Why Do We Love Outlaws?
From Jessie James to Billy the Kid there is just something about them. There isn't a man worth his salt that doesn't admire and on some level dream of the outlaw lifestyle. But why is that? Why do we cheer for the bad guy? It isn't because we oppose the rule of law? Is it? I don't think so. I think we worship the Outlaw because the he is everything we're not but wish we could be. We sit behind screens all day, follow our schedules, and obey the rules like good little subjects while the Outlaw is riding across the open plains wild and free, doing as he pleases.
Freedom
The American Outlaw is the epitome of a man's primal self, He lives his life with a devil-may-care attitude and answers to no one but himself. He doesn't live by an alarm clock ruled schedule, he isn't tied to a desk, and he only goes and does he see's fit. He has complete freedom. That kind of freedom is something that many men today can only dream about achieving. Sadly, in the western world today even if many of those men did gain that level of freedom, they wouldn't know what to do with it. They've been softened by the guidelines of society. They go to work when they're told, wake up when they're told, and take nothing but enormous piles of shit from everyone. Their boss calls them into the office and chews them out, the neighbors keeps letting his dog crap in their driveway, and worst of all, those men do nothing about it. The outlaw on the other hand would have slapped the shit out of all of them and dared them to do anything other than stand there and bleed. The Outlaw has a code and you don't have much of a choice in abiding by it.
Now sure, physical assault isn't something to be considered lightly. There are criminal charges and lawyers as well as another myriad of consequences to consider. There does have to be an established code of law for society to function as a peaceful one. But maybe a little lawlessness here and there would be good for society. Maybe... but that's a topic for an entirely different article.
Real Men
Ever hear of an Outlaw trying to be more sensitive to fit in? Not likely. They didn't need to. These guys were strong, rugged, and masculine, all of the things that call to a man's soul. They didn't apologize for it. They were who they were and that was that. They didn't need or ask for your approval so shut up and walk on. They were dominant and aggressive. They stood up to the man and didn't back down. They lived their lives on their own terms and were ready to embrace death at any moment because of it. They didn't fear a challenge, they welcomed it with open arms and were ready at a moments notice to knuckle up. Many men today won't even raise their voices or speak an unpopular opinion for the fear that someone may get offended. The world tells them to conform and fall in line. To follow a set of predetermined rules in order to fit in and be accepted.
The Outlaw didn't oblige the worlds requests. Being the rough and tumble kind of men they were, if someone told them to sit down and follow the rules there was a high chance that the sheriff was going to have to get involved or the outlaw was going to get his way.
Sex Appeal
The women loved them and guys wanted to be them. Like it or not, and even if they aren't willing to admit it women are gonna choose the Outlaw over Chad-the-emotional-SJW-with-nine-cats any day of the week. Women love a man who's dangerous. Not the beat them up for burning the dinner kind of dangerous of course, but the I am not to be messed with kind of dangerous. Remember the old saying "Nice guys finish last"? What about the old adage that the ladies always go for the bad boy? Those sayings are "old" for a reason. they've been around for a while because they've been true for a while. Any man that isn't a little dangerous isn't much of a man to begin with. That's one of the key principles of being a man. To protect. You aren't protecting anything if you aren't dangerous and the Outlaw certainly was just that. He didn't talk smack he couldn't back up and he certainly wouldn't let himself back down from a challenge. That's sexy as hell and every woman knows it. Women don't respect weak men. They aren't biologically inclined to do so. They want the strongest most capable male to sire their offspring so that they have the best chance of survival. Men today are force fed by the media that being dangerous is a bad thing. that they should be fighting their natural masculinity to be more effeminate in order to be more accepted by society. That's why when we see Josey Wales draw down at high noon we get a flare up from the fire in our bellies. The Outlaw knows what's up and he isn't going to put up with any of that crap.
Remember, Barbie makes love to Ken, but she bangs G.I. Joe.
The Outlaw is the Underdog
If you're a man, there is a 99% chance that you've seen Young Guns,Rudy and Rocky more than enough time to quote it forwards and backwards. Why? because it's about an underdog who's stepping up to the challenge to take on the big guy. Billy the Kid and the Regulators took on the law. Not a lawman, THE WHOLE DAMN LAW. Rudy was the smallest, least talented guy on the team but kept plugging along. Rocky was a poor uneducated nobody from the projects who challenged the world champion. The underdog is inspirational for most men today because they are the little guy. They have to take shit from their boss, their clients, their families, and even random people in the street. To see the little guy stand up and put his middle finger right in the worlds face is enough to give a man chills with the right background music.If you've never been inspired by Rocky during Round 14 of his fight with Apollo Creed then I suggest you watch it again. If you didn't give a hell yeah to Billy the Kid's "Reap the whirlwind Sheriff Brady...Reap it", then I don't know what to tell you.The biggest underdog story of all time is that of the American Revolution. Farmers told the king to shove it, took a fight to them and won. Guess what telling the king to go screw himself made all of them. Yep. Outlaws.
An Outlaw in Every Man
Every man admires the Outlaw because when he see's one he see's a little bit of himself. Buried somewhere deep down under the years of being beaten down by the system is an underdog. A wild and scrappy beats just chomping at the bit, ready to snap his leash. That's why when a man is out in the wild he feels most at home. He longs for adventure and danger. He wants to unleash his true being and embrace it. He doesn't want to wear the shackles of society around his neck any longer. He just wants to live. The problem is that he's been burying that part of him so far down that the man now feels empty and alone. He can't talk about these things because society tells him that it's wrong to fell that way. So he sit's on his couch and watches the Outlaw on television and lives vicariously through him. Now, I'm not telling you to grab your six shooters and start robbing stagecoaches or to go on the lamb running from Pinkertons, but you should do more to embrace your rawest and most primal self. Be more dangerous. Lift heavy weight, learn to fight in a combat sport, and fight. Take back your freedom. Get outside, go up into the mountains, or ride a motorcycle across the badlands. Stop taking everyone's shit. Grow a spine, stand up for yourself, and draw a line in the sand. Stop being afraid to say what you want.
You are a man.
Embrace your inner Outlaw