This may come as a surprise to some people, but I am not a thousand year old war lord. I have written no laws. I have started zero wars. And I am not a billionaire CEO. I am a normal person, just trying their best. I have oppressed nobody. I have not ‘ruled the world for a thousand years’, I have not ‘had my turn’, and I will not be blamed for things I played no part in. More so, not only was I not alive then, but guess what, neither were you. So please stop piggybacking off of women’s historical suppression, like you were right there with them, because you weren’t. No, in all likelihood, you’re not oppressed at all. And using these words to describe yourself makes a mockery of those who were. We cannot go back. We cannot change the past. And I am tired of seeing men and boys having the very real (and very systemic) problems they face, being erased or waved away because ‘women have it worse’, so take a ticket and join the back of the queue. I am tired of seeing people take revenge on men and boys, in the name of faux ‘equality’. Let’s be clear – girls being held back in education one hundred years ago is not an excuse to overlook the same being done to boys right now. And women’s health being neglected over the centuries does not mean we can turn a blind eye as we do this to men’s health today. Yes. All we have is now. And hopefully, through action, we can bend the future to something better, more inclusive and less painful. So be the person your future self is proud of. Don’t look back at today through parted fingers and embarrassment. Don’t repeat the past. ~ Images by Jason Leung from Unsplash

2022-11-01