“Macho” is a colloquial Spanish term describing any male who is excessively masculine. Common usage equates it with a “real man,” the Marlboro Man, the rugged, strong, assertive man. There are also macho women, not so much physically but in behavior similar to their male counterparts: strong, forceful, direct, headstrong, impulsive, petulant and quick to anger. And there are just as many macho women as men. A rough guesstimate of the total machos in the U.S. would be 100 million, approximately a third of the 300 million people in the U.S. at the start of the 21st century.
All macho people live on their “nerves,” i.e., on their brain neurotransmitters to be more exact. Macho brains respond almost instantly to incoming sensation (stimuli). Talking or acting is so rapid that there is no time to think about any repercussions or hurt feelings. We call this impulsiveness, which is the foundation of all macho behavior. Apparently, the biochemical(s) necessary to dampen all incoming stimuli to allow time to think about repercussions are insufficient in macho brain cells. Descartes’ famous axiom: “I think, therefore I am” does not really apply to macho people. For them, it should be: “I act, therefore I am.”
The motivation for macho, often-erratic behavior seems to be a deep-seated sense of superiority over others and perhaps ironically, an equally deep sense of insecurity as to whether they are as strong and superior as they think they are. Their outward behavior seems to be a means of reinforcing the superior sense and countering the inferiority sense. If an incoming stimulus is instantly recognized as a positive one, reinforcing their superior sense, their outward behavior is calm, friendly, very sociable, often somewhat boisterous or even somewhat arrogant. Conversely, if the stimulus is instantly a negative one, reinforcing their inferior sense, their behavior can turn on a dime to anger, pugnaciousness, violence, or even in extreme cases, with a complete loss of control, to murder. The phrase “handle with kid gloves” was invented for dealing with macho people.
One can never be sure how machoites will react to words or acts. Their explosive tempers always seem to be lurking just beneath the surface. They demand respect and even admiration to constantly keep their inferior demons at bay. If it’s not forthcoming, sparks will fly.
All their intense competitiveness – to be number one, to win the game, to succeed in business, to win the war – not only reinforces their own superior sense but it is also to show their family, friends, associates and the world that they are indeed superior to them.
Such self-absorbed behavior has led to the claim that machoites are “full of themselves,” that they think constantly in terms of I and not we. Often they will show off their superior talents to emphasize their superiority to others as well as to themselves.
Their reputation for being dare devils, for seeking out dangerous happenings from bungee jumping to sky diving to car racing is really another means of declaring their superiority to the world, of ridding themselves of the feelings of inferiority, if even for the moment. The stunt performer Eviel Kneivil had to be a macho man.
And “there’s the rub” for a macho person: “for the moment.” Given their hair trigger, brain cell receptors, the “rush,” the “feeling of being alive” while undertaking a dangerous stunt lasts only “for the moment.” It’s the same for all their other stimuli, their sensations, they’re only momentary. They need to be repeated for another “rush,” another “thrill.” Hence, their obsession with the “new,” a new sensation, a new stimulus to get their brain actively working, coming up not only with dangerous rushes and thrills but also everyday rushes and thrills whether it’s a new pair of shoes for a macho woman or a new “conquest” for a macho playboy. “New” is the great motivator. Not only does it satisfy their brain’s need of constant activity but it also adds to their own superior image by the fact that not everyone can have such thrills in their lives. Not everyone can live their lives to the “fullest” as macho people are fond of repeating to any and all.
Of course, there’s a counter to all this rush of brain activity – there’s always a counter in nature – and that’s when there are no stimuli coming into the brain or at least none that a macho person instantly assesses as exciting. When that happens to a macho person, that’s figuratively death that they perceive as boredom. If one word could sum up a machoite’s feelings towards the conventional, the mundane, the routine, it would be “boring.” That’s their favorite pejorative declaration: “boring!” School is boring, a teacher is boring, last year’s fashions are boring, the past is boring … If it “ain’t” new or stimulates their brains, it’s BORING!
To offset boredom for a person with the deep inner perception of superiority, what better way than to have an extravagant life style. This ensures the necessary newness for the brain and the refutation of any inner inferiority. After all, a superior being with a narcissist sense of themselves deserves the best. Consequently, macho people are noted for their lack of frugality, their insistence on having anything they wish – right now!, even if their bank balance is nil and their numerous charge cards are maxed out. And when they acquire the best, they’re not reluctant to lord it over their “inferiors.”
A macho person would object to this description instantly. After all, it’s pricking their superior bubble. They would probably say: “Macho people can do what they want – it’s their personality – just as other people are entitled to doing what they wish.”
Which is true, but when there are probably 100 million of these people in the U.S. today, what that number of people does on a daily basis affects all of us, the nature of our culture, and the direction of our country, as the following pages will show.