police officer. I highly recommend that you check out the full article this came from, and the three other pieces in the series.

275 – “It is intolerable and indecent for a society to produce by overworking and underpaying human beings. Even if the product may cost more we in this country eventually accept the difference in cost because it is the man that counts – not the thing.”

–James Mitchell, 8th United States Secretary of Labor (1953-1961)

185 – Some Thoughts on Macho Talk Tweets

This is a series of 15 tweets with each tweet separated by a | (bar)

“Some thoughts on macho talk re: the Montana incident. The idea that real men occasionally hit, and that real men hit back, is bad for men. | I say this as someone who was much bigger than other humans starting at around age five, and who used his first from an early age. | I spent many recess periods in elementary school under lock and key. In middle school, it was counseling. | By the time I hit adolescence, my aunt told me on day that my family had considered sending me away because if how violent I was. | That toughness that people seem to admire from a distance makes people fear you up close. | It makes people who love you think you are dangerous. Pushing leads to punching, and punching can cause brain damage and facial deformity. | If you are poor, and you solve problems with violence, you end up incarcerated. People carry that label for the rest of their lives. | Our prisons are full of “real men.” | Battered women’s shelters are full of women fleeing “real men.” | The sons of “real men” grow up to be emotionally stunted, confused, and poor. | And men who learn to solve problems with violence use that violence everywhere. | Real men do everything they can to avoid hurting others and themselves. Self-restraint and wisdom are not weak, they are powerful. | If I am so lucky as to father boys, I will teach them this. I will never, ever forget the fear I inspired in the eyes of my mother, my little brother, and my classmates. The memory of it makes me ill. | We should not consign men, or the people they encounter, to this fate.”

–Mike Riggs