“Yesterday I was with about 20 guys for a wild-game feast. As far as I can tell, in the circles I circulate in–places like Patheos for instance–I am the only minister who gives men like these much thought. They’re men who live on the periphery–but most people depend on them for the basic conveniences of modern life. There were welders, farmers, public utility employees, auto mechanics, et al. As far as the academics, writers, and ministers/SJWs I know, these men don’t even exist. (Or if they are aware of them, they’re scared silly by them.)”

If you’re afraid of your plumber you’ve got a real problem.

Now I’m assuming your plumber is the regular sort, somewhat taciturn and law abiding. The plumbers I know, and I know many, really don’t care too much about the politics of their customers. They just show up and do what they’re paid to do and leave.

Apparently some liberals are waking up to the truth that the men they rely upon for the basic necessities of modern life are completely alien to them. Here’s a snippet from something published in USA Today to show what I mean:

Ned Resnikoff, a “senior editor” at the  liberal website ThinkProgress, wrote on Facebook that he’d called a plumber to fix a clogged drain. The plumber showed up, did the job and left, but Resnikoff was left shaken, though with a functioning drain. Wrote Resnikoff, “He was a perfectly nice guy and a consummate professional. But he was also a middle-aged white man with a Southern accent who seemed unperturbed by this week’s news.”

This created fear: “While I had him in the apartment, I couldn’t stop thinking about whether he had voted for Trump, whether he knew my last name is Jewish, and how that knowledge might change the interaction we were having inside my own home.”

When it was all over, Resnikoff reported that he was “rattled” at the thought that a Trump supporter might have been in his home. “I couldn’t shake the sense of potential danger.”

What is androphobia?

The writer at USA Today is addressing something Roger Scruton termed Oikophobia. It is a real condition, I’ve seen it. But I think this condition is often accompanied by another one closely associated with it: Androphobia–the fear of masculine men.

If this guy Resnikoff knew how to unclog his own drains I can tell you two things would follow: he wouldn’t need to call a scary plumber, and he’d be less likely to be afraid of his plumber in the first place.

I’ve never called a plumber for a clogged drain. The reason? 90% of the time its just your wife’s hair in the J-trap. Remove the trap, and remove the gob of hair. 9% of the time the clog it is past the J-trap and for that all you need is a snake and a drill. The remaining 1% calls for special equipment and knowledge. And the remaining 1% really is the percentage of the time you really do need to bring in a plumber.

How did I come to possess this esoteric knowledge? By getting comfortable with tools and actually looking into how things are put together. While I was in seminary I worked as a framer, and growing up I was around men who worked with their hands. From my exposure to these things I learned a lot.

Professionals (including pastors) and androphobia

And by my observations I have come to see that I belong to a shrinking class of educated people who are comfortable with masculine men.

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