Can't a man ask another man for some help with his back???

It was my birthday on Tuesday, so I treated myself with a deep tissue massage. My friend, Zack, said that he had a deep tissue massage before and that his back was really sore afterward, so this time (he got one on Monday), he got a Swedish (full body) massage. My deep tissue massage lasted about 55 minutes in which the lady went to town on my whole back and neck. I didn't feel sore. In fact, I felt fine.

It wasn't until yesterday, however, when I started to hurt really bad in my upper back. Normally, when this happens, it means that I have something out of alignment and either a visit to my chiropractor or a push on my back helps.

I was in a lot of pain, so I went over to my co-worker Scott for help.

"Scott, my back really hurts. Do you think that you could maybe push on it or squeeze my chest so that my back pops?"

Scott stared at me with wide eyes and said nothing. It was like waiting for a pin to drop.

I then slowly asked, "Do... you have a problem with that?"

Scott exclaims, "Yeah! I've got a big problem!"

I then started to stammer something like, "Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to... It's not as if... Oh... well... I'll just deal with it. Sorry for asking."

He then said, "I'm surprised you even asked me!"

I started to leave and said, "Hey, if you're not confident enough to help. That's cool."

I left his cube and asked my friend, Jim, for help. He immediately jumped up no questions asked and followed me to an office, in which I laid down and he pushed hard on my back. I felt nothing pop and assumed that it was just sore muscles. I offered him my thanks for helping and understanding and he said it was no problem at all because his wife has back problems.

It was then that I started to chuckle at Scott's reaction.

You could have thought that I had dropped my pants and asked, "Scott, do you think that you could make love to me like only a man like you can?" You would have thought that I had just shit all over his cube with my barbaric request. A man helping a man with his back? What age are we living in? Next thing you know, there'll be male nurses in hospitals do all sorts of... well, it's just too horrifying to think about.

I understand people having trouble with gay people. If you've never been around one, you might feel uncomfortable, but I'm not gay! I'm just a guy with a sore back! It's not as if you're going to push on my back and contract the gay virus that's been going around. First it's helping your friend with his back, then you're getting massages of your own and finally you're visiting a bathhouse!

Where will it end? Women can dance with each other, braid each other's hair and even touch each other with no inkling or suggestion that they've switched teams. You just don't assume it.

The only way a straight guy can get away with touching each other is in sports where it's perfectly acceptable to hug each other and slap each other's behinds. Why do they get all the fun?