My Lesson Learned

Some claim Denmark and France are gender-equal and law-abiding nations. I beg to differ, and I do so based on experiences and what I have learned over the years in several apartment buildings in Paris and Denmark.

Below are some of my lessons learned. FYI, by okay, I mean no one objects or intervenes. By not okay, I mean that people react aggressively, verbally or otherwise, towards you.

It is okay for a man to beat his wife and kids, but it is not okay to state it is wrong to abuse women and children.

It is okay for a man to harass and bully a single, independent woman, but it’s not okay for you as a single, independent woman to get angry when you are harassed and bullied.

It is okay for a man to refer to and call a single, independent woman a prostitute, but it is not okay to get angry when you, as a single, independent woman, are called a prostitute.

It is okay for a man to call my (now-deceased) dog haram, but it is not okay for me, as a single, independent woman, to openly state what I think about that.

It is okay for a man to yell, scream, and act like a lunatic with open windows, but it is not okay to have conversations with open windows when you are a single, independent woman – even when it is a sizzling hot summer!

It is okay for a man to store illegal materials in basements and moonlight, but working your single, independent woman, taxpaying job into the wee hours is not okay.

It is okay for a man to break into a single, independent woman’s home and take whatever he wants, but it is not okay to get angry when your single, independent woman’s home is broken into.

EU Good, Not-EU Bad!

Having certain (read: male) non-EU friends is also frowned upon when you are a single, independent woman. And this leads to another sad fact I have learned in apartment buildings:

On the surface, Americans, as well as other nationalities, are welcome in Europe, especially if they have money. But beneath said surface, they are detested by some. After all, Americans are the capitalists who financed the rebuilding of Western Europe after World War 2 with the Marshall Plan, improved peoples’ lives drastically, ensured freedom from Soviet communist oppression, and gave us access to their modern culture and products – fashion, food, technology, and so on.

The bastards!

Europe Is Still A Man’s World!

But to get back to misogyny and other wrongdoings: In my experience, everything a man says or does to violate and insult women in Denmark or France is okay, but everything a single, independent woman says or does can be construed as lunatic or suspicious behavior and, yes, even a crime. The mentality in Europe that burned thousands of women at the stake for witchery seems to linger forever. And for this, women are just as much to blame as men.

“Misogynist: A man who hates women as much as women hate one another.”

— H. L. Mencken

Thanks for reading! I hope you found it valuable and worth your time! Until next time, remember to get your facts straight and that whatever good times you have will never come back as bad times,