Most men my generation don’t apologize for their manhood; we’re proud of it. Such is not the case with younger generations of males; their masculinity is being demonized and if some of the more radical vipers out there had their way, it would be criminalized. Here’s a welcome rebuttal that tells boys and young men: don’t castrate yourselves, stand tall. From J. Ishiro Finney at jishirofinnery.com:
The bodies aren’t even cold yet and already you are being blamed.
Yes you.
All of you.
The boys and young men who will grow up to become one half of America’s future.
Once again, due to society’s failure to raise you, to teach you, to properly guide you on your path to manhood, your mere existence is being held responsible for seventeen more deaths—this time in Florida, and once again, at a school. The headlines of the last few days say it all:
“Guns don’t kill people; men and boys kill people, experts say”
-USA TODAY
“Michael Ian Black reacts to Florida shooting: Boys are broken”
-New York Daily News
“How Gun Violence And Toxic Masculinity Are Linked, In 8 Tweets”
-The Huffington Post
“Toxic white masculinity: The killer that haunts American life”
-Salon
“Toxic Masculinity Is Killing Us”
-The Boston Globe
“Toxic Masculinity Is Killing Us”
-Harpers Bazaar
“Don’t Blame Mental Illness for Mass Shootings; Blame Men”
-Politico
In the handful of decades I’ve been alive, I’ve seen America shift from a culture of responsibility to one of blame. We don’t solve problems anymore. We cry, we pray for, we seek to find closure, and then finally, slaughter a sacrificial lamb for our sins. When I was young and Columbine happened, that lamb was Marilyn Manson and video games. Before that, it was D&D and Twisted Sister. These days, though, as body counts continue to rise and excuses continue to vanish, the lamb America has chosen to sacrifice is you. Rather than take responsibility for the seeds we’ve sown, the culture we built, and the disaster you’ve been left to inherit, we as a nation have chosen to lie to ourselves. To listen and believe those who claim that the answer is simple: “Boys are simply born bad.”
To continue reading: A letter to the boys & young men of America.
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