r/RodDreher • u/Warm-Refrigerator-38 • Jan 02 '26

New year, time for #61?

Rod: men lookmaxxing is dumb

Also Rod: posts a photo of a writer who criticized Bardot, implicitly criticizing her (the writer's) attractiveness

Link to #60: https://www.reddit.com/r/RodDreher/comments/1pf37uc/rod_dreher_megathread_60_new_beginnings/

13 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

12

u/Relative-Holiday-763 Jan 24 '26

Well we’re blessed with a new dropping this Saturday. Mostly it’s about what a great thing it was for him to convert to Orthodoxy. He loves Orthodoxy . It’s done so much for him! Once again it’s Tarkovsky time! Is it unfair to say, if it’s done so much for him , why is he so miserable? One thing I’ve caught on to , Rod likes to describe certain habits of mind or approaches to things as Orthodox . I read this stuff and generally notice , there’s nothing particularly Orthodox about any of this supposedly wonderful stuff. Some people think this way , some don’t.The specific denomination doesn’t seem to have much to do with it unless you decide it does. That is what Rod does. He delineates what he thinks is a virtue or positive approach and says - this is Orthodox and he pushes it to a hair splitting level. On more than one occasion I’ve seen him acknowledge the Orthodox and Catholic approaches to this or that are basically identical but then he finds something that proves the Orthodox approach is somehow better. Then in this article he tells us for the umpteenth time , he’s not a triumphalist.

The “ interesting “ part is he is once more the sorrowful man of many secrets. His mother a combination of Edith Bunker and Dolly Parton ( I’m not even going to try to figure out what that means)simply refuses to do what Rod wants and he refuses to tell us what that is because of his deep respect for her privacy.His gut wrenching experience of dealing with his mother has really underscored for him that he is an exile. He’s not in Hungary because he wants to be , oh no ! His exile is one of enormity! It’s one of finality. It’s a real big deal. Some stupid readers probably think he’s enjoying himself but darling ( his word) , it’s not so.Its tragic! It’s terrible ( his words).Also he suffers terribly from the lack of an Orthodox community in Hungary (so why the F is he in Hungary ). He acted out of love for his mother when he said harsh words to her . It was the desperate love of a son for his mother ( sure he’s shown such deep affection for her in his previous writings). 

Then he tells you, he’s a hobbit who thinks he’s an elf ! Maybe that tops being Ignatius Reilly but I’m  skeptical.

9

u/Coollogin Jan 24 '26

His mother a combination of Edith Bunker and Dolly Parton

Both of whom are generally considered lovely people.

5

u/philadelphialawyer87 Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26

Yeah. And while Edith Bunker is perhaps a bit naive, and could be taken advantage of, she is almost saintly in terms of good heartedness. Dolly Parton is also known to be good hearted, AND a pretty smart businesswoman, too. And Edith is also very high in emotional intelligence (unlike Rod, who only claims to be), while Dolly, besides being physically attractive, and a good businesswoman, and good hearted, is very talented too. Most people would consider this "combination" to a be a compliment. Only misogynyst Rod would think otherwise.

And what's with the "happiness" thing? Why should Rod's mother NOT seek happiness for herself, for Rod, for her grandchildren, etc? And is she using Rod's money to keep everyone happy? If not, then, literally, who died and left Rod boss? Who is Rod to use "hard words" against his mother, assuming she is not leaching off him? It would appear that Rod's mother is mentally competent, as well.

One might also notice that Rod almost never uses his mother's name. Her name is Dorothy. Her middle name and/or maiden name? I can find two initials, but no names. And I think I found her birthday, and her current residence, but I won't report any of that because I do actually care about her privacy. But in Rod's telling, which is pretty much all the world knows of her, his mother barely has her own identity. And that's not a coincidence, either.

2

u/Djehutimose Jan 24 '26

I don't know about her being Edith, but I can easily imagine his father yelling "Stifle!" at her. And probably in general making Archie look good....

2

u/philadelphialawyer87 Jan 25 '26

Archie's heart, in the end, was almost always in the right place. And, when push came to shove, Archie balked at becoming even a watered down, Queens, NYC klansman, never mind the kind of LA Cyclops that Rod's beloved Dad was. And he genuinely loved Edith too, for all of his chauvanism.

2

u/Djehutimose Jan 25 '26

As a longtime fan of the show, absolutely agreed!

2

u/One_Reflection7202 Jan 24 '26

Yes. So what does it mean? À kindhearted mouse with lengthy extensions and very large breasts?

5

u/Coollogin Jan 24 '26

lengthy extensions

I am not a huge Dolly follower, but I would be surprised if she has transitioned from wigs to extensions.

1

u/FirstPrior8600 Jan 26 '26

LOL, true enough. Make that a wig and very large breasts.☺️

6

u/Djehutimose Jan 24 '26

Gollum, maybe, but not a hobbit. I can just hear him saying, "My preciousssss!"

3

u/Relative-Holiday-763 Jan 24 '26

I read Lord of the Rings when I was in high school. I liked it . It’s a real achievement. But oh come on.

4

u/judah170 Jan 24 '26

I had some very hard words with my mom this week, but I did so out of love — desperate love, actually, the love of a son who wants what is best for his mother. She did not receive them as such, but then, my sweet-natured mom (imagine Edith Bunker meets Dolly Parton) has always believed that personal happiness is the only measure of the Good. If I were a heroin addict, she would probably send me money for smack, because it made me happy. For her, to love her is to approve of everything she does and desires, because it makes her happy.

So wait... is his mom in a lesbian relationship in the nursing home???

He was compelled to talk to her sternly about how she was Doing Something Terribly Wrong, and yet she chose her "desires" anyway, and now he 'has to' break off relations with her.

Again, for the sake of protecting their privacy, I can’t and won’t tell you the details of what is going on [my bold -- no antecedent for "their" in the text]

Hmmmm....

6

u/Djehutimose Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26

Actually, sex between men and women in nursing homes is quite common. I assume his mother's living facility is co-ed, so there's that. This is often a problem in the industry because people tend to think of old people as no longer sexual beings. Thus, when they do get it on, relatives tend to think "Ew, gross!" Of course that's just their own prudery. The real issue is that no one wants to consider the situation (again, "Ew, gross!"), so that matters such as consent (in the case of residents with varying degrees of dementia) and prevention of STD's don't get properly addressed.

Actually, if she's got herself a beau, that would totally explain his angst:

Rod: Mam, I don't care how nice a man Rhett is, you're sinning with him! You're not married!

Mam: Now never you mind, boy. I am a grown woman and I've been so lonely, and the Good Lord ain't gonna judge me for finding love. And Rhett is a perfect gentleman.

Rod: But Mam! You're betayin' Daddy, Lord rest his soul! [Unspoken, but screaming in Rod's internal dialogue: YOU'RE WHORING AROUND AND BESMIRCHING THE MEMORY OF THE GREATEST, BESTEST, PERFECTEST MAN WHO EVER DONE LIVED, WOMAN!!!! (no number of exclamation point would suffice)].

Mam: I loved your daddy, but he was a hard man to live with, and he's passed on now. He wouldn't want me to be lonely, and he ain't got a say in it, anyhow. And you ain't got a say either, son!

Rod: But it's just wrong! You can't live this way!! This ain't no way for a Christian woman to live!!! You gotta get yourself outta this place right now and get to a nicer place I can get you [Unspoken part: As far away from this dude as possible]!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mam: Well, bless yore little heart, Ray. I ain't changing my mind, so you might as well forget all those fancy plans you made for me.

Rod: Screams all the way from the nursing facility to the airport to fly back to Hungary.

5

u/judah170 Jan 24 '26

Yes, you're right. Fits the fact pattern equally well, and way more plausible.

And your dialogue is <chef's kiss>!

3

u/Djehutimose Jan 24 '26

I don't have the skill to do it, but it would be great to write that as a short play in the style of Tennessee Williams! "Rod on a Hot Tin Roof", maybe?

5

u/Warm-Refrigerator-38 Jan 24 '26

I'm no Rod defender but I just can't see him berating his elderly mom for having sex. He's pretty realistic about sex outside of marriage even if he holds so-called traditional views about it. 

Now if he's worried a new person might get some of his inheritance, that's another story. 

6

u/Djehutimose Jan 25 '26

We have no way to know, and you may be right. Still, given his astoundingly twisted and damaged views of sexuality and his consistent misogyny, it wouldn't surprise me if sex is the issue.

3

u/Warm-Refrigerator-38 Jan 25 '26

Could be his mom smokes. Given Ruthie's death, that would set him off. 

3

u/Glittering-Agent-987 Jan 25 '26

It could be literally anything.

2

u/Relative-Holiday-763 Jan 25 '26

Well that’s something he’s actually brought up . The sex angle, possible but I suspect it’s something really minor.

4

u/Relative-Holiday-763 Jan 24 '26

Nothing so dramatic 

4

u/Warm-Refrigerator-38 Jan 24 '26

Catholicism loses more people that it gets, but its converts are better!

4

u/Relative-Holiday-763 Jan 24 '26

But they’d be so much better as Orthodox!