This article about local farmers and Sharon Astyk's latest post remind us that while we may share much in common with those on the "left" who seek a simpler way of life and to bring about relocalization, there is still much that divides us with respect to mores and culture. ( I noticed the article at Energy Bulletin, but I hadn't had a chance to look at it yet, and wasn't planning to say anything about it until Rod Dreher devoted a post to it.)

While "live and let live" may not be work for the survival of a community, if it can be done peaceably why shouldn't we consider secession and separation as a solution to great cultural and moral differences?

I wanted to focus on one particular part of her essay:

What I do think is that male status markers change much more rapidly and fundamentally than female ones do – to use one example, think about the degree to which modern society largely eschews male violence. Male physical prowess hasn’t been entirely overcome – but male aggressiveness has in some measures. Instead of physical aggressiveness, status markers for men now emphasize economic aggressiveness, and domestic violence, while still a painful reality, is no longer as normative as it once was – in fact, most of the women I know believe that men who are gentle to women and children are more attractive than those who aren’t – something not up for discussion when violence between spouses and by parents was concealed as normative. The rise of geek culture contains in it a truly radical overthrowing of masculine models – now some people may argue that this is emasculating, and certainly there are still plenty of women attracted to the physically aggressive alpha type. But I still would argue that there is a fundamental shift under way – we are selecting for gentler men as a society. This is non-trivial, if only partly underway.

I think she is really wrong here. Geek culture is profitable, but that doesn't mean that geeks are successfully marrying and maintaining marriages. Moreover, I can think of a few bloggers who would dispute that women are looking for betas and herbs as partners. And finally, has anyone told Ms. Astyk about the real statistics concerning domestic abuse? Could it be that there were as many husband-beaters as wife-beaters in the past as well?