Not much news from around here, I'm afraid. There seems to be a lot of crime going on around here, though I'm not sure whether it's a real increase over the old days or just better reporting and police work or straight-out media sensationalism. My guess is mostly choice number three. It does seem like there's been a wave of men killing their wives / girlfriends / exes / female acquaintances, though. Naturally, the Left is blaming this on sexist Spanish society.

Well, they sort of have a point. Spain is a good bit more macho than other European countries, at least among the working class. Many Spaniards from lower-middle-class on down are machistas; in fact, being machista is like waving a big sign saying "I'm unenlightened!" The middle class and up (roughly described as those who have spent at least a year in college) make a big deal out of being non-machista, though.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE A SPANISH MACHISTA: If you are a male, he will repeatedly attempt to demonstrate that his penis is bigger than yours. For example, he may aggressively insist the group go to his favorite bar, which always sucks; he will almost certainly grab as many low-priced checks as he can, but will lay off if a bill for three or more rounds come his way; he will brag about either how fast his car is, or how subserviantly his wife satisfies his every sexual need except for that extra libido he gets rid of down at the puticlub.

If you are a female, he will look you up and down completely, focusing especially on your breasts, before presenting himself to be kissed on two cheeks as is customary in Spain. He will take advantage of this local ritual to grab your hip or butt and plant one flat on your lips. If challenged by you, he will merely laugh. If challenged by your husband / date / friend / dad, he will laugh and say something about it being all a big joke.

Fortunately, the Spanish machista is dying out, though perhaps not as fast as some would like. Anybody who presumes to be the slightest bit enlightened would never stoop to acting machista. However, a lot of Spanish men still think enlightened is what you are if you wswallow a lightbulb.

Our local feminists are yelling and shouting about an epidemic of gender violence, of course. Normally an intellectual fashion takes about ten to twenty years to get from the American universities, where they are generally started, to Spanish enlightened opinion. The rhetoric being thrown by our local Chemical Lali Solés is straight out of about vintage 1985 Dworkin / McKinnon--that is, everything is men's fault. For the appropriate antidote, read Christina Hoff Summers's Who Stole Feminism?.