Female Respect

I was raised by my mother to respect the female gender.  She was a strong willed and very powerful influence on my life.  She was a victim of abuse at the hands of her brothers when she was young and struck out on her own at a very early age.  She was adamant that I, or any other male, should never hit a female.  She made this a baseline of my upbringing.  This was challenging because I grew up with three sisters who tested this edict to the extreme.  Growing up in a female dominated house (even the dog was a female), my father was gone at an early age, had it benefits though.  While I'll never understand females completely, they guard some of their secrets too well, I think I'm a better man because of it.  I have never struck a female, never will, and have complete contempt for any "man" who would.  I raised my own son the same way and I know he was sorely tested by his older sister almost from birth; much more so than I was by  three sisters.  It's a testament to his courage that he never hit her, I know he wanted to.  Saying all this, I find it distressing to watch some of the social "norms" I see in today's youth.  Maybe its a result of more equality between the sexes or a product of of too much rap music (I try to blame most of society's ills on rap music).  There just seems to be a lack of respect, with women referred to in derogatory manner by a lot of young men.  I was in the locker room last night after my work out and two young men came in and started squawking to each other about the women in their lives.  This went on for a couple of minutes, oblivious to anyone else in the room.  They never failed to refer to their women as "bitches" and that what they needed was a good "slap upside their head".   I was seated and facing away from them.  When they said this, I couldn't help myself, I snorted in derision fairly loudly. The loudest of the two then said to me, "You got a problem, old man!"  This was not the brightest thing for him to say at that precise moment.  I stood up, turned around, and gave him the same look I'd given a couple of thousand young Soldiers, the same age as this punk.  I told him, "I don't, but you might." I don't think he realized how much bigger than him I was.  He kind of paled and beat a quick exit along with his other skin headed buddy.  An elder gentleman sitting across the way said thank you as I was leaving.  I felt good because I thought my ability to intimidate had waned with the years.  I thought they might try to jump me in the parking lot but they had beat feet like the cowards they are.  I'm glad I didn't have to explain to my wife how I got into a fight, at my age.  I hope those idiots learned something, I kind of doubt it.