Monday, November 1, 2010

Breaking Some Taboos - Topics and Guest for Nov. 1

LINKAGE TO PODCAST of this show: http://www.newdissidentradio.com/breaking_taboo.html#archives

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Today on BREAKING TABOO we'll be discussing Male Stereotypes and Prison Myths, with an inside look at what prison is REALLY like with special guest Maury Lipschitz. Only on http://NewDissidentRadio.com Monday 4pm PST/ 7pm EST

Happy Day of the Dead!
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Alpha Who? Male Gender Roles
Shockingly little attention is given to male stereotypes in current society. Its as if men have fallen through the crack of awareness with ALL the focus on fixing the female roles. Which should be fixed, don’t get me wrong. There is still a glass ceiling in many industries and women are second class citizens in many cultures. BUT, the neglect in addressing how men are “defined” and how they define themselves is disturbing.  Because as the female role changes, so does the male.  A sociological imbalance has been created between what is taught to men and what they have to deal with in reality. Remember – we are constantly shaped subconsciously by the gender role messages and attitudes of our media, our education systems, our peers, and our families.

There is a serious catch 22 that is mostly ignored by not only society but by men themselves. The empty well that now exists creates an environment where some men long for the "good old days, when men were men and women were women" as illustrated by the popularity of shows such as Mad Men. But the men are left feeling incomplete and off balance, because of course, those days are gone.

It isn't that the male gender, specifically their subconscious, longs for women to be second class citizens and know their place. (Okay – some here in the south do, but they’re Neanderthals.)  To my mind, it is more of a hunger for a clearly defined role in society.

Most women KNOW what we are striving to achieve as women, and if we don’t there are a million magazines, Oprah, and self-help books and studies to tell us.  Men - on the other hand have been raised to believe that a real man cares for his family, gives them the good life, blah, blah, blah. But guess what, he struggles to achieve that in a society where women now contribute as much and in some cases more than the male in a family. So where does the self measurement of personal success come from then? The old gender models need to be addressed and not just discarded, but replaced with new measures. Because pressure to succeed as a “male”, to meet societal and familial expectations leads to shorter life expectancy, stress, heart problems, ulcers, alcoholism, crime, drugs, etc.  The fact is it is no longer needed or called for.  But society has failed to let the males of our culture know that.




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Under the Big House - Prison Mythconceptions
American prisons and jails held over 2.3 million inmates in 2008. About one in every 18 men in the U.S. was behind bars or being monitored. The numbers have dropped in 2010 apparently do to reforms in sentencing but it’s still way the hell up there with the largest number of inmates by far being male.

Given the pressure to succeed at any cost, the innate aggressiveness that many males seem to have… and are encouraged to have – it really isn’t a surprise is it? As women step up to a more equal footing in society, the number of women in prisons is rising. Stress, fear, greed, anger, hatred, desperation – these are all factors that can contribute to someone making a bad decision that leads them down the merry road to prison hell.

I’ve now heard several times: the only difference between a convict and everyone else is that we were just never been caught. We all have done something wrong at one point in our lives. Something illegal. Something that breaks the law of the land.

Prison used to be the boogyman land. We were told you went to prison and had to work in chain gangs, survive knife fights, deal with being raped nightly. It was a place to live in terror of because the men came out worse than they went in.

Somehow that changed and suddenly prison is practically a country club, with inmates passing their time with free meals, television, gym, free schooling and no pressure to have to deal with the “real world.”  Especially for those white collar criminals. They have plush cells and their own internet. If it wasn’t for the prison gangs still trying to make everyone their bitches, it would probably be a damn fine vacation. That’s why criminals can’t be rehabilitated – they don’t mind going back in. Jail is a free ride for them on the backs of the tax payers. Oh and don’t forget, they all claim they’re innocent.

Guess what. We’ve got most of it all wrong. Maybe it’s the fault of the media, movies, television, word of mouth or a combination of all those. Maybe it’s the fault of fear.

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What Maury sez about Maury Lipschitz:
"Maurice Lieb Lipschitz - 43 years old, ex-con, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud

60 month sentence-----early release 27 months


College athlete (Wrestler)

Went to Wall Street the day after graduation from college.

Started career at Lehman Brothers-----Institutional and retail stock broker for 13 years in NYC

Ran an OTC trading desk----produced daily research reports, managed investment portfolios

High School Rock and Roll star. Artist. Sometimes insecure, but always love people.

Over achiever----fear of failure sometimes becomes an obsession.

All-in kind of person....never goes half-way.

Catholic.....but chose the most Jewish sounding name I could think of to play the obnoxious super agent to the stars, as my alter-ego.


Hates religion...loves spirituality. Religion is a farce made up by men.....but I believe in the power of positive thinking and focus to achieve goals. Entrepreneur. Owner of several small businesses.

Likes to talk about the market------LOVES to talk about health and fitness.

I love to find things to laugh about every day.

Don't think I've ever turned my back on anybody that asked for my help.

I know prison life. It ain't fun."


My additional two-cents about Maury:
Part comedian, part smart-ass, part genius, part big-hearted softy (shhh - don't tell him i said that) - he knows about surviving prison life and coming out the other side with a renewed drive for life.