IF YOU'RE A MALE YOU NEVER HAVE TO SAY YOU'RE SORRY

It's called the Battle of the Sexes. This presumes a state of war. In truth, the genders are simply in a state of competition. Each excelling at different things. And yet, in every gymnasium locker room, I am advised that we males of the species prevail. I often ask, at my own peril, how can we be so sure....?

The evidence for the claims and counter-claims is hard to come by. This is such a subjective issue. But subjectively speaking, it would appear that whereas the male excels in such as brute strength, competitiveness, and conquest, the female does so in endurance, compassion, and caring.

While we argue over that, we can look at the October report from Canadian researchers in LiveScience.com where social psychologist Karina Schumann argues: "Women needn't apologize more than men, and yet they do. They are far more willing to say they're sorry." Which she (and I) take to be an attractive quality.

But back to the gym locker....

Her report goes on to speculate the reason for this is, "Men think they have done fewer things wrong, therefore have less to apologize for." Schumann's advice: "Rather than assuming your female partner can read your mind or read your emotions accurately, males need to communicate what they're feeling."

Seems like a reasonable conclusion, but then...

Well look, perhaps men are too Clint Eastwood-ish about these affairs. But there is one man -- Glenn Beck of rant-and-rage fame -- who has no trouble communicating what he's feeling. The Washington Post recently tracked Beck's commentaries on Fox News over the last 18 months: "He and his guests invoked Nazis 202 times, fascism or fascists 193 times, Hitler 147 times, the Holocaust 76 times, and Joseph Goebbels 24 times."

Wow, here's one male of the species who has no trouble communicating what he's feeling. As for any apologies. the Post notes that Beck and his followers are only sorry that more people don't see the world they do. Come to my locker room, and you'll pick up a few more ranters-and-ragers.