*taps nose at apatim*
I'm just having a giggle, you silly man. Never "called for" dialog with my post. But look what we got!
Tiny topic. Huge reaction. I had thought people would just see it and go "hmmph," then pass it up to something more interesting. Not worthy of comment.
We can't have this many people willing to take life based on the desire to protect cute as a manly word. What I think is happening instead is a reaction to the idea that there even is a shared definition of manhood. Nobody wants anyone fencing that in. I'm still sorting out what other hidden buttons got pushed.
Then, too, ... this is the Web. This is what happens in threads. The original post becomes less important than the complex entanglements the responses create. Develops its own momentum and power, until people are investing more in their responses than the original post deserved, and which might embarrass them a bit later. LIke an eBay bidding war where bidders get wrapped up in the auction and pay way more than the item was worth.
Such is Web life.